Epic Gardenia

Love! But only once I stopped trying to find any gardenia in it. For me, this is like the Idea of gardenia, without gardenia: a big, white flower with a dark heart and a definite point of view, smelling of luxury and exotic places (and not even close to cleaning products) -- this is the flower to tuck behind your ear so that Bogart recognizes you in the dimly let corner of a bluesy nightclub. My skin responded much more like missk's: I got a big, creamy, long-lasting scent with deep, dark notes, "mysterious and memoraable," indeed! Just shows how much ymmv, as it's hard for me to even imagine where a lemony note could come from out of this! Perhaps I'm not smelling the bergamot? For a natural, the fragrance is big and expansive. Not say, Flowerbomb, but I'd use it more lightly than say, Estee Lauder's Tuberose Gardenia. There is some indole here, so not a fragrance for the young and inexperienced. Alas, not the gardenia of my dreams but lovely none the less.

I agree with another reviewer, "like the idea of gardenia, without gardenia." Captures the narcotic, full white floral beauty of gardenia but I think it's missing that mushroomy funkiness of true gardenia. The perfumer describes it as "humid and velvety," which is very apt. A beautiful homage to gardenia. My boyfriend thinks it's super sexy, for what that's worth. As with many scents from this house, the opening is difficult - kind of mothbally indolic. The musty aspect calms quickly into the lovely white floral.

I put this perfume on at work, and unfortunately it does not capture the scent of gardenia. It smells overwhelmingly of lemon on my skin. I started thinking it smelled like lemon-scented disinfectant or cleaning products. I was contemplating it, and thought maybe it's not that bad...but I heard the girl who sits 20 feet away from me proclaim, "Smells like someone's cleaning!" And she didn't sound happy. I really don't find any resemblance to gardenia in this fragrance.

First things first, Epic Gardenia is not a soliflore, nor is it particularly flowery. Despite a rather unique opening, there is a lot to like about Epic Gardenia, even if it is a little strange. It has quite a prominent medicinal and chemical smell. You will either enjoy it or find it repulsive. I love that Epic Gardenia is open to interpretation. Its complexity is part of its allure. On my skin, it's a sharp, antiseptic scent, not unlike calamine lotion. It's also a tad earthy and green. Gardenia does feature, providing a subtle, buttery smoothness underneath all the crazy accords. I probably wouldn't wear this fragrance to impress, as it's not something that everyone will enjoy. I like that Epic Gardenia doesn't conform to the norm. Its unique approach is refreshing, and strangely beautiful on the skin. This fragrance is what I'd imagine Thierry Mugler would come up with if left to tackle gardenia. It's wild, risky, modern and extra-terrestrial. Other than medicinal and buttery gardenia, I can also detect citrusy bergamot, musk and an animalic note, that could be either natural indoles or dank, smoky green notes. The overall blend is mysterious and memorable. I actually really enjoy Epic Gardenia, but I can never find the occasion to wear it. On my skin, the longevity is good and the sillage wears quite strongly. Not quiet at all. I'm impressed, and that's coming from a girl that likes polite and basic white florals.

Of course I was anxious to try another gardenia perfume to see if it came any where close to the real thing. Sadly, (at least for me) it smells nothing like a gardenia. It unfortunately has a strong urine-like odor to it as well as a distinct "cleaning products" smell. I've noticed this quality in a lot of perfumes claiming to be gardenia. Particular examples are the Coty re-working of the Tuvaché Jungle Gardenia (the original Tuvaché is wonderful) which is sreechingly hideous, and the Evelyn & Crabtree Gardenia. The latter one has an earthy "potting soil" smell about it as well as the afore mentioned qualities. Hmm...