Zara Gardenia 2017

MY SIGNATURE SCENT >>> BLACK OPIUM I never was into fragrance and Zara Gardenia was my safe place for the last 4/5 years. I bought bottle after bottle and never got bored, never disliked it if not with 40° in summer. This has been my signature scent and that's what I can say about it. 1. It's strong and you don't need to overspray; 2. On clothes it lasts for days; 3. Even if it's not in the 2017 version I still smell rum; 4. Everyone asks me if I'm wearing Black Opium; 5. On me BO doesn't last for more than 10 mins, this lasts for 5-6 hours; 6. On me it's sweet, amazingly sweet. WHAT I SMELL: In opening I smell bergamot, lemon, coffee and rum, a bit of Gardenia. But this is not a Gardenia smell. This is a gourmand smell for me. With time Bergamot, Lemon go away and leave space to coffee, rum and vanilla. I don't smell the floral honestly. After a one hour I smell the patchouli too. WHEN DO I WEAR IT: Every season except summer. Day time just a few spray. Night time a few more sprays. WHERE DO I WEAR IT: Everywhere. Even in the office. WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN: Yes. Even if I'm testing better brands now I don't know if I can not buy this. For its price it's incredible! DO I GET COMPLIMENTS: Always. People ask me if I'm wearing YSL BO.

I currently own this perfume and i love it dearly. For a relatively affordable price, the quality of this perfume is really good IMO. To me, i mostly get the combination of white floral and vanilla scents. This perfume is feminine, sweet, creamy and a little bit powdery. But it's definitely not "girly girl" scent. However, i don't get the coffee note like many have mentioned, though. The longevity on my skin is pretty moderate—although, it depends on when i'm wearing it. The scent tends to stay longer in a cooler climate and i'd say it'd stay on my skin for good 6 hours at most i that condition. On a warmer climate, 4 to 5 hours. The sillage is moderate. It's safe enough to be worn on the daily basis. I also noticed a lot of people comparing this perfume to YSL Black Opium, but since i never got to sniff that one, i can't really say much. However, i once meeting up with some friends and one of them actually said that i must've had been wearing YSL Black Opium that night when in fact i wasn't, so work it out for yourself. I also would like to mention how i'd gotten quite a few compliments while wearing this perfume.

I love this scent on my wife. It's not a Gardenia Bomb meaning that does not behave like a beastie fragrance. Its sillage and longevity are a bit above average and it projects quite heavily during the first hour. It opens very fresh with berries and mandarin as the main notes. The heart is tottaly dominated by white flowers (mainly gardenia of course, but a bit of jasmin and other sweet white flowers - orange blossom?). The dry down is really gourmand and pleasant with dominant vanilla and cashmere wood. Although it has a vibe of Black Opium, I really think that this fragrance is preety close from Dior Addict Eau de Parfum, although I do not consider it a clone. Considering the price (my wife paid €17.50 for 200 ml EDP) you can respray freely and make it last a lot longer. It also helps if you spray clothes or hair. Bearing in mind all that matters most in a perfume (scent, performance, cost and compliments), I would rate this EDP as a very clear 9.0/10.0. I hope other men will have the chance to scent it on their loved ones as well. It's really a magnificent EDP.

The notes listed here are different from those listed on the Zara site. The Gardenia at the time of this review (May 2019) is a very good dupe for Black Opium. The Zara site says,"Eastern-inspired eau de parfum. Fragrance pyramid includes notes of orange blossom, coffee and vanilla. A feminine, intense and modern fragrance." I'm delighted with it. I've seen some reviews that mention they don't smell the coffee note. I definitely do, and that's one of the things I love about it.

Love at first sniffff!! I didn't have the time to read all your comments in the shop, I only read the notes, and, I'm so glad I decided to grab this little gem. My little 30ml edp fits perfect in my tiny hand, and it smells perfect, just as you described it, it is a nice dupe for Opium (I havn't got it myself, but it / they smells so very good), my little "Gardenia" will make me very happy, very very happy !!!

