Cruel Gardénia

Cruel Gardénia Guerlain (Brought, Guerlain Thailand) Full review (May 19); I brought a bottle of 200 ml. of Curel Gardénia as celebration for my birthday, I known I can’t let her go. Similar to “Purple Carnation” This might be my favorite white floral x musk so far in my journey. Hey, Gardenia is still mostly replica note. The Creamiest White Floral of them all. Not bubblegum, Not overly youth and fresh. Gardenia is queen of white floral for me and you won’t find Gardenia in Cheap perfume.. or at least not a good one. One side of Gardenia’s quality is creaminess, try sniff Honor 43. That’s absolute from of Gardenia. The reason I like Curel Gardenia so much might be blends of Animalic and Canal aspect from both musk & floral. When something stinks merge, it naturalizes and create the wonderful cleanliness. A bar of luxury French Soap from rich Animal fat, produce hundred years ago, which will leave you a trace of Animalic musk on skin. I could wear this and go anywhere, just to know I will be well loved. 10/10 ===== Cruel Gardénia Guerlain (Apr 17) (Store test) Cruel Gardenia catches my attention after I actually found my love in Gardenia after Honour 43. "Oh actually, I haven't tried that once yet.." when I wanna find another Gardenia. Guerlain offers 4 white floral for daily use "Angelic Noire, Jasmin Bonheur, Joyeuse Tubéreuse & Cruel Gardenia" I was test another 3 first but it didn't blow me away as much but somehow I ignore Cruel Gardenia.. and yeah...Just to fall in love later... From my personal experience "Gardenia" is the creamy white-floral experience. This one is integrate so well between "Powderiness, Muskiness and Clean white floral side" and Cruel Gardenia merges the Guerlainade with White floral so welly done. The muskiness in this I really like it, I could just sell 1957 from Chanel about now to grab you. I think I have never been sniffed the white floral that as Blanc as this. I will definitely add this to my collection. 9/10 (First to add in May).. ==== May 5, 2024 RE-ASSET I revisited Guerlain boutique in Thailand as I wish to reassert my personal thought. Still, Curel Gardenia catch me in a heartbeat. I bring Chanel 1957 to store just to compare the difference. I notice that, maybe the musk accord is difference. I personally don’t find that redundant but you may. While 1957’s musk contains strong element of musk with mild animalic tone, dear or civet like I’m not sure Guerlain’s musk seems other side of Animalic...(?) it’s a bit mustier than Chanel one, but it smooth like silk. , I smell mildly carnal aspect underneath. Ylang - maybe. I like this, the mild carnal white floral and smooth blend, keep me going in this one. It just so right in all aspect consideration.

A clean, elegant white floral with creamy, powdery and even slightly soapy aspects. Nothing cruel about this, this gardenia is neither too sharp, nor extremely narcotic. Just polished, harmonious and chic. I have read people describe Gardenia as "mushroomy" before and I never really got it. But now I do. It's mainly a texture thing to me. Imagine big, plush petals with the same firm, smooth structure as fresh, dry white button mushrooms. Then add a hint of vegetal, earthy bitterness to the white floral scent to emphasize the feeling, and there you have it: Mushroomy gardenia. Which might sound off-putting, but actually smells quite lovely to me. This is one of the less sweet fragrances in the L'Art & la Matière line. It's decidedly feminine with a dash of rose and a soft layer of powder on top of everything, while the sweeter and warmer notes like vanilla, tonka and peach are extremely subtle and just exist to balance the scent and warm up the white musk base. The combination of gardenia and creamy musk makes me think of the white Narciso Rodriguez cube. These don't smell the same, but give me a similar vibe of being very well-groomed and softly perfumed. Professional, but with an underlying whisper of sexiness. Cruel Gardenia is definitely much more floral though and also has a subtle Guerlain signature that makes clear which house created it. I don't think I would buy it for the high asking price, but I absolutely love to smell this. My sample was decanted from one of the older golden 75 ml flacons.

