French Movie Poster for Blue Gardenia 1953 starring Anne Baxter
Gardenia has always been one of my favorite notes in the pantheon of perfumes. It’s the floral scent that, for me, is the equivalent of a good noir film where the Mysterious Blonde enters the gumshoe’s dank little office with a story to tell. It rides the line between propriety and impropriety, sometimes lushly floral and then rudely cheesy or indolic. I think it’s because gardenia doesn’t play well with others, really – she is too much of a diva. She's not as blatantly seductive as jasmine, or as traditional as rose scents are. She's not all buttoned up like muguet, neither. Gardenia has this almost disarmingly moody side to her– at once sophisticated, but then the darker, indolic side kicks in and you just know you are a goner.
Film Noir Classic The Big Combo Jean Wallace and Cornel Wilde 1955
But this is why gardenia as a fragrance is so compelling: there’s a backstory to how it develops that you’re either all in for, or you avoid. Because the gumshoe always has that one moment in his office where the Mysterious Blonde shows up begging for help, and he can either take or leave the case. I always let the dame talk, and so I find myself endlessly chasing leads to find the Ultimate Gardenia Scent– a scent that can handle all of gardenias strange and tempting facets in equal measure. If Perle de Gardenia was a novel, the first line would be something like, “It was a dark and stormy night. I was working late when she knocked on the door What a looker…I knew right then she’d break my heart. From first sniff, I was in serious trouble, because Isabey’s Perle de Gardenia is everything a gardenia lover like me searches for in a fragrance.
The Big Sleep Ann Vickers 1946
Some gardenia scents come off as overly sweet, almost smothering in their attempt at high floral drama, while others bury the gardenia note in competing accords that take away from how lush this note can be. I recently wrote about the relaunch of Isabey’s Lys Noir. And while Isabey’s Eau de Parfums are well worth getting your paws on, they are but a delicious appetizer for the feast that arrives in the Perle collection. (Isabey has also released Perle Extraits of Lys Noir and Route D’Emeraude.) Everything that makes the EDP Isabey fragrances so wonderful: i.e. the richness of the individual notes, the longevity and the clarity in the composition are blown to stratospheric heights with the Perle Extraits. Perfumer Jean Jacques has taken the original base of the Gardenia EDP, adding a white leather note, and amped up the concentration to 30%, with the result being a stronger, more defined, but a very different fragrance that can be worn on its own or layered over Isabey’s original Gardenia.
Film Noir Dead Reckoning: Bogey and Lizbeth Scott aka the Queen of Film Noir
The power and the sillage on these is shocking – the first time I sampled Perle de Gardenia, it happily made itself comfortable on my skin for well over 10 hours and greeted me for a late breakfast. The volume and depth of the notes need an entire mansion to house them, or maybe a symphony to accurately give voice to their song.
Lizbeth Scott and Dick Powel Pitfall 1948
But for all that, Perle de Gardenia still does what every great gardenia fragrance should – it layers on the mystery and the intrigue without being loud or screechy. This Mysterious Blonde knows better than to scream her story. It’s always better to whisper and infer “What Happened On That Night”, rather than break the door down. The top notes of neroli, ylang ylang and orange blossom provide a sweet, floral start – the ylang ylang takes precedence here over the orange blossom, so it’s sweet rather than powdery. Then the gardenia, rose and iris glide in, and the sweet floral notes turn towards a veined cheese and wet sidewalk vibe in the heart, with the rose keeping the more acrid aspects of the gardenia style in check. And finally, the drydown is anchored by a smoky late-night hit of labdanum, leather, patchouli, ambergris and sandalwood. (Because no one wearing gardenia perfume gets in early, or should…). Perle de Gardenia Extrait allows each level of this fragrance ample time to develop and each phase remains strong and vivid on the skin. There are absolutely no muddled notes or anything out of balance in this perfume – just evocative power.
Audrey Totter The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946
You will lose yourself endlessly in this scent – it is never boring or cloying in the least. It takes what every gardenia lover loves most in a perfume and presents them all to the nose in a flirty, kaleidoscopic style that is memorable without being overpowering. Having said this – go easy, folks: a little of this goes a long, long way. One spritz and you’re good to go.
Lauren Bacall
But like any great mystery, it’s best to go in cautiously until you know what’s what. Perle De Gardenia’s power and strength require some restraint in applying, and the beauty of how all the different aspects of what this fragrance can offer may overwhelm some wearers. But for those of us who can’t live without this note, and who are slaves to her charms, Perle de Gardenia is an absolute must-have. If there’s another out there that can come close to this, I don’t want to know. This one brought me near to tears, and I will always hear her high heels on wet pavement everytime I wear it. This is stunning, magical perfume and perfumer Jean Jacques has created a memorable femme fatale.
Néroli, Ylang Essence, Orange Absolu, Gardenia, rose essence, Iris, White leather, Sandalwood essence, Labdanum, amber
Steve Johnson, Editor
Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief
Thanks to Panouge, the owners of Isabey we have a 50ml bottle of Perle de Gardenia ($350 USD) for a reader in the EU, USA or Canada. To be eligible please leave a comment with what appeals to you about Perle de Gardenia, where you live and your favorite Film Noir femme fatale or movie. Draw closes 3/19/ 2015
We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume