Velvet Gardenia

Bona fide gardenia-gardenia solo act, not a tuberose-gardenia, jasmine-tuberose poser gardenia or other white floral social-ingeneering-trying-to-convince-you it’s gardenia, gardenia. And disambiguated from other white florals too. Creamy mushroom `a la Roquefort cream cheese frosting sweet with that green rim of camphor gardenias usually have, even when matured or in this case transactioning between the lavish and the rot, molding tipped brown, salacious and ripening profitable secrets. The fragrance starts breeding an animalic element around the gardenia brought up by smoky notes, a vedette in minks arriving at an exclusive restaurant pollulated by the upcast, dumping their cigars and a buzz of low-pitched gossip. The whole play is heavy-hitting at a California Noir vibe, plucked from Norma Desmond’s garden, found inside one of the vases Babe Jane likes to throw, serving as innuendo in Joe Cairo’s perfume in the Maltese Falcon and stepped on the Asphalt Jungle. This one isn’t for the starlets, too many decades of networking the Chinese Theater while hiding bodies in the trunk. As with other Tom Fords there's a common underlaying element to it (Fordinade?) that my mind registers as the feeling of running on adrenaline through the night, the fast-paced flowing of a dark, sensual silky thing scarfed around you. But don't go too speedy on the spritzer or you run the risk of ending up like Isadora Duncan. Had the potential to be one of my favorites if it wasn’t irreparable to my bank account. The Tom Ford private line is turning into my golden goose of florals *cries in greed*

It boggles my mind why TF would discontinue Velvet Gardenia. Its done so well, not as sharp as other Gardenia driven scents. It tells a unique story. Its striking at first yet still stays the star of the show when the other notes come into blend with it. I think as a modern selection of Gardenia, this is the best one. Its not near Voile de Fleur because Voile has a milky note and an almost masculine oriental drydown. I own most of the other gardenia scents and this one is always easy to wear with my chemistry. Orange, gardenia, smoky insence and beesewax candles open VG. I haven't smelled this kind of beesewax since Teatro Alla Scalla. The composition leand a dry yet gothic vibe. The dark Oriental gardenia smoulders and blackens , holds hostage a crimson rose and an innocent LOV for a slight soapiness to play off the beesewax. Thoughts of rich Aubergine Velvet adorn a beautiful gothic boudoir complete with candalabras, beesewax candles lit to give a beautiful soft glow to a beautiful but melancholy woman whos heart suffers too many losses. She chooses to wear black gardenia's as her crown and long rich robes watching eternity pass by in front of her. She is the Queen of the Night. Velvet Gardenia is her scent

Heavenly, to say the least. It is a dark white floral, if this makes any sense. Seductive, peppery, full of incense and resins, all drowning in heavy cream. A subtle sweetness envelops everything. Velvety white petals are heavy with wax and perfume, they seem to caress all senses in the same time, this isn't just an olfactory experience. There is a profane dirtiness here, it seems sinful yet irresistible. All I can think about when smelling it is kisses and passion. Most likely a forbidden love affair. Impossible. Imaginary. Forgive me if my imagination goes wild here... but frankly I never smelled anything like this before. My tiny 4ml mini is a product of alchemy, nothing less. The works of magic. Nothing comes close. It is surreal. I surely hope one day I will own a full bottle... and of course I cannot possibly imagine who would create this beauty and discontinue it.

WOW! Gardenia, Tuberose, Plum and a subtle kiss of Incense. This my fellow fragranticans is how you make Gardenias sexy, you dress it up with Tuberose, squeeze Plum all over its luscious petals and you let it lay in a cave full of beautiful incense. Velvet Gardenia is a beautifully crafted fragrance and has and always will be a stand-out for me amongst the Private Blend collection (which some people have noted, tends to lack in substance and has a questionable quality to some scents). I adore this fragrance because its different. I haven't smelt anything like this before. This one is definetly for people who love Gardenias, if you're not a fan, I'd probably suggest keeping away because its quite powerful. It dries down to a sweet, floral mixed with a bit of smokiness sort of quality that is both delicious and incredibly unique. Lasting power is fantastic. 9/10

This opens with a note of dry orange peel and gardenia, including its trademark dirty/earthy aspect. This doesnt last long and a heart of beeswax and rose appears with just a hint of sweetness from the honey. The labdanum can be detected peeping through here. The beeswax is the most priminent note in this perfume,on my skin at least, giving it a waxy texture. Soon the base is left, and the incense is very apparent. At no stage could i see where the famous blue cheese note rumours came from. This is a very dark, melancholic fragrance, and its really sad that its been dicontinued. I managed to find the 250ml decanter and i would recommend you get it if you happen to come across it. Its a really beautiful, unique experience.