The entire collection L'Art et La Matière by Guerlain is finally available in this corner of the Earth. I was curious to test them, although the retail price of +250€ for an 80ml bottle was quite discouraging. My favourite from this line is Cruel Gardenia, created by Sylvaine Delacourte and Randa Hammami. So I wasn't surprised to discover that Cruel Gardenia bears the signature of these two ladies: it is very sophisticated, classy, creamy, alluring. This scent was made for a woman who is aware of her attractiveness and doesn't need to reinforce it by wearing tacky clothes and tons of makeup. The funny thing is the marketing blurb provided by the brand that states: "Unlike the usual tradition, the creators of this fragrance did not strive towards the richness of notes that gardenia creates when combined with the precious light musk which would give velvety soft aura..." -- well, in my experience they created exactly the type of velvety soft scent that they were allegedly trying to avoid! This scent lasts about 5-6 hours and projects beautifully; still, I wasn't convinced that it is actually worth the asking price. By the way, now that Mme Delacourte has left Guerlain and launched her own brand, she hired Randa Hammami as the nose behind the majority of fragrances for her Musc and Vanilla lines. So, if you like Cruel Gardenia, but cannot afford it, do try one of Delacourte's reasonably priced fragrances - you might find what you're looking for!

bed time scent today, simply musky powdered flowers and its ridiculously gorgeous. not intensely soapy (chanel no5) or thick/heavy creamy. density wise its relatively sheer, mostly musky with nuances of soap and powder equally (however this does transform into slightly creamier overtime). it smells like ur skin after applying a vintage scented face cream rather than the actual cream itself, its not thick. Im very picky with white flowers and usually cant stand excessive amounts; this opens with gardenia predominantly but settles down perfectly balanced, and VIOLET just makes everything so pretty and soft. feels like a pastel purple+baby pink concoction. theres an ethereal/ fairy-like vibe but not in a tinkerbell way (shes too sassy for this), its more like the little dancing fairies in barbie and the nutcracker animation. When the top notes fade and the base notes start surfacing around 40 minutes in, the warm addictive undercurrent of vanilla and tonka bean intensifies and the “sheer” quality steers in a tad creamier direction. quaint with a touch of nostalgia somewhere in there. Longevity is standard but projection is intimate, however people will get a whiff of you if you walk past etc. 16 hours later it is a light musky skin scent and reminds me of something narciso rodriguez style, i still get whiffs here n there. such a beautiful scent and definitely signature scent worthy if soft and feminine is ur aesthetic

I have never liked gardenia on myself until I tried this one. Leave it to the Guerlain elixirs to capture your heart... I think its the peach, violet and ylang that make this so wearable on me, it smells fresh and clean and lightly floral. I would call it "classy". Don't understand the name, either, but who cares? It's the juice that really matters :) (not that the beautiful package doesn't help). I purchased from Neiman marcus and they let you customize your bottle to have 10 letters. It is the same price as the regular bottle, but takes longer to arrive. The site offers both options. The engraved bottle is a great thoughtful gift, but if you do engrave a personal message, it is not refundable- so make sure the person you are gifting it to likes it. I bought a small decant to hold me over until my bottle arrives (I got it personalized so it can take weeks!) from the perfumedcourt which sells decants/samples. I cannot wait to get my personalized bottle, I have been aching for this perfume for a long time. If you are thinking about getting a personalized bottle for someone special, you can buy a sample to make sure they like it :) I LOVE IT!

This is a sharp, crisp, cool white floral with a slightly metallic edge. I have a generously sized sample of it, and when I put it on this morning for the first time, I was reminded of watching my mother prepare for a night out when I was little. She favored Rive Gauche and L'air du Temps - Cruel Gardenia has quite the same feel as those scents, as well as Estee Lauder's Beautiful. Cruel Gardenia, though, is much softer and more modern than any of these, with a fresh, cool sprinkle of powder in the mix. It's really quite lovely and impossibly elegant...so much so that I actually changed my mind about the outfit I was planning to wear today; I upgraded to something classier and more stylish!! Yes, that's right...this perfume makes me want to be a better woman. :) I've had it on for about 3 hours now, so the longevity is not bad. Sillage is soft, floating in a transient halo around me. This fragrance is TRES CHER, so therefore not a safe blind buy, but do test it if you have always liked the sharp white florals of the past, but wish to wear something less boldly stated. This is an incredible fragrance.