This is an amazing alternative to the expensive YSL Black Opium. I smell the raspberries, jasmine and vanila. Once you have this on you, no one would really know that what you are wearing is not the real thing, but a dupe (Zara). The beauty of this frangrance comes out in a cold weather such as during fall and winter. Such a great frangrance for an affordable price.

Bought this in a 30 ml bottle and wished I got the larger one. I would call this a floriental. The notes is dominated by the coffee, vanilla and white florals that anchors it from being too sweet. I mostly wear this at night but you can also get away with it in the day as it is not sickenly sweet. Smells a bit like JPG Scandal imo.

It smells similar to black opium, however gardenia has a slightly bitter coffee note as compared to black opium's coffee note that is sweet to me. Longevity is okay as long as you spray it onto your clothes and it can last up to 6 hours. Overall I would say i prefer gardenia to black opium

Bought this in place of a Black Opium bottle, they smell so similar! And I didn't want to splurge that day, don't really remember why. Can't say much about Black Opium's dry down, but Zara Gardenia's floral opening really got it down to a tee! Dry down is gourmand, very nice

i got this along with orchid (a set) for a good price! out of the two, gardenia has to be my favorite. i definitely smell a sweet vanilla, flowers, wood and musk. for a $20 set ($10 each basically), i'm surprised with how high quality gardenia smells. very long lasting!!

Bought it today based on the reviews here. I love it. So warm but also fresh, I fell would be appropriate even in summer daytime. I sense coffe note, it's also listed now on Zara website. Remembers me the ,sadly discontinued, Cacharel Amor Amor Forbidden Kiss

Love ittt OMG such a beautiful fragnance I'm hoping that it's not a collection item cuz I'm definetely keep buyüng it!!! Lovely bottle. In my opinion it doesnt smells like black opium i dont like black opium but i love this one! It kinda reminds me of it...

Bought this today, can confirm it is nearly identical to black opium. great dupe! lovely smelling on winter evenings having a drink at the bar. This one really projects on me and lasts a moderate amount of time. If you like BO you will like this 100%.

Yes it's very similar to Black Opium not exactly the same, it's more light and lasts way less than the original of course.. but for that price you can't say anything... Plus you can always reapply throughout the day.. Love it 😍

Sweet floral creamy candy. A Zara favorite. Smells more like hundred silent ways than black opium, since it lacks the coffee note. I’d pick this over black opium.

I'm in love, this is perfect.. Wish the longevity was a bit better but anyway this scent is a heaven for me! Orange blossom + vanilla + coffee.. gorgeous 😊

I have both Black Opium and Gardenia, they smell almost the same, OMG!

I don’t have Black Opium but my sister in law does. Everytime she wears it I have been noticed as the sillage very strong, could smell it from other room ( we used to live in same house) I could say Zara Gardenia smells very similar to Black Opium. I was happy to find out Gardenia as how much I love B.O ( but I couldn’t afford it). In winter Gardenia stays on my skin about 5-6hrs and more than 10hrs on my clothes. I was surprised that I used it on a hot day and it lasted about 4hrs ( most of Zara fragrances last less than 3hrs on my skin in summer) I still can smell it around without sniffing my skin. Just forgot about the notes. It smells similar to Black Opium but if you own or have smelled B.O before you may realise that it misses the coffee note. Gardenia is a brighter version of B.O

This could easily have been a flanker of Black Opium. I feel it's somewhere in between Floral Shock and Nuit Blanche, it's like a softer, more floral version of black opium. I love and have Black Opium, and was excited for a more floral version for spring but unfortunately Floral Shock was a little disappointing on my skin. So I happily bought this one instead! There is certainly gardenia in there, but also coffee although not listed. I also detect some spiciness, perhaps it's the cashmere wood, I am not sure. The sillage is moderate and it lasts long on my skin, longer than any other Zara fragrance I've tried. I wish they had smaller bottles though, because although it's a steal I'll never finish a 100 ml bottle!

