Essence No. 2 Gardenia

+ 😘 I love this! I'm obsessed! 😘 Like all in the collection, it's well made, elegant, low sillage, and has decent longevity as a skin scent. This is a divine fragrance IF AND ONLY IF you LOVE Gardenia. The first time I sprayed it, I smiled. I smell green (stems & leaves), florals (iris & orris butter, which smells like paper in the best way possible), and sandalwood. I'm failing to smell any jasmine but that's okay with me bc this Gardenia is gorgeous on my skin. This one is fresher than the No. 9 Tuberose, which I'm also obsessed with. These essences are made for layering although they can certainly be worn alone. This Gardenia fits my style because I'm looking for beautiful skin scents that are inoffensive and easy to wear. So I recommend if you're looking for something like that...but experiences and skins vary. Trust your nose and your own skin. EDIT - I smell MUSHROOM of all things in this fragrance and I love it! But how? So interesting! I love it even more now. It's seriously the best gardenia I've ever smelled. Others come close and are beautiful (Olivine, DAME, Van Cleef), but this one just sings to me. EDIT Aug 2020 - All that said...DO NOT BLIND BUY this! It's not for everyone. You really have to love the buttery, papery, mushroomy facets of Gardenia. It's not an easy flower for everyone to love. Don't fall in love with a perfume you haven't smelled. That's a crazy thing to do... Jan2021 - reminds me Tubereuse Vertigineuse by Molinard

I love gardenias in nature, but I don't like gardenia perfumes, often finding them oppressively heavy and buttery. I can only tolerate the scent when it is blended with something else, and it isn't the focal point. Yet true to its name, here gardenia is the main feature, and it is just beautiful. This smells just like the flowers on the gardenia shrubs they sell as annuals at my local nursery. So realistic! The jasmine is not registering with me at all, yet I think is helping to contribute to the composition, giving it a sensuous aspect, yet the overall profile is slightly aquatic, light, airy, and fresh. The wood notes aren't heavy only serving to anchor and accentuate the florals and no doubt contributing to the excellent silage and longevity. I used 3 sprays this morning and late in the afternoon it is still going strong. While I only have a sample now that was included with a recent purchase, I will definitely be getting a full bottle soon. Just love this!

I debated buying this for over three months, and it's finally mine. First, the box and attention to detail is well done. Upon opening you get a small card with the information and a bottle wrapped in tissue paper with a sticker that sealed it. If this isn't there--you know it's been tampered with. It's a simple and elegant bottle with a magnetic cap. Heavy and it feels luxurious. Now on to the scent... My family has an enormous gardenia bush in their yard, so I'm very familiar with their scent when they bloom from June to August. It's intoxicating and ultra feminine. I'd say Francis Kurkdjian did a good job mimicking these flowers. I smell it deeply and then sigh, so you know it's good! He captured their green essence when they're still on the bush and a fresh bloom. It's not too sharp or harsh. It definitely doesn't smell cheap. Well done. This is going to be my go to this summer. Gardenia is my favorite of the white flowers.

My search for the perfect gardenia has ended with Elie Saab Gardenia No. 2 A super natural, soft projecting gardenia that permeates my skin and the clothes that come into contact: I can smell it well into the following day. Drydown is only slightly different with the addition of a little wood that helps ground the scent. I’ve tried at least a dozen houses that claim to be gardenia. Of course, gardenia is a flower that is next to impossible in creating natural, so most use synthetic compounds that usually smell more like a jasmine than any gardenia I’ve ever grown. And there lies the disappointment, the claim that it’s gardenia is usually so far off that it’s not believable. Not only is this the most realistic “made-in-the-lab” gardenia I’ve ever smelled, it can be had for a steal: $52 from Fragrencenet.com

I do love the gardenia scent but wearing it in a fragrance is a very different matter. I cant handle screechy white florals. This is very good. I get the orange blossom with gardenia on the opening. It's rich with a little orange blossom sweetness. I definitely get a bit of indolic jasmine. A bit of skank! It settles to leafy greenery with a touch of gardenia. There is almost a rubberiness. This a unisex scent that is pretty easy to wear and you are not in danger of overwhelming anyone nearby. If you are expecting Madonnas Truth or Dare screechy white floral then you will feel let down. This is an infinitely more wearable white floral softened with wood notes that won't give you a migraine. I get moderate sillage and longevity. I look foward to wearing on warm days.