Black Gardenia

This is true to its name, it is, indeed to me a black gardenia, quite an earthy one too. On initial application I thought I'd made a huge mistake, this was....quite the room rocker for sure! its a blast of everything that this perfume has, its quite abrasive but within the first 5 minutes that all subsides and it softens, there is some jasmine and some black currant which is very noticable and I have to say, I usually veer away from black currant since it can turn quite "cat-pee" like on me, here there is a tinge of that but the jasmine helps to take the edge off, further in the drydown the black currant vanishes and the gardenia and ylang ylang come forward, there is something quite earthy and bitter in the background but I can't quite place what exactly it is, unless its a mixture of the black currant leaf and buchu. It stays smelling quite creamy and earthy on me for the rest of its life on my skin. It reminds me of something a witch would wear whilst collecting herbs and leaves in the forest before returning home and burning some incense, its certainly unique to say the least and I actually think if you like Tom Ford Black Orchid, you may very well like this if you can get hold of it, whilst they aren't the same, they are in a similar vein. Silage is quite strong with knockout longevity, lasting even through a shower! Some notes about Illuminum: They ceased trading and closed thier store on Dover Street, but the brand was bought out by The Verve Collection and continue to trade online, albiet they do have a smaller presence. Repurchase? maybe, given how strong this is and how light handed I have to be on the sprayer, I think this would last quite a long time!

I have been looking for a gardenia fragrance but some are so heavy and migraine inducing. There are others that are just so weak that they are gone in no time. Chanel Gardenia still seems my fave but its longevity is pants on me. Yes, gardenia is the star here but I like the blackcurrant aspect of this. I normally don't like anything to do with the blackcurrant but it really works here. It seems to lift the gardenia and accentuate its beauty. The ylang and jasmine fade back within the first hour. Moderate sillage and longevity. I think you could wear this anytime.

As with other gardenia based scents - YOU HAVE TO LOVE THE FLOWER! The scent is so intense and loud that it can get unbearable if you're not a huge fan of gardenia. As this is marketed as unisex I have to mention - no way! This is so feminine and floral that I don't think there will be many man who would enjoy wearing this. BLACK GARDENIA stands out in the crowd of gardenias mostly with the tart note of black currant at the opening and the overpowering sourness of the black currant leaf which together with the gardenia dominates the heart phase. Drydown is the gardenia and more gardenia, nothing much to add. I rarely enjoy wearing this kind of scents, though I do enjoy the little inexpensive gardenia based gem by Elizabeth Taylor. This is seems hugely overpriced. Longevity is 12+ hours and sillage is huge, after more than 5 sprays you'll be sure to make people close to you move a little further. 5/10

A nice right-in-the-middle yellow tinted gardenia similar to Isabey's—not too syrupy like Une Voix Noire, not too carnal (dips into tuberose territory), not ultra fresh (which would be far from the real flower), not powdery like Gardenia Petale, and most importantly, not screechy like most cheap ones.

I have a tester of it and finally got around to trying it today. On paper it sounds beautiful, but on me it's just ok. There is nothing necessarily wrong with it (and it's definitely not a scrubber) but it's just a well blended Gardenia, Ylang Ylang and Jasmine. I get zero blackcurrant, no fruit or leaves that would make it much more interesting for me and just the barest bitter almost medical note which I guess is the Buchu. I find nothing black about it, no sultryness, no black currant no darkness. It's just a white floral day perfume on me. It must be my skin chemistry but it just doesn't work for me and there are other Illuminum perfumes which I find more interesting and are more unique on me.

Love of gardenia is clearly a prerequisite for wearing this heady white floral mix from Illuminum. The "black" may refer to the black currant, I'm not really sure, but the composition is more or less a gardenia soliflore. Gardenia fragrances vary radically in quality, and this one smells quite nice. Similar in some ways to Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia (which to my nose has a much stronger gardenia than tuberose presence). This big white flower perfume is more balanced, I find, than some of the recent Bond no 9 über-floral perfumes, which can be overwhelming. My favorite gardenia perfume remains the original Marc Jacobs, but it has probably been reformulated in the Coty Prestige period of that house, so I am not endorsing a purchase of the current juice. Try before you buy! Kai is also pretty good. Black Gardenia will surely satisfy gardenia cravings, but perhaps not cravings for "black", whatever that may connote in perfumery these days...

Have you ever been on a date with a girl but the date was so bad that you started to think about your ex? I'm reminded of that feeling when i compare this to Tom Ford's Velvet Gardenia. Jasmine is the true quarterback for this floral offering, not gardenia. B.G has sillage the size of Texas and will more than likely cause a furor in tight spaces. Point Blank, you have to be ALL IN with florals to like this one. Listed as unisex but should be marketed solely for women.