Gardénia Passion (1989)
by Annick Goutal

This is an old style misty smoky sweet floral. I can get gardenias powdery and smooth as a top note. I do not think tuberuse is dominant over gardenia neither any other florals. In the middle develops woods like oak and sandal. My husband thinks it smells like guest room of his grandma. I can imagine it, oak or walnut solid furniture, soap washed sheets, pot full of blooming gardenias. It is nice but i would not like to smell that way.

Nice heart, but this is a fragrance that begins and ends with disappointment.

The top notes are very odd - like dill pickles! Fortunately this lasts only a minute before it morphs into a demure gardenia, true to the flower to my nose if a bit dry and papery next to the real thing. After a couple hours the gardenia dissipates and leaves a tuberose that smells for all the world like a very, very soft version of Fracas. Then it disappears.

It is a pleasant white floral fragrance, but compared to white florals like Carnal Flower, Fracas, Fleurs D'Oranger and Tubereuse Criminelle, this has neither the longevity nor the personality to make it worth my while. If you're looking for a gardenia fragrance, however, this is worth trying, especially given that it's much cheaper and more obtainable than some niche gardenias.

Gardenia Passion smells more like a tuberose fragrance to me, and while I like tuberose based fragrances alot, this one gives me a bad headache. I also find that it doesn't last on the skin that long.

I bought a 100 ml bottle at Selfridges on Oxford St. (London) in the summer of 2006, but after using it three times, I took it back and told the sales assitant that it gave me a horrible headache every time I sprayed it on my skin. Fortunately, she allowed me to exchange it for another AG fragrance (and I chose the men's Hadrian for my husband).

As for the scent itself, it is a warm, heady mix of tuberose and gardenia, with what I can only describe as "buttery" undertones. It's a nice fragrance, and I wish I could wear it; but because of its bad effect on me, I have to give it a neutral rating.

This should really be called Tuberose Passion. It is clearly a white flower/tuberose fragrance with a soapy heart notes and a chopped veggie dry down. I agree with mikey_p that there is a celery quality to AG's green notes, which I have noticed in others such as Grand Amour. Test this one first, especially if you are a tuberose lover.

Now don't get me wrong, I love gardenias, but this is certainly not it. Why ruin an already mediocre fragrance that smells nothing like gardenia with a hideous celery note which I'm suprised nobody has mentioned. In my Bloody Mary, Yes, in my Waldorf Salad, Yes, in my fine fragrance most certainly not and I don't care if Madonna stinks of it.

Huh, I smelled this yesterday at the perfume counter, and I thought it smelled exactly like a gardenia, only warmer. I have smelled real gardenias and tuberose, and in retrospect, I can see that it may actually lean more towards tuberose. Just may go to show the power of labeling. It said Gardenia, so I smelled gardenias? I'll have to try it again.

Anyways--I'm going to give it a thumbs up, because I really enjoyed it, and you may too if you love warm heady rich florals. BUT I wouldn't buy it. It's intoxicating, but I don't want to smell it constantly on my skin. I feel the same way about tuberose and gardenia flowers: I adore them, but I don't want to smell like them all day long. Really, I'd love if a friend of mine wore it, so I could just get a bit of it every now and then.