Gardenia at its best
Pros:
Super feminine, alluring, pretty all around scent
Cons:
Price, spray nozzle
The Bottom Line:
If you like gardenia scents, try Marc Jacobs EDP. It's easier to wear than most gardenia scents.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I used to be a huge fan of gardenia and tuberose scents, but then all of a sudden without any notice, I couldn't stand to be around it for even a second. I used to sample Michael by Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs while at the mall, waiting for my college graduation to roll around so that I could use some of the gift cards or cash to buy myself a bottle..or maybe even receive one of them as a gift! Well, by the time my graduation rolled by, I was loathing anything with gardenia in it.
That was last year. Fast-forward to last week. My mom and I were at Nordstrom and she and I wandered into the perfume section. Now, my mom had a signature scent for over 30 years. It was Fidji, by Guy Larouche. It was HER. Everyone inhaled her scent when they hugged her. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find now, and even when we do find someone who sells it at the mall, my mom doesn't feel they are the original scent. She feels they are imposters since the pure parfum she loves is now lacking that thin, black band around the top, and that was her indicator of the actual, true scent. So, while walking through the perfume section at Nordstrom, she saw a small pure parfum bottle on display. It reminded her of Fidji's bottle (I didn't think so though), and she wanted to know what it was and to smell it. The very nice sales associate (SA) told us it was Marc Jacobs, as she brought us a tester of the eau de parfum (EDP).
My mom spritzed some on, although I stayed far away because I was SO OVER gardenia. We waited a minute or two, and when I sniffed her wrist, it was the most gorgeous scent ever. What? But this is GARDENIA! Not just a bit of gardenia, but full-fledged gardenia. I was amazed that I thought it was very pretty. But then again, her chemistry pulled it off very well. So, the SA made us a small sample vial of Marc Jacobs EDP, and off we went.
My mom wanted to test this out for awhile before committing to a purchase. With Mother's Day just around the corner, I'm thinking of buying it for her, and I'm so excited that she has found a new scent and that it is easily available!
Not to get too off topic..but just a bit..my beautiful, sweet cat passed away two weeks ago. Before his passing, I was totally into sweet, vanilla scents. But once he passed, a part of me was lost too. I became a different person, and I just wanted to change a lot of things in my life. Oddly enough, my sense of smell REALLY changed. I hated all of my sweet scents like Hanae Mori, and was drawn to soft, white florals again. I even went out and bought the new Calvin Klein Eternity Summer, which is a mixture of white florals like lily of the valley and gardenia. I even used a sample of my mom's Marc Jacobs the other day!
Marc Jacobs EDP is a beautiful, classy, feminine, flowy, and a bit aquatic of a gardenia scent. I heard that Marc Jacobs wanted this perfume to smell like a bunch of fresh gardenia's in a bowl of water. Let me tell ya, that is EXACTLY what he got. It isn't your usual heavy, heady, and cloying gardenia scent. It's soft, light, and smells so feminine. It has a slight musky undertone, which makes this a clean gardenia scent. The Sephora website has the notes: Gardenia, Wild Muguet, Skin Musk, Cedar, Ginger. It can be worn during the day at the office or even an evening out. I think it would work in all types of weather too, although a sunny Spring day would suit it best. As with most gardenia scents, a VERY light-hand is necessary when applying. One sprtiz on the wrist and a tiny mist on the clothes is enough to last an entire day.
The only issue I have with this is the bottle. It's a pretty bottle alright, but it has no cap. You spray it by pushing on the top lever. Still, not a problem, BUT, it can stop working. I visited Ulta recently to try it on again, and their tester would not spray. The top lever seemed to be faulty or broken. It probably wouldn't travel well, so I suggest buying a small atomizer to decant your perfume into, if you need to take it with you somewhere. I bought my atomizer at Sephora for about $8.00. You can wash it when you want to change the perfume you have in it.
Marc Jacobs is not inexpensive. He's a prestigious designer, so I wasn't surprised that his perfume was quite pricey:
1.7 oz. EDP retails at $65
3.4 oz. EDP retails at $85
Sephora says they carry the 1 oz. EDP for $45.
If you like having a matching lotion and other goodies, they are available at Sephora.
So, I'm back into the gardenia phase. :)
