Reviews of Rêverie au Jardin (2007)
by Tauer

A very interesting lavender scent -- actually, a 'rendition' of lavender rather than true to life scent. Pillowy, smoky and dry -- makes me think of lavender fields under a hot sun.

There are five main reasons why I wouldn’t buy a bottle of Rêverie au Jardin:

1) Too sweet
2) Poor sillage
3) Average longevity (which, by Tauer’s standards, is disappointing)
4) I already own Serge Lutens’ Gris Clair (a far more superior lavender scent)
5) Compared to L'Air du Desert Marocain, this is quite unremarkable

[Original submission date: 22 July 2008]

Caltha’s review describes quite clearly what I experienced with this fragrance: I get a thickness of some sweet bubblegumish synthetic held in some kind of chaotically opaque matrix. “Lavender” is dominant, and I often find lavender annoying but in this case it is neither annoying not attractive… it is alien, suspicious… almost mutant. That lavender note is close to being “right” but it just isn’t… and it gives the feeling that it will never be right because it is so determinedly just barely on the wrong side of bazaar and synthetic. I was expecting green, but what I get is this unclear, sweetish density whose dominant effect is rather odd. The sweetness of the fragrance is also indeterminate and amorphous: to my nose there are several things in the Rêverie au Jardin is just a bit off – but not the drydown. The drydown is a soft, elegant sandalwood / cedar wood / vetiver sweetened a little by a discreet amber; it stays close to the skin and has excellent lasting ability. (Edit of 16 March 2009 review.)

this is one of my favorite fragances , and according to aAdy the most complex and difficult to create and for many to wear. On me, it is a lush warm floral, as if I was suddenly transported into one of Monet's paintings of his gardens at Giverny. The one note that IS NOT prominent on me is lavender.Vetiver, tonker and amber are beautiful base notes. Severely under-rated fragrance, but personal chemistry is everything.

Smells like play-doh clay to me. Very sweet, with a pungent synthetic play-doh note piercing through the middle. Tikes.

I'm wary about vanilla on the best of days, and as it turns out this particular combination of vanilla and lavender is toxic to me, though I can see how it may be fascinating to others. The warmth and sweetness of the vanilla does not, to my nose, make for a pleasant contrast with sharp, herbal lavender. It make me think of lavender-flavored desserts (in a bad way) and, ugh, I found it suffocating.

Much love for Andy Tauer, but no thanks.

Clean (florals) and sweet (tonka bean/vanilla) lavender. Like a sugar coated garden. Nose wrinkling harsh at first but does settle down a bit. I'll pass on it.

A "sparkly" lavender and *slightly green smelling fragrance. I was surprised to find that Reverie smells kind of synthetic (Iso E Super maybe?), and no notes really stood out over the others for me besides the lavender. I really didn't get much of the base notes in the pyramid, let alone the pyramid at all. Its very nice, and very feminine, but more of a room spray in my opinion. It's not at all like L'air du desert marocain and not as beautiful or sensual either. While Reverie is a well constructed fragrance, I'm not particularly fond of it, nor am I intrigued. The worst part was that the first spray of this was so potent that I could taste it in my mouth for the first few hours – not a very pleasurable experience. On a final note, I would suggest not to bother with Reverie au Jardin unless you are a middle aged woman.

5.5/10

I really admire Andy Tauer, I do, but I just can't stand this fragrance. It sounds so green from the notes - possibly too herbal for my taste (not a fan of lavender) but worth a try. Alas, it is not green, not refreshing, not sparkling, not juicy, not like a garden at all! Instead, it's an odd, dense, muddy scent with a musty, stale, candylike sweetness that makes me wrinkle my nose in disgust. It reminds me of nothing more than Michale Storer's absolutely horrid Il Giardino, but at least that one had some berry notes as excuse for the sickly sweetness. What's Reverie's excuse? The tonka? The ambrette? The rose? The fir, which sometimes turns Wunderbaum-sweet? Where are all the green and woody notes hiding in this composition? The one note I can pick out is an aromatic lavender. Perhaps the drydown is better - I could bring myself to put this on my skin for the sake of research but not to keep it there for very long...

Reverie au Jardin is one of the more interesting fragrances I have smelled in a very long time. The top note is a sparkling green fir scent but that changes in 3-4 minutes. At that point, the scent morphs into a lovely warm, powdery lavender scent that is beautiful and enchanting. Wow! This is FB worthy in my opinion.

Fragrance notes: Lavender (high altitude mountain lavender from France, galbanum, fir balm, bergamot, rose absolute, frankincense, ambrette seeds, orris, vetiver, tonka beans, oakmoss, vanilla, ambergris, sandalwood and cedar wood.
It is interesting that so far it is men who have reviewed this scent. I can’t speak for the others, but my initial interest in Reverie au Jardin ran along the following lines. “Lavender, fir/pine, frankincense, moss, wood tones... sounds promising.” I hoped that the florals, vanilla and amber would be in the background. Alas, everything I wanted is absent and everything else is too prominent for my taste. Yes, this is sweet and powdery from beginning to end. The green note was far too short. Equally brief was the incense. Powdery florals (especially the orris/iris) kept popping up and gave a note that I find annoying when it is as prominent as it is here. Then tonka/vanilla loomed into view, another irritating scent when it dominates. Wash-off time. In my opinion this is not a unisex scent, it is feminine. Not my style.

Reverie au Jardin launches on a powdery floral note with some iris and just a gentle dab of lavender to give it backbone. Some aldehydes and a distinct soapy accord contribute to the soft blend as well.

Sweeter tonka/vanilla and incense notes come forward after a few minutes, while the iris/lavender accord remains firm in the background. The entire composition remains extremely well balanced and blended, so that no single note, not even the lavender, is dominant.

The heart of the scent organizes itself over the first hour, with very smooth woods and mild amber anchoring the floral and incense notes in the foreground. The drydown is a subtly sweet ambergris, woods, and vanilla arrangement that brings on a sense of wistful comfort. What a far cry this is from the likes of Lonestar Memories! The overall effect here is extremely gentle, gauzy, and mild, with a dream-like quality I often associate with Olivia Giacobetti's scents. "Reverie" is very apt!

Though composed of different notes, Reverie au Jardin evokes the same mood as Frederic Malle's exquisite Iris Poudre. If you enjoy one, I suspect you'll enjoy the other. Tauer's scent is more obviously unisex, possibly because the incense adds a certain firmness that's lacking in Iris Poudre. The bit of oakmoss in the base of Reverie au Jardin also blends with the abmergris and florals to yield a somewhat fruity accord that sweetens it in comparison to Iris Poudre. That I can comfortably speak of Reverie au Jardin and Iris Poudre in the same sentence is a credit to Tauer's accomplishment.

My main problem with Reverie is the ultra-sweet top note .... very fruity/floral ... the lavender gets lost in there. The frag becomes much more interesting in the midnotes and basenotes, where the green/herbal notes come into play more with lavender peeping out every once in a while. But I can't get beyond the candylike notes. If you like sweet, you may very well like this one, but it's just not my cup of tea. Longevity is decent, sillage not so great.