Boutonniere No. 7

I remember first smelling this at Pickwick's Mercantile in Portsmouth NH and being immediately floored by the opening that combines a ripe, fleshy, lactonic gardenia with lavender. Oh, my days, this one is rapturous on my skin. A lush, leafy jungle that blooms in the heat, with petitgrain adding this sharp, bright twang, Boutonniere treads between genteel and skank in the most titillating manner. Are you a good boy, or are you a bad boy? The Edwardian popularity of the boutonniere may have been the hanky code of its time, with gardenia meaning....?? This is florid language covering dirty thoughts in olfactory form. Boutonniere simmers into a grassier, woodier fugue with grace notes of gardenia dappled over its refrain. The grapefruit peel decay of a certain vetiver renders this dry, almost bitter, but still with flickers of light and herbal flourishes. There are even dirty jasmine echoes in the distance. This sings on a hot day and croons on a cool summer night. It has character, but can leave some "normy noses" nonplussed. "What is this supposed to be?" one might ask. Which leads me to this: there is something to be said for letting go of concretizing the existence of something and to just "be" with it. Fragrance can be best appreciated with thinking and feeling in measured doses.

May 1899 hall of the Paris Opera. During the intermission a group of 7 young people gather in the lobby to flirt. Both elegant ladies and coquettes are attracted by the green and fresh scent of gardenias lit up like boutonnieres in the buttonhole of men's jackets, men who use colonies of lavender and bergamot. As they approach, "the flower of the opera" exhales its seductive scent, declaring the elegance of a single sacrificial flower in the eye of a man. This powerful soliflore with cyan dyes is felt throughout its development completely natural, realistic to the extreme, a crisp green and with very few artifices. Although it is unisex, I find it very masculine by the more woody drying and the seductive animal point with the oak moss that nuances more dry and lengthens the floral note until the end of the drying, which feels great to boutonniere 7 and gets the author That with these shades the result is a charming and enchanting scent. B.7 has character, diffuses sensationally well for a long time, it is true that it evolves little and very slow, but if you like the aroma of this white gardenia jazminoide you succumb to its charms. Rating: 9.2

A man-handled gardenia -- yes indeed SeverinoDuJour! Boutonniere is an enjoyable green floral. Lavender really vibrates against the white plushness: at times sharp, herbal and aromatic, at others smooth and creamy. Lavender is a hard note to do well in perfumery as it can lean too barbershop like with overwhelming white musk or too artificially floral. Here the petitgrain carries the masculinity of lavender's natural perfume with its bitter woody-citrus character. This smells like fine French lavender, like my husband's Taylor of Old Bond Street Lavender Shaving Cream with its clean scent, never soapy or dull. The gardenia is quite big but fresh. It makes me think of crisp white sheets and sweet evening air in a garden. Crispy cold greens and the warmth of your companion conjure scenes of a romantic interlude. Boutonniere No. 7 is perfect for both your lapel or skin. This is a gorgeously refined floral for both sexes to share.

I’m a bit picky about lavender and petitgrain in fragrance— in general I don’t favor sharp cologne-y interpretations of these notes. Here, their herbal freshness pairs beautifully with ultra plush gardenia, as well as juicier mandarin and bergamot notes not listed on fragrantica. Cloudy genet lends a headiness that balances the herbal components. On drydown, earthy yet velvety oakmoss and a slightly grainy Vetiver. This phase reminds me a lot of Jean Couturier Coriandre’s later stages. The overall impression is one of a larger-than-life gardenia soliflore expanded into hyperreality by the other notes. The result is definitely a masculine floral albeit one that’s a bit dandyish (as am I!). It remains to be seen if this will tip into “love” territory with multiple wears but as a first impression I’m quite impressed.

This is the most beautiful gardenia-centric I’ve ever smelled. Milky and gorgeous, reminding me of the gardenia in Amouage Love Tuberose where you could feel that wet petal texture and a bit balmy, almost sunscreen-ey quality. Lavender stays at the background and has camphorous undertone, so I guess it’s Spike Lavender instead of French? The whole scent is super damp even with vetiver and oakmoss. A tad of Genet (soo cute) accord, I guess, is added just to give an oomph to the scent. And I think this oomph plus vetiver strangely amplifies the sunscreen-ey smell mentioned; the output turns out similarly to the drydown of datura note, such as in SL Datura Noir, which I find super sexy. I wouldn’t describe it as classy, rather semi-classic. Definitely consider a bottle.