Although is not listed on the notes, I smell coffee with a strong vanilla and a sutil floral background and It doesn't evolve that much, it's pretty linear. For me, is sweet and kinda deep, but not strong. It doesn't last that long (around 3 hours on my skin and 4 to 5 on clothes). Its sillage is moderate for the first 1 and a half hours, and then I can only smell it if a put my nose against the places i sprayed it on. I use it during transition and cold weather for any not formal ocassions. I like to layer it with a woody fragrance in the colder days. Is not one of my favourites (I think is a little synthetic) but I like it and for the price I think is a good one..

This really is a close, clooose dupe to Black Opium. My friend couldn't tell the difference when I sprayed it on. For me, both Gardenia and Black Opium are not beast performers, so that I don't mind. In fact, they both last about the same, with BO slightly less actually. Gardenia is slightly, slightly more floral than BO, which I don't mind either, as sometimes BO is almost too rich. For me, this is more a cold weather perfume, best suited for a night in or night out with the girls, but honestly I would wear it everyday and everywhere. I will probably buy a bigger bottle size when I use up mine, and for the price you can't beat it.

It's best not to sniff your skin too hard when you first use this, because in the beginning it smells really sour. If you wait a while then the gardenia and jasmine make their appearance. The citrus and fruity notes are still quite noticeable but toned down. I really have to put my nose right to my skin to get the woody musky notes. All in all it is a pleasant citrusy floral scent with a hint of vanilla. Just wish it would last longer. OK for every day use and as it is so light and inexpensive you can spray it all over to your heart's content.

Have I ever used YSL black opium? - No Have I ever used Armani Si? - Yes Have I ever used Zara Delicious blossom - Yes I find Zara delicious blossom a dupe of Armani Si and Gardenia is very much similar to delicious blossom. I think delicious blossom has black currant notes which is not found in Gardenia and is a tad bit sweeter than gardenia but still they have very significant similarities. To me they smell almost same especially when they dry down!

I’ve never been a huge fan of floral scents but this one is really nice. A lovely balance of sweet, floral and musky. A great everyday scent but I would also wear this at night as it has a darkness to it. The floral elements make it perfect for summer whilst the warmness makes it suitable for the winter too! Probably my favourite so far of the Zara perfumes.

Good, reminds me a lot of Si Fiori by Giorgio Armani.But this one is much more long lasting. If you spray more than 3 times it becomes very heavy and will make you a little bit sick.And as all Zara perfumes doesn't smell like what its name says. Nothing like gardenia but still is very good. I like it a lot especially with that price

Definitely similar to Black Opium. A lot more fruity & floral and missing the deeper notes (coffee, tonka), but it's very similar. Does not last nearly as long and isn't as sexy, but is a great value. If you love black opium but don't want to break the bank, this is fantastic. It's also more daytime friendly!

Rapberry, vanilla, patchouli and peach: delicious! It is a bit like Black Opium but less sultry and more cheerful IMO. I definitely get coffee from Black Opium which is completely absent from this. Very likable little bottle of berry cheer.

It smells exactly like YSL Black Opium when initially sprayed, but not as long wearing on the skin. On clothes, however, it stays for a loong time. I'd buy it if you want to see if you'd like Black Opium

this has nothing to do with Opium, this is celarly a Dupe for Olympea!! a very good one, btw. it lasts and reminds me mostly of Olympea intense

Dark, but nice gardenia sweet fragrance. It smells really good. I like it!