I'm sad!! I just received a 3.5ml sample of Cruel Gardenia, which has been on my radar for quite some time. I have no doubts about the authenticity - it's a real carded (or in this case, enveloped) sample - the kind Guerlain gives out at fragrance counters, so I am really at a loss as to why this is so extremely fleeting on my skin! I dabbed a few drops on, and caught a whiff of something somewhat creamy that resembled gardenia, though it could also have been ylang. I really don't know because it seemed to just vanish after that. I then decanted about half of it into an atomizer to see if that would help intensify things a bit, and it did to a small degree, but not long enough for me to get any type of handle on it beyond that first floral note. I am going to let it sit for a few days, as it summertime and it did sit in my mailbox. My nose may have just been being difficult as well, but if this goes nowhere for me for whatever reason, all I can say is that even though it was a lot of money for a "free sample", at least I didn't jump the gun and blind buy! More to follow!

I am wearing that yellow dress again. You know it, the one you gave to me. You've said that it has the lively color of the ylang ylang flowers. I adorned my fingers with the pear ring and I am wearring your favourite earrings in my ears. At my neck I wear Cruel Gardenia. And I've added a bit to my wrists. I want it to invade your senses when you will take me in your arms. I wish that when you walk your fingers over my shoulders ,absenlty drawing symbols of tenderness, the smell of blooming gardenias to reach your soul. Do you remember when you said to me that my skin always smells like musk? Do you like how it combines with the fragrance I am wearing? Are you anxious to hide your face in my sandalwood perfumed curls? This ingenue fragrance makes you dizzy, isn't it? Are you afraid to let yourself spoiled by your senses? Don't worry, I'm here. And I will take your hands and keep them at my chest until you regain ballance. It's just the two of us now, and Cruel Gardenia glazes at us, hidden in the hollow on my neck. Come, come into my world now.

I had no interest in this fragrance from the description and the name and I am so glad I got a good price on the discovery set or otherwise I would never know how much I love it and how it makes me feel! This should be Serene Gardenia or Gardenia Cream. It is exquisitely cooling and calming. It is the most luxurious and expensive cold cream (as someone else said) with big waxy white gardenia smell. It might be reminiscent of certain ladies in the 80s, but also timeless. Perhaps she is cruel in that she is unaffected by drama around her? I wish I could douse myself in it, but it's too expensive for that. Seems great for the spring time especially if you want to smell elevated, but not make a particular statement, like floral or gourmand etc. People will still smell you, but it will be safe to wear in offices or places where fragrance isn't permitted, as it smells like rich-folk body care. If it were closer to $100 rather than $360, I would buy a bottle for sure, but sadly I guess I will have to stretch out this mini bottle instead.

Tender floral veil. Not loud iris powder, delicate white musk & some herbal bitterness. In the base notes Cruel Gardenia sounds as cosmetic care by the Premium brands. The fragrance remind me Cartier - Baiser Vole. Only by here instead of the lily Gardenia. But it similar enough like lily, and yet to yellow iris too. Cruel Gardenia is changeable : sometimes it looks like to a hot breath of summer heat and suddenly from it blows cold. If to muse about the name... yes, there's something bitchy about it : like a beautiful girl who in addition have a complex character doesn't give admirers a chance and choosing someone she quickly gets tired of it all. The fragrance is a little detached, aristocratic with a nuance of Guerlain Meteorites powder. Cruel Gardenia by Guerlain perfume is not loud, but need to apply in it moderation, because its floweryness when the nose catches the trail - powerful, almost epatage. The Cruel Gardenia is the real embodiment of femininity - a shot in the heart.

From the sample, it has a similar longevity problem as the previous two I've tried but I won't call that overly bad when discussing the overall enjoyability of the fragrance; it's glorious. Pure, unadulterated elegance. This smells like the first primary school I went to when I was little, of the caring and kind teachers there. I mostly get powdery white flowers, sandalwood, peach, neroli, vanilla and rose (in order of prominence) - it's exceptionally well blended so gardenia isn't entirely noticeable to my nose, but the creaminess I get from other notes may be blending with the creaminess of the gardenia. I sometimes get extremely pleasant wafts from my wrists up to my face, which must mean that the sillage is pretty decent. Overall extremely lovely and possibly my favourite out of the 3 I've tried in the past few days.

