Gothic III

White florals. This omnipresent perfume genre is classic and by some opinions, oversaturated. I have recently tried many white florals, looking for the white floral that balances the right notes, one that *isn’t*: artificial smelling, too indolic, too sweet, harsh, overpowering, soapy. I have gone through many samples. If the market is oversaturated, it’s due to the overwhelming amount of white floral done poorly. Gothic III is this classic genre, done very well and slightly alternative due to the mossy, grassy notes satisfying my need for balance. It has none of the “isn’t” factors I listed. Some say gothic III is heavy gardenia, others say jasmine. I get both gardenia and jasmine, but it opens with a strong orange blossom. This particular orange blossom triggered a scent memory from around 25 years ago. When I was still a “budding” young woman, I would take trips to JC Penney with my mom. Sometimes I would look at the training bras and wish to be a girl with breasts ASAP. Smartly placed on the same rack with boxes of tiny bras were roll on fragrances. One was orange blossom, and I think there were some other predictably girly youthful ones such as gardenia and peony. After what seemed like endless want, I convinced my mom to buy me the roll on. I felt like the prettiest little girl for like 30 mins, because that’s the amount of time one application lasted. Each time I put on Gothic III, the opening transports me to the training bra rack at JC penney and I love it. Anyway, this is an excellent white floral with just the right counternotes at just the right level. I usually go unisex with perfume, but this is definitely more feminine. A question that’s been posed about the gothic line by myself and others: is it actually “gothic”? The answer depends on your own interpretation of the word gothic. If gothic to you means thigh high patent leather boots and black lipstick, then Gothic III is a disappointment. Update: after several wears, I’m finally identifying the musty dry down others describe. I love it. It smells kind of like an attic, and it’s earthy too. With that in mind, gothic III reminds me of an antique doll that comes to life as a little girl and plays in the spring flowers while the magic spell lasts. When the spell wears off, she has to be tucked back in to her musty trunk in the attic. Amazing. Or...it could be the musty smell of the inside of your coffin, with the smell of the earth distant on the outside, white flowers in your hands folded onto your chest.

Sweet white florals crystallized in amber. Willy Wonka would have these in his edible garden. A flourmand, if you will.

Top note of 1980's Strawberry Shortcake dolls. After a couple of minutes, settles into the smell of cracking pleather seats in a 1970's-era car, owned by a cigarette-smoking grandma, that's been sitting in the hot summer sun. Maybe that's the moss? Then it finishes with a waft of musty craft glue. Interesting, but not what I'd want to smell like.

Mossy, earthy gardenia. Cemetery vibes galore!!! Not for me but nice. -

Gothic III. I have few words. Gothic III is an indolic, white floral fragrance with fecal, resinous, amber notes. There's oakmoss in the middle. And there's a good measure of grass & dirt thrown in just because... Really awful stuff.

This reminded me a lot of Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia, almost a clone. I owned TF Velvet Gardenia, what I remember most are the fine gardenia note and bees wax note. I even get the beeswax here with GIII. This is a floral oriental, mostly gardenia, with some other white florals and amber. It is rather unisex for a floral dominant fragrance. Its floral, but not girly. The moss and floral accord reminds me of a classic Guerlain, like Mitsuoko. That gives it a retro/ gothic vib. It's nice, but not full bottle worthy for me. Update: Trying my sample again, this is better than I thought. It settles beautifully in the mid-drydown. Lucky scent has a great description. They call it a velvety floral, as in TF "Velvet Gardenia". I think it's more velvety here in GIII. I do get the dewy green notes now. This is an exceptional dark floral, mostly gardenia. I think this will ne my next Spring 2020 bottle. The edp is gender neutral. Mostly woman will buy this, but if your a guy, and like gardenia scent, on a plush dark base of amber, moss, and I get a hint of unlisted insence, this is great; without getting girly. I think I am going with the oil. Gothic 2 edp was a bit girly, but the oil was darker and less floral. I am thinking the oil with G3, may also fit better for me. Lucky Scent has one good review from a purchaser, they said it was Gardenia dominant, my favorite floral along with lily of the valley. Rating: 8.5/10 God bless. John 3:16

This reminds me of a "lush" perfume too..but I mean "Lush" the cosmetics company. This smells like "Lust" by lush. Jasmine is the culprit here. This is a heady Jasmine perfume with some nice greenery going on. It smells spicy also but not overly so. It's actually really gorgeous and dark. This has the feel of an indie perfume oil and I like that because I'm kinda used to them. It settles really nicely with the jasmine in front, everything else behind. I'm glad I got to try this..I wonder what the others are like? For now..I'll stick to my "Lust" by Lush..it's more monstrous than this and had more bite! ETA: I've tried this a few more times and actually I'm falling in love with it. Such a gorgeous dark "bite" to it. hmmm might have to hunt a larger amount of this down. :)

This is a rich, full, glorious gardenia on the bush. I don't know why I was of the opinion that it was going to be metallic, but thank God it wasn't. I don't get any of the other notes except a buttery gardenia, and that's fine with me! I used half of a small sample vial, and it lasted 24 hours until I took my next shower. Impressive!

Smells fairly close to George by Jardins. Very floral with nuanced Jasmine, some musk. I would say this leans on the feminine side. I got a sample, not something I would buy a full bottle. Usually I am fond of challenging and hard to wear stuff but this is too feminine for my liking.

Musty, oak mossy strange floral, smells like a wet day in an old wood panelled room or perhaps an attic with an undercurrent of flowers, reminds me of the film Lord of Tears