SCENT: I would describe this scent as a warm, deep, sultry, oriental, floral fragrance. There's a sweetness to it that comes from the coffee or vanilla, but I wouldn't call this a gourmand. It's more of an oriental floral with touches of vanilla sweetness. It's the opposite of fresh and light, so I guess warm and dark. The vanilla sweetness brings depth to this scent. I thought of oriental because there's a smokey accord that's barely noticeable on dry down. DRY DOWN: On initial spray, I get more of the floral notes. I don't notice any of the fruity citrus notes listed. As it dries down, the floral notes evaporate and what's left are the heavy, sweet, vanilla and coffee notes. It gets sweeter and sweeter as it dries down with a smokey note barely noticeable. SEASON: Winter and Fall - the warmth of the fragrance allows it to be better received during colder seasons TIME OF DAY: Night - the depth and richness of the sweet notes makes it more appropriate for night use. SCENARIOS: I see myself wearing this on date nights or going out with friends on a snowy night. Actually, doing anything that warms me up on a cold winter night is perfectly accompanied by this sweet and warm fragrance. GENDER: Feminine - it's very sweet and that sweetness reads feminine to my nose more than anything. LONGEVITY: I get around 5-6 hours of this scent on cold nights PROJECTION: It has moderate projection. I see myself wearing this in my hair and on my clothing, but only strong enough so that it's noticeable when I move my head or when I take off my coat for the evening. PRICE: $26/100mL. OVERALL: 8.5/10: I like this scent. It's not irritating. The sweetness is nice and I find it smooth and beautiful. It's not so sweet that it's headache inducing and it's not too strong that it would irritate others. I like that it's subtle enough to be worn intimately. It does remind me of Black Opium, but I haven't had the chance to compare them side by side. As a dupe is already mentioned, I do not believe this is a unique scent. In fact, I think there are many iterations of this kind of scent. It's safe to say it's mass appealing.

It is the bottle my mother had received as a present in 2017 and gave it to me this year. She likes now more powdery and softer perfumes. I still have about 10 ml and I want to finish the bottle because is like talking to my mother when I wear it. I am too biased to know for sure if I like it or not, I feel it is too sweet for my taste, I like the fact that it does not last a lot on my skin and becomes softer and faded in the dry down. I get the gardenia but I also get a lot of vanilla, like the vanilla essence I use to make cookies and I can get bored with it, just like my mother. And just like her, I don t think I want a full bottle. One week experience is nice but more... not really my type.

It’s okay. I think it’s an excellent quality for the price. It does smell similar to Black Opium - both Gardenia and Black Opium are not long lasting. They fade within 1-2 hours on me. I prefer the smell of Black Opium more - Gardenia has a slight alcoholic smell, and is less smooth. But I think it’s a good buy if you don’t want to splurge on its inspiration.

2019 version, 30 ml bottle, bought in a duo pack with the Orchid. Very nice warm scent with flowers and fruits. I was not impressed at first but after a few days I started to like it, and I like it a lot. Unfortunately, it has a weak performance on my skin.

Not a common choice, but this perfume is one of my ultimate favorites!! I found this in Zara since I've read that it's a dupe for YSL Black Opium. I have the original black opium and love it but it's too pricey for me who sprays a minimum of 5 sprays a day so I looked for good dupes and found this one at a super good price. It does smell like YSL black opium, in fact even stronger in terms of projection. Its scent is kind of bolder that the more refined black opium. In here, I smell white flowers which I didn't smell in black opium, so maybe this is more of a dupe for Black Opium Floral Shock (not sure though as I've only read reviews about that one and don't personally own one). Projection, sillage, longevity- actually even better than Black Opium. Only pro of black opium over this is that, since Black Opium is a really high-end perfume, it is more well-blended, refined, perfected in terms of not too strong, not too weak, just perfect. For those who are not familiar with black opium which seemed to be my only reference, I'll describe this Zara perfume: dark (black coffee, touch of dark chocolate), sweet (vanilla) and floral (partly and only in the drydown) with white flowers. If you want something that really makes you remarkable in terms of a strong gourmand scent, this one is for you.

Fragrance -Zara Gardenia 2017 Bottle from - 2017 This fragrance reminds me a bit of a playful yet elegant young woman. Gardenia opens on my skin with a fruity,moderatly sweet and slightly citrusy white flowers on top of a cozy vanilla. As time goes by,during mid development,bouquet of flowers with dominant gardenia becomes stronger,deeper and more intense. This all leads into a moderatly sweet,musky and woody base with dominant vanilla and patchouli and with an astonishing touch of cashmere wood and the floral notes recede into the background. Gardenia has some similarities to Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent. Longevity - 7/10(7+ hours) Silage/Projection - 7/10(moderate projection for the first 1-2 hours,than sits closer to skin for the duration of the scent's evolution) Weather -For more or less any time of year. Versatility - 9/10 Age - 18+ Compliments - 8/10 Scent - 7,5/10 Main notes according to me - vanilla,gardenia,jasmine,cashmere wood,raspberry,patchouli. The drydown is woody,moderatly sweet,a bit musky and floral and I get some -vanilla,patchouli,cashmere wood,musk,cedar and flowers. Emotions - playful yet elegant,positive,appealing,pleasant,inspiring. Occasion -For more or less any ocasion. Could be a nice signature scent.You'll get compliments with this one.