Cruel Gardenia perfume is often expected to be a bold white floral, but on skin it tells a very different story. The gardenia presence is surprisingly restrained—more of a soft suggestion than a dominant note. As it dries down, the fragrance leans into a clean, creamy softness that closely resembles the comforting scent of Nivea cream in a good way. It becomes smooth, slightly powdery, and gently musky, with a fresh, skin-like quality that feels intimate rather than floral. The gardenia nuance fades into the background, leaving behind a delicate, almost nostalgic “clean skin” aura—more about creamy softness and subtle elegance than any pronounced white floral character. So in love with this perfume but the only downside is the longevity which is very short-lived!

A mushroomy, sausage-salami, alkaline yet a bit soapy kind of Gardenia, I get on my skin. Perhaps that is what makes it "cruel"? I cannot say I love it straight away but it is interesting. It definitely has got some "Mitsouko" meaty and salty qualities, but I wished the floral burst was stronger. Perhaps "Bizarre Gardenia" would have been a more appropriate title. If you want a reference Gardenia, try Penhaligon's and it you want "smelly feet" and downright "dirrty" Gardenia, try Robert Piget's offering. I cannot make up my mind about this one. Perhaps, if you were to layer this one with an overly floral Gardenia you may get closer to the "real thing". Good effort though, yet a bit too "salami" for me (I am vegetarian). ...and the quest continues....

I don’t even like gardenia, but THIS is divine. Perfectly blended, high class, sophisticated, complex but easy to understand, mass appealing but unique, signature worthy, all year, day and night, eternal longevity, and the perfect level of sillage. Heavenly!! FBW!! My personal experience is that it smells as described. I got synesthesia with this one. I feel like it vibrates on two levels. The first level is gardenia and musk. Feels angelic. The 2nd level is a dark, iridescent, inky, cold navy blue. In that odd experience, I feel the ‘cruel’ vibration. Pure magic. If I had the cash flow, I would SO buy this...a gardenia scent!!!??!!

@scorpiosheep ~ As this fragrance is still in production, I think no one should pay a higher than retail price for it. I believe the price should still be around US$275 as I paid for it at the Guerlain counter in Hong Kong last year. Cruel Gardenia to me is a gorgeous floral fragrance with lots of airy powdery rose and greenish Neroli at the opening and later joined with heart notes of strong Gardenia like scent and musk decorated with touches of peach, Ylang Ylang and slightly bitter Violet. In the base I smell a most beautiful musk with slight sweetness of Tonka and warm Vanilla and a faint scent of Sandalwood.

Cruel Gardenia by Guerlain is the most sensual gardenia musk on the planet! This musk has that salty skin, body heat, kissing your lovers neck quality to it. It is not dirty and stinky, but it’s very human – soft to the touch. The musk mixes with the most divine gardenias that have a light soapiness, but are still elegantly floral. The violet adds a touch of powder and the sandalwood is detectable in the dry down. This is not a date night scent – it is a bedroom scent! This fragrance says “I want your body” in the most subtle and sincere way. Cruel Gardenia is a gem, well done Guerlain!

What a disappointment. Very boring and generic white flowers, this has been done by much much cheaper brands. I would use my bottle to spray towels in bathroom and in my guest rooms. It’s not good for anything else. I wouldn’t wear this. Life is too short to waste skin real estate on this boring perfume. Especially when I have hundreds of Niche perfumes that are 1000 times better. Guerlain hasn’t put out anything good in decades. One garbage overpriced perfume after another. Sad

This works so beautifully with my chemistry. It’s very soft and feminine. I wanted something that I could wear anywhere under any weather conditions (I live in the very hot desert), even closed in spaces where you normally shouldn’t wear perfume. I wanted to smell pretty and clean and this is perfect for that “clean girl” smell. Definitely full bottle worthy.

