Gardenia (2003)
by Elizabeth Taylor

Well the bottle is stunning. The juice is only so-so. It starts out sweet and green, almost with a suggestion of citrus, then quickly develops into a lovely gardenia, quite accurate, right down to the creamy waxy quality it has. Sadly, this "waxy" aspect keeps going, all the way to crayon town on me. It becomes like a cheap unscented candle, almost plasticky. It'd be nicer if the upper notes stayed longer. The front half reminds me of the discontinued Bath & Body Works Gardenia (also in a lovely green bottle.) Granted, chemistry varies and it might stay perfectly lovely on someone else.

15th April, 2011.

This starts off very bright & green, & quickly develops into a very authentic, sweet gardenia in full bloom, supported by just a touch of tuberose. The sillage is powerful, & it borders on too-sweet & cloying if overapplied. ln fact it's the most realistic gardenia l've tried, & yet l don't love it as much as some others, as it's almost too overpowering. On my skin it stays completely linear, & after 6-7 hours of this l sometimes get sick of it, but it lasts over 12 hours on me. lf l sniff it up close at this point l can't smell it, but l keep getting wafts of sillage, perhaps from my clothes.
This was a blind buy back when l first began searching for the perfect gardenia. l probably wouldn't buy it again, having discovered Tuberose Gardenia & VC&A's Gardenia Petale since then, but l feel compelled to give it a thumbs up for it's realism, immense sillage & longevity. lt's dirt cheap on ebay, so if you love gardenia, give it a whirl just for fun.

Edit; realising that l just never wore it, l kept a small decant & sold my bottle. l need to raise the cash for a FB of the VC&A!

19th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 25th November, 2011.)

I cannot agree with the Samsara base, however it does dry down to a soft floral musk. The beginning is quite strong and the middle is very sweet. It was not quite what I was expecting, having tried Sand & Sable and Michael Kors, both of which I preferred. I could definitely smell the gardenia, though I had a more difficult time identifying the peony and lily of the valley, both of which I adore.

It is a very respectable floral with a nice drydown.

I simply found it too jarring for my tastes.

My best male friend found it to be soft and pretty. He said it smelled of lilacs and having heard the reference, I could see that. There is a lilac hedge near the grammar school in my neighborhood and the sweetness reminds me of fresh lilacs on the breeze in the spring before they have degraded in the heat of summer.

That would be a perfect description of the aura of this fragrance.

FRAGRANCE NOTES - gardenia, jasmine, lily of the valley, orchid, rose, white peony, carnation, and musk

notes listed from fragrancenet.com

11th March, 2010.

I just bought this one nice and cheap from TJMaxx. I love gardenias, and thought, why not, I'll give this one a try.
I don't own any other Elizabeth Taylor fragrances, so I cannot compare. There is a funky synthetic note in the top notes, but hold on, once it dries, it is really pleasant.
Gardenia is a nice fresh, and sort of powdery fragrance. It reminds me so much of a perfume I owned when I was really young (I'm talking 10-12 years young).
I think it is possible it reminds me of the Love's Baby Soft mini set that I had then, I remember a purple colored perfume, Jasmine perhaps?
Don't cringe yet!
This is not a bad thing!
Though perhaps it does show that this fragrance has a youthful feeling to it. Though I'm not a child anymore, I don't mind the memories this brings back. It is soft, sweet, comfortable and feels like spring! It is not a complex perfume, but I think that is why I like it. It is a nice bottle of something different to keep in my collection. I give it a thumbs up.

27th January, 2007.

It starts off kind of synthetic and strong but then it becomes REALLY sweet and I can't say it is exactly true to gardenia, but it is still a nice smell and sort of has a "gardenia" aura about it. Eventually it dries down to a very sensual sweet musky base, sort of reminds me of Guerlain's Samsara. It lasts a long time and overall I give it a thumbs-up. May be too sweet for some people, but for me it is very pure and nice.

31st January, 2006.