imo this is the best clone/alternative of YSL's Black Opium out there, especially for that price tag, super affordable!! But of course Black Opium is on a whole another level..especially when it comes to the quality of ingredients! I dont get some of the notes listed on here but the Vanilla and the patchouli and also the cahemeran are magnificent here, very well blended i dont see tonka listed here but i think this frag definitely have a good dose of it...SWEET,fruity,woody and powdery!! ive sprayed this once on a female friend and she right away said "oh this is black opium!!!!" then later on asked me if it was a new release edition of black opium cause it had its own charm and vibe and it smelled a bit different when it became a skin scent, she couldnt believe it when i told her this is a Zara fragrance and that it costed that much... lol by the way, if u r looking for a good list of zara clones check this video out: (just copy and paste the title on the youtube search bar) ZARA fragrances for WOMEN / CLONES of designer fragrances (part 1)

I got a rollerball of this blind because Zara store didnt have testers. Silly me, I assumed that scent called Gardenia will smell like gardenias. Nope, didn't happen. I have better chance of being Queen of England than finding a gardenia in there. Talk about dissapointing. Its a floral oriental, heavy on vanilla, and I couldnt smell even a trace of gardenia. Don't get me wrong, its not a bad scent and quite pleasant but completely misnamed. I cant say I find it very unique either. It seems rather popular and i think its a safe blind buy but if you want something that smells like gardenias, this is definately NOT it. UPDATE so I wore it for few days to give it a fair shot. I really like it a lot and it bears more than a passing resemblance to Black Opium. I still stand by my statement that its totally misnamed because it smelled like vanilla floral oriental kind of a scent without even a trace of gardenia. It IS a nice scent though, I think its worth trying. I didn't get much projection but I think its because I have a rollerball of it

Felt like dupe for Black opium to me. I have Black opium and love it a lot. This has been on my shelf since long however, I still bought Gardenia by Zara because it is quite softer and more floral kind of version which attracted me. Gardenia is surely in it along with some spiciness of cashmere wood. Like other Zara scents, this also does have moderate longevity and silage. This one is Eau de parfum that is inspired by Eastern side. To me, this is a superbly feminine, modern and intense fragrance that make me go galaaaaa. Coffee, vanilla and bergamot catches me well and spellbound me for longer and longer duration. Also, the projection is much heavy during the initial phase. Fresh opening with mandarin and berries, white floral heart and a fantastic gourmand based dry down with cashmere wood and vanilla are just at perfection. Price is totally worth it for Zara Gardenia. I have it since past 2 years and going to buy it again for sure. Love it!

PREFER this to YSL black opium! Own both YSL black opium and black opium neon however very rarely reach for them as they both turn somewhat sour on my skin. I bought this in a set without realizing that people compare it to black opium and on initial spray I instantly thought of it as a 'dupe'. It has the same vanilla, sweetness to it with a large amount of coffee notes pushing through. I was reluctant to try this on the skin as the ysl ones turn so screechy and unappealing with my body chemistry however this zara gardenia does not do that at all! It stays on my skin the same way it does in the opening and eventually dries down to a sweet vanilla with a hint of coffee. I do not know which note variation it is in BO that turns funky on my skin but this zara one is so much better in my opinion. Save yourself some money or get this to layer on top of BO if already in your collection.