First impression: Elnett hairspray in a bottle... I was wrong; this perfume did not reveal herself to me immediately. This is a light, upbeat, clean, expensive soapy gardenia scent with a mysterious spicy ylang ylang shadow. Quite reserved with no hints of intoxicating creamy tuberose, but now one of my favorite Guerlains..

This is a beautiful perfume. Unfortunately I go nose blind to this, or it doesn't last long on my skin. I also have Totally White 126 Parle Moi de Parfum, and the two are similar enough that if you have one, you don't need the other one. Personally I prefer Totally white. A must for people who love white flowers.

This is so beautiful!Generally I do not like gardenia, as well as other white florals, but here it is perfectly blended with the other notes and in the end we get a super classy, feminine, warm delight. The base is just fantastic-musky creamy vanilla with a strong but fresh floral touch.Love it!!!

Gardenia at highest power still not offensive, but very powerful, use sparingly! It's truly a beauty. In spite of its extremely floral nature I agree with Jeca that Cruel Gardenia is not so cruel after all! A little bit dramatic, but just as a joke, it can be languish.

Musk, musk, and more musk. Cruel Gardenia is an incredible soapy musk scent with a refined sillage. There's a hint of something indolic in there but becomes cleaner as it dries down. It is long-lasting and perfect for those that like to smell like you've just showered.

Splendid feminine floral that’s so smooth, white flowers, creamy gardenia that’s such a delight to wear. A womanly composition. This has definitely been created with a deft hand - lovely to wear. I feel great wearing this. Ladylike. Classy. Divine. A goddess fragrance.

The name is just sooo wrong but this fragrance is perfection. It's calming, healing, pleasing and I find myself refreshing even when I don't need to. A warm gentle gardenia perfectly balanced with a kiss of peach and rose.

Cruel gardenia is also available in Germany. I tested it today in Berlin (Douglas Kurfürstendamm). It's a lovely soft creamy scent. I love it!!!

The most luxurious ivory white soap. It smells clean but fleshy and soft skin like.

Smells like Chanel 1957. I smell more iris than gardenia. Totally love it

The smell of luxury, calmness and self-worth. The best Guerlain!

I just got a bottle from Nordys and it was unsealed :( Bummer, it's going back. I bought it because I had purchased another one from that big online selling site and one day it smelled great on me, and the next....well it smelled chemical. So therefore, I thought I got a bottle that was cut with something? Well, to my surprise, both bottles smell the same. I don't know why I am getting this chemical smell on me :( I adore, and probably my favorite for winter is Coquin Gourmand, Angelique Noir and Asian Brulant. They are to die for, so rich and creamy and long lasting on me. AN is almost heavenly. I have the Iris one and it smells awful on me also :( So, while I simply ADORE ADORE the other three, this Cruel Gardenia smells chemical on me for the first 30 minutes, then it mellows out, but I'm not in love with it at all. It's very light on me also, not heavy. Will edit on how long it lasts. Probably long because Guerlain is so well made. Sad, I want to love this, from that first day I wore it, it was gorgeous. Now, it hates me :( Edit: It sometimes works on me and sometimes not. I just figure it's menopause. Just sprayed it on me now, and it is delightful. Oh dear, who knew menopause would play games on you like this. Where's that Eve?

This is enjoyable, very pretty, soapy, soft with a slightly vintage feel. It's reminiscent of high society ladies, like royalty. I don't perceive the said peach note at all, but the florals and this lsight creaminess is there. That being said.. I have never been more confused about whether or not I want a full bottle of a fragrance or not. My very first impression of this was underwhelming. I have always loved all gardenia fragrances at first sniff. Mind you I did like it but my first thought was that it wasn't worth it's hefty price tag. I've worn through my sample vial and I'm on the final drops as we speak, but now I am feeling completely different about it. I have a feeling of "I'm gonna miss it" looming over me and I am genuinely confused as to why. I think I needed more time with this one. It really does prove how your opinion can change about a fragrance after wearing it a few times. I can't say I will actively look to purchase but if I come across someone selling their bottle, I may strongly consider.

