Marc Jacobs Gardenia

A strange, rather indolic jasmine in the opening makes this rather displeasing at the start. However, once this mellows out, the gardenia begins to sing. Honeysuckle floats in and out, ginger gives it a bit of a zing. Very lovely and perfect for a hot Summer day

I like Gardenia, I do not like this, and it's darn hard to wash off and impossible to cover up. Not the gardenia we all dream of, synthetic, strange. I would say this is not one of Marc Jacobs better offerings, his other ventures such as Daisy and Lola are much nicer.

Marc Jacobs Gardenia is not incredibly well-known, often being confused with the original, very popular Marc Jacobs for Women. I didn't mind the green gardenia in the original Marc Jacobs, so I was hoping for a more creamy and lush gardenia accord in this fragrance. Marc Jacobs Gardenia is unfortunately very fresh and aquatic on my skin. I made the mistake of wearing this fragrance on a relatively cool day. Hot, humid weather is recommended for this fragrance if you want the floral notes to stand out. It's a little citrusy and metallic at first spray, I initially took into consideration that my sample may be off. I concluded that it was just the composition, and that the opening was meant to be watery, slightly salty and fresh. Marc Jacobs Gardenia settles into an aquatic heart of gardenia, jasmine and honeysuckle; very fresh and soap-like. It's not as green as Marc Jacobs for Women, and in some retrospect I kind of wish it was. I find it far too sharp and irritating on the skin. If subjected to the scent over a long period of time, it gives me a headache. The drydown is mostly musk, and a rather synthetic interpretation of it, I must admit. The longevity also didn't leave much for me to rave about. I'm actually really disappointed in Marc Jacobs Gardenia. I can now understand why it isn't sold anymore.

I own an old bottle of this, passed down from my late aunt. This is a truly nostalgic and comforting scent for me since she was somewhat like a mother to me. This is very clean smelling and on her, the scent just blossomed, even evoking warmness on her skin. However on my skin, the chemistry just isn't there. Same thing happened with Daisy. The white florals just smelled straight up synthetic and musty on me. :( I do believe that this is a beautiful fragrance if it works with your chemistry though.

I was sent a sample some time ago and I really, really like it. Its a heady white floral, a classical blend of notes and yet very bold in its simplicity. It's really quite powerfully sexy stuff at first, in fact it almost makes me a little giddy, the pulse definately starts racing! But it does settle down after an hour or so into something very wearable. Better than average staying power for this type of floral.