This seems to be the only Zara worth buying from their everyday collection. Femme seems eerily similar to it as well. Only Gardenia appears to have decent longevity and I can smell it on myself for hours. It's a beautiful fragrance. Keep in mind I don't own Black Opium and have sniffed it maybe once so I'm not familiar with the DNA. But also that I used to think I hate coffee notes in a fragrance. But to me the coffee does not seem to stand out. I can only smell the well rounded combination of notes and it's extremely pleasant to me. Not complaining also because I bought the 180ml bottle in sale and can drown myself in it as if it were a BBW body mist. Loving it and will always have a bottle in my collection.

BO was my favvvvvv perfume. Now this is an amazinggg dupe, for cheap, with - in my opinion - a pretty good longevity (and even if there wasn't, for this price, you can spray it over and over). I've had the 100 ml bottle for like 9 months and I'm only half way through although i've used it a looooot... Just LOVE it really, a *bargain*. The orange blossom, the coffee, the vanilla... I smell it all. It's sweet, warming, sultry, sexy, I wear it day and night, hot and cold - just like i've worn black opium. A safe blind buy, i'd say, if you like this type of fragrance. It's not fruity though, like, at all, so bare this in mind. Anyway, probably my fav zara fragrance

It's pretty close to YSL Black Opium but it's more like a dupe for the flanker: Black Opium Floral Shock. Cause I can smell the same 'Latte Machiatto' note in it but without the coffee. There're more flowers in it and it's a little bit sweeter but less warm. For some reason - I can't really put my finger on it - it also smells a bit more playful to me. So this can be a cheap alternative for Black Opium fans who are looking for something to spray on warmer days. Something that isn't possible with the original Black Opium in my opinion cause to me, that's a 100% winter scent. Staying power & sillage are quite good for this price.

My mum had Gardénia from Zara and i loved it on her I saw people on fragrantica saying it's similar to Black opium but never thought they would smell the exact same I own Black opium now, and they're really identical especially in the opening, Gardénia stays linear and fades away quickly (very expected for the price) and Black opium keeps getting sweeter and less floral, the drydown is to die for, creamy sweet vanilla with a touch of coffee Mmmm I give Gardénia 6/10 and Black opium 8/10

I love it! I was looking for oriental but they don't sell it here in Korea. The fragrance lasts about 6 good hours on me, and the projection is huge too. I bought a 30ml, and the bottle is really cute too.(i think it looks better without the leather) the fragrance has a fresh opening- berries, citrusy notes, and white florals. The dry down is my fav- vanilla and a little patchouli. I've never smelled black opium before so i can't really compare them, but this is a beautiful fragrance!

I was given this, and Zara's Orchid, a few years ago as an xmas gift. It's a nice fragrance, sweet and floral, but not what I would call sophisticated and not among my favourites. I don't really detect the similarities to Black Opium as other reviews suggest. The bottles are huge, and I have other more expensive perfumes that I like to wear on a daily basis, so to to finish them up they are being used as luxury bathroom sprays. Very long-lasting and pleasant as room scents!

zara seems to have a problem naming their fragrances , there is nothing "gardenia" about this perfume. that said, this is really good stuff! it's quite "dark" to my nose, i smell the coffee, vanilla and the orange blossom/ floral notes too. a really sophisticated blend , more sophisticated than it costs. it really is a dupe for Black Opium and a good one at that ! longevity is even better than B.O i daresay :-). this lasted me a good 8+ hours.

I think Gardenia was reformulated, because it doesn't make sense that has so many good reviews. It's like a stronger and cheaper version of Black Opium, and I don't mean the price; it smells cheap. But if you like this, I have good news for you: it's going to last forever on your skin. I tried to wash this off 4 times and I can still smell it. I'm so sorry that I don't like this, I have Black Opium and it's so much better in my opinion.

I bought this without knowing anything about it and when I first sprayed it, the only thing that came into my mind was Black Opium. I have Black Opium and really couldn't tell a difference between both of them. However, just as I was confused on why Black Opium was marketed as bold when it's really so feminine, sweet and powdery smelling, I also couldn't understand why this is named Gardenia when it doesn't smell flowery at all.

Bought this in June 2019, to me it's smells just one note, synthetic sugar. It's flat even after six hours or wearing it nothing's changed, just flat sickly sweet synthetic sugar. I don't smell any flower or fruit notes at all.