When I spray it in the morning, just like originaldeftom (the reviewer) I get a transient mushroomy scent for a quater to half an hour which makes me think at Vuitton's Turbulences where the effect is the same but much longer. I was very intrigued by this as the ingredients here are totally different: the mushroom scent in Vuitton's Turbulences is due to the tuberose, while this frag does not feature any tuberose. Earlier this week I met Sylvaine Delacourte (the creator of this frag) in a Guerlain Q&A session, and she told me that the transient mushroomy scent was clearly due to the Gardenia: so I got the answer ! It seems that this occurs on some skins, obviously on mine, and I'm not a fan of it, though the frag is very nice once it gets to its full expression. Fortunately I bought only the 20 ml refill spray set now available in the Paris boutiques, so I'll see if this is temperature, mood, or season dependent, so I can decide if I go for the full bottle or not.

Guerlain's CRUEL GARDENIA, contrary to its name, is a warm, compassionate floral composition prominently featuring ylang ylang, neroli, and violet--at least according to my nose! Bizarre. Maybe this would be cruel to those who were looking for a pure gardenia frag, or a big white floral? Anyway, aside from my disagreement with the name, CRUEL GARDENIA strikes me as an excellent creation. A complex, somewhat yellow composition with a touch of sweetness in the opening. But from the opening through to the finish, this is much more of a ylang than a gardenia fragrance. Happily, the ylang is balanced and buttressed well. CRUEL GARDENIA is the very antithesis of a "diabolical" perfume (of which I have encountered a few): neither overly sharp nor officiously invasive nor a scrubber nor a carcinogenic sci-fi nightmare. Good staying power and sillage, too.

It’s one of those scents I ended up liking after revisiting; though I’m not a fan of the opening. It smells like a cleaning product at first, but if you get through the first 5-10 minutes, it settles into something clean, soapy and creamy on the skin. It’s very fresh and clean; a light, summer-appropriate fragrance. It’s not just about gardenia either; I also pick up a note in the background that reminds me of orange blossom or maybe neroli. Ylang-ylang is barely there. I personally don’t get much musk; it leans more toward clean florals for me. It’s not sweet at all. I was worried about the tonka and peach notes, but they don’t seem to play a major role (at least that’s how I perceive it).

I got a hefty sample of this. It is so darn pretty. As everyone says, pretty white flowers. So much so that it truly isn't me. I wish I could try it in a spray. I always love to try a spray to get the real feeling of it. Anyways, don't shy away from it because of my quick review, it is gorgeous. I am looking for a straight up Gardenia, I mean full on Gardenia. This is a gorgeous Guerlain, but not what I'm looking for. I will keep my generous glorious little bottle. It will be good for a wedding or something, but I don't love it. This time around anyways, I will come back to it, and probably be in love with it, as usually the case. Put on the back burner for now.

The opening of this fragrances is like a time machine transporting you to the elegant boudoir of a high society lady while she gets ready for fancy party, putting on her make up while perfumed lukewarm bath water sits in a tub close by. There is a touch of something vintage in the floral opening of this fragrance that evokes this image in my mind. Once the fragrance settles into my skin for about 30 mins it becomes a soft, creamy gardenia and ylang dominated soapy floral, like the soaps you find in expensive hotel rooms. The opening did take a bit of getting used to for me however, this does evolve into pretty floral that feels both elegant and expensive.

Cruel Gardénia brought an unexpected memory of my grandmother to mind—the way she smelled right before going to church. This perfume brings the whole vivid scene to life: the soft texture of her pretty powdered skin, the swish of her pantyhose, her quiet voice and kind nature. My grandmother’s middle name was Rose. She was incredibly smart but had a mean husband who limited her chances to grow. I’d like to think she found a way of splurging on an expensive perfume—not this one, of course, which only came out in 2008, but something equally fancy. This is such a nostalgic scent and I’m grateful to Guerlain for the gift of this sweet memory.

Powdery, well-mannered sweet floral that I have a hard time thinking of when and how to wear it, but it has an addictive quality to it. As many reviews state, it's definitely not a notably gardenia-esque gardenia (i.e. Tom Ford's beloved Velvet Gardenia)...but beneath the powder and inoffensively-white-musky-abstract white floral core is this lovely, ever so slightly offbeat gardenia funk. The kind of scent I enjoy having samples of, spritzing at counters, etc., even if I feel like I can never commit to buying. In terms of bang for the buck, EL's Tuberose Gardenia is a better pleasant white floral with a fun gardenia element to it.

