Cuir de Gardenia
Aftelier (2013)

I have a horror of gardenia, finding it usually too bleu-cheesey (Dame Perfumery’s Gardenia soliflore) or too fruity-candied-tropical (especially the tiare variety, the kind used here), but I really like Cuir de Gardenia.

Two reasons, really. First of all, there is an intense, earthy note headlining the scent, with the sort of dark, cereal-brown bitterness usually found in buckwheat or chestnut honey. This forms part of the leather accord that tames and anchors the fruity gardenia, making it seem more serious and darker. Although the leather accord is castoreum-driven, it is not overtly animalic at all, only appearing as part of the overall musky, leathery aromas in the background. It is, for examples, 100 times more subtle than Mona di Orio’s Cuir. (The castoreum used is partly from antique perfumer’s stock of the real stuff, partly from castor pods, for people wondering about the ethics of using real castoreum).

Second, despite lingering in a fruity, creamy gardenia (tiare) mid-section for a while, it dries down to an indolic jasmine that is either identical or similar to the jasmine tincture/enfleurage included in the Fragrant companion testing kit. This might be a disappointment to someone looking for a gardenia soliflore, but the truth is, I prefer jasmine. The jasmine used here smells great and dirty in a very natural, unassisted way, kind of like in the triple extract of Santa Maria Novella’s Gelsomino. This type of jasmine has a sort of lank, sweaty horsiness about it in the far drydown that I really like, although some might interpret this as leathery or sour. Overall, a very subtle and natural interpretation of the most difficult of white flowers (for me), and a million miles away from the shouty, cheesy gardenia or tiare perfumes that I’d tested previously.

Straight out of the bottle, big fleshy flowers! It brings me back to very early childhood, perhaps sticking my nose into bunches of those large flowers that everyone seemed to be obsessed with back then - my relatives at least. Getting plenty of air to it (wine-tasting habits die hard) releases some animalic notes. I wish there was a more obvious leather accord, as a gardenia-to-leather transition done more in plain sight would have been right up my alley. On skin the gardenia dies away and there is a sense of development, but I can't help feeling that the scent in my head is better than that in my nostrils. There's also some resin there, but it remains a refreshing scent.

It's a majestic blast of Oxygen rich Grandiflorum Absolute that wacks me by the side of the head with a strip of cured pancetta, much like SMN Peau D'Espagne. A Waxy petroleum is in the background. Gardenia is not apparent until this scent softens on the skin. It comes more as a feeling of soft butter on the palette and in the finish a nod to points of spice and sulphur. Castoreum? Perhaps. Just enough to draw my nose to the light Indolic. Gentle sweetness, applied with such finesse as to provide balance and draw notice to the Floral.

In the vial this is a sweet, creamy gardenia, but on my skin it's an indolic jasmine, along with the kind of rubbery/plasticky smell that I associate with the interior of a new car. I've smelled this before in Tom Ford's Velvet Gardenia, & it's not a pleasant association for me. One hour in, the rubberiness calms down, & from here it steadily sweetens into a warm & honeyed floral, fading out after six hours. This stage is more pleasant to me, but it's not gardenia, & therefore a disappointment after being so excited to try it. But my wallet is relieved.

I have to say that I truly love this stinky potion, even if it does smell a tad like cat piss. Only basenoters will understand that a statement like that can be a compliment. This is a MUST for lovers of animalic notes and leather. If you love Bandit, if you love Tuberose Criminelle, if you love Rasa, I am pretty sure you will be smitten with this one.

And there is something piney in here, that reminds me of Christmas, that gives the wearer an initial hit of sappy resin. The Gardenia is voluptuous and fleshy. Maybe if a Gardenia flower were an animal, and it had glands, this is what a drop of its flowery sweat could be like.

I hope I haven't grossed anyone out by these descriptions. This was a blind buy for me based on some provocative reviews and I have zero regrets. Cuir de Gardenia is a multi dimensional scent experience and was one that I brought with me on my trip to New Orleans last December. I have a sample of the solid and a mini of the liquid. I prefer the solid which is more indolic, but my budget preferred the liquid.