Black Gardenia
by Black Gardenia - Michele Bergman

There's a fruity (apple?) note in the opening, followed by a green gardenia with a hint of lily of the valley, drying down to a sweeter, more buttery gardenia. For me this should be called "Green Gardenia"; l don't find anything "dark" about this fragrance, to me it's cheerful & youthful. Unfortunately the sillage & longevity aren't great on me.

7th February, 2011.

A long time ago there was a popular show on TV called 'Ripley's Believe it or Not'. One story in particular grabbed my attention and I remember it to this day.

A woman bought herself a coffin, climbed inside and covered herself with white flowers (I don't remember which kind, specifically). She then waited to die from suffocation.

When it comes to Black Gardenia here is the question I would ask: Do you think the woman was a hopeless romantic, albeit an eccentric one? Then just buy this blind. Do you think this woman was a bonafide depression sufferer; and that suffocation by white florals is as good a way to go as running your care with the garage door closed? Then like me, you should steer clear.

This is not my genre, but i'm giving it a neutral because i recognize the quality of hte ingredients, although for the price I would expect the longevity to last a bit longer (i.e, had the woman in the story tried death by Black Gardenia, she would have needed to reapply often, and thus, would have interrupted her suffocation attempts)

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13rd June, 2010. (Last Edited: 14th June, 2010.)

Well well, well... a gardenia perfume oil that I actually like and can tolerate. First up- no plasticky aromas- thank the Perfume Gods for that !
Begins very sweet ..as in indian jasmine oil sweet which calms down after about 5-10 minutes to pulsating lightly sweet gardenia 'type' perfume.
As this is 'black gardenia' - I can see the drama with it- it's not a fresh green peppery on the bush white ,soft petaled gardenia. It's an artistic impression of what a black gardenia would be like. Almost verging on cloying but not quite, a slightly droopy blooming black gardenia in humidity, is the picture I am getting .


As a perfume oil ,it's lovely. Even though I say this is a bit of a drama queen gardenia impression, it is quite wearable as a happy fragrance.
It's sweetness is not at all plasticky- more of jasminey - vanilla sweetness and therefore quite addictive to sniff.

To me, this is completely different from Estee Lauder's Tuberose Gardenia which comes across as a little grand, aloof and elegant. E L Tuberose Gardenia is a true painting of a white gardenia ,beautiful against the green waxy leaves of the bush, it is on.

This little black gardenia drama queen is about 18 years old and a little OTT in style ( not a bad thing - I mean, it's a youthful but sultry fragrance. ) !

This perfume oil reminds me of India and indian things. It's yummy ,delicious and has a place in the different varieties of gardenia fragrances out there.

*** Sophi's recommendation . Thanks - excellent choice.

14th May, 2010.

Oh!Yes, i do love this scent.Fresh green cut gardenia!The most realistic gardenia aroma that i have ever smell(and i have smelled so many!).Lasting and feminine .Great oil scent. Gardenias ,Gardenias and Gardenias!Sweet with great sillage.I admire so realistic perfumes.This has nothing to do with mimic or synthetic plastic material.IT IS AUTHENTIC!

10th March, 2010.