This (surprisingly) is my favourite from Guerlain's L’Art et La Matière collection. It’s the most demure, simplistic and understated, as most shout and explode in avant guarde triumph. Cruel Gardenia is simply; beautiful white floral bridal elegance. I’m told that it’s one of the ones from this collection that’s being discontinued. Luckily I don’t love it but it’s just pretty and very easy to wear. It does give me a feminine and powdery face cream vibe, but I would wear this over Chanel’s Beige which has a similar creamy white floral femininity, as Cruel Gardenia is more creamy-soapy than powdery-musky-sweet.

I think it’s called Cruel Gardenia because you automatically think it’s going to be green floral fresh but it’s not, it’s like very expensive skin care feminine scent. It’s so light and airy and feminine. Honestly femininity is the best word to describe it. I can smell musky gardenia, vanilla, rose and violet ads a little powderness. Ylang Ylang is noticeable in the beginning, but slowly disappears. There Is nothing cruel about this gardenia. I read someone describing fragrance like a nice big hug from a mom. That’s what this fragrance is for me. A cozy warm yet gentle hug from loving mom. In love.

I’m picky about gardenia fragrances but this isn’t really one of them, honestly. I like it, however there’s the slight violety aerosol nose burn of old school hairspray that reminds me of my grandmother (this is NOT an insult- my grandmother always smelled amazing with that mix of makeup, hairspray and perfume and I love that smell). If you don’t enjoy that scent I’d definitely try this one before taking that $360 plunge.

Cruel is the price here as this is just a soapy lite floral. The gardenia adds creaminess, but is rather faint, without the merciless funk that is one of her true facets. Like a light, soapy-creamy veil. Pretty and very clean. For a cruel version of it try Splendida Jasmin Noir by Bvlgari. After 6 hours there is no trace of it left. But as a morning or day fresh up it is nice - unintruding and like a luxurious soap.

I approach all Guerlains, wanting to love them. I could like this one but I couldn't love it. Cruel Gardenia? more like Shy Gardenia. I get a whopping amount of rose and violets. My first thought was - "this is Insolence, off the steroids. " Eventually a bit of vanilla but by that point, the scent was almost non existent. If someone gave this to me, I would wear it. Would I purchase it for myself? No.

To me this is a beautiful, well balanced perfume. However, Guerlain’s website lists this as an intensity 3 out of 4, and I very much disagree with this. I’d put it at a 1. Multiple concentrated sprays and I can’t really smell it unless my nose is close to skin. If you are looking for an elegant skin scent, this could be worth a try.

It really smelled like gardenia, surprised. Unfortunately it wasn’t lasted long. Scent moved to powdery musky and it stayed in the way. Longevity was 7 hours + on my skin, sillage was average by 2 sprays. I liked it very much but the price... if I pay the price I would like to have something very exceptional in all directions.

unobtrusive and forgetable well-done floral with a beautiful natural effect of a creamy flower. The musky backdrop captures that elusive shower clean freshness, the scent of skin that still carries the scent of soap and talcum powder, far away of any cruel intoxicating gardenia.

Full blown white flowers. Very 80s. It has a strange plastic smell as well for some reason? Not a bad thing, just something that’s there. It’s what I want it to be. Although I would NOT recommend this if you’re looking for a “gardenia”

7.5/10. Vegetal rose. Moderate sweetness. Delicate, mild, natural floral with a little green tangy citrus. A bit of white pepper underneath. The white pepper musk wins out over time surpassing the delicate floral.

- Dries down to the creamiest gardenia with dashes of neroli. I smell some sunny ylang. Gorgeous woody vanilla guerlain base. FBW! I would definitely trade Angelique Noire for Cruel Gardenia.

Its been an hour, and has completely faded. There's not even a skin scent left behind. Too bad, its a pleasant fragrance. I would pass on this one due to extremely short longevity.