Gardenia & Clove

[zankoku_zen]

No additional scent description.

[Laughing Seagull]

I blind bottled this one because I figured that since I love both gardenia and clove, nothing could possibly go wrong.  I was correct.

 

My initial test of this yielded exactly the results I expected.  BPAL's gardenia always strikes me as a bit "green" and "nectar-like" and it is very forward initially, as gardenia usually is.  It may strike some people as soapy.

 

The clove takes a while to kick in, which I wholly expected since that's what it does in Twelve Tastes in the Classification of Passion (mandarin, carnation, and clove).  As always, the clove is woodsy, spicy, and pleasant.  At this point gardenia hangs in the background, adding a very subtle floral backdrop to the clove.  The clove note is tenacious, and if you like clove you'll likely catch whiffs of it all day and wonder what smells nice (it's you!). Nectary gardenia will occasionally peek out to remind you that it's there.

 

It may be more appropriate to call this "Gardenia, then clove" because it has two very distinct stages.  I don't know if this will change as it ages.

 

This duet is a good, simple fragrance to wear on its own.  I imagine it might layer well with something fruity or cakey.

Edited April 17, 2021 by Laughing Seagull

[zankoku_zen]

Mainly creamy slightly woodsy gardenia. I don't really get much clove out of this. I do get gardenia though. Heady. Medium throw and wear length, which is not bad for me because I am not a gardenia fan.

[Dark Alice]

This is a creamy gardenia with a hint of sharpness to it. The clove...is just clove and does what it does. Oddly, these two notes really do go well together. Once they settle down...I really like it. But a decant is all I need.

 

[hhelix]

Such a realistic, creamy, buttery, velvety gardenia, luscious and languorous, deepened by spicy clove. Mmmmmm. Come hither. Low throw, short wear length.

[DizzyGinger]

I got absolutely no clove out of this. The gardenia is sweet and creamy, without the funky indolic quality white florals sometimes have. Still pretty, just not as complex as I was hoping.