Smelling Tom Ford's Velvet Gardenia, one understands how some of the Private Blend scents started as ideas and experiments for the creation of Black Orchid. I adore Black Orchid. It's lush, thick, and has layers upon layers of gourmand and earth notes wrapped around the floral heart. The EDT version, Voile de Fleur, is more about the gardenia, only in a cleaner, simplified way. Velvet Gardenia, on the other hand, is something else.
If you're familiar with JAR's Jardenia, you've met the other side of this lovely flower. The cheesy over-ripeness, the hint of decay, dirt and unwashed bodies. It's somewhat melancholy and reminds one of the inevitable death. Velvet Gardenia doesn't go quite that far and doesn't really play with mortality thoughts, but there is more than a hint of the flower just past its prime, together with some of the earth caught in the plant's root.
Velvet Gardenia isn't the easiest scent to wear and would probably put off someone expecting a pretty, floral-tropical perfume. It doesn't always behave on my skin, and warm weather brings out a harsh metallic note that bothers me. On good days, though, it dries down into a gorgeous sweetness that makes me want to dive into my own pores and remained cocooned in it forever. Serious gardenia fiends would be smart to check it out, especially if Jardenia isn't in your budget. If you like it, you'd better stock up, as Velvet Gardenia is one of the Private Blend fragrances that is being phased out.
Tom Ford Private Blend scents ($180, 1.7 oz) are available from top department stores and Tom Ford boutiques worldwide.
Image: Gardenia In The Dark by Georgia.Peaches on Flickr.
If you're familiar with JAR's Jardenia, you've met the other side of this lovely flower. The cheesy over-ripeness, the hint of decay, dirt and unwashed bodies. It's somewhat melancholy and reminds one of the inevitable death. Velvet Gardenia doesn't go quite that far and doesn't really play with mortality thoughts, but there is more than a hint of the flower just past its prime, together with some of the earth caught in the plant's root.
Velvet Gardenia isn't the easiest scent to wear and would probably put off someone expecting a pretty, floral-tropical perfume. It doesn't always behave on my skin, and warm weather brings out a harsh metallic note that bothers me. On good days, though, it dries down into a gorgeous sweetness that makes me want to dive into my own pores and remained cocooned in it forever. Serious gardenia fiends would be smart to check it out, especially if Jardenia isn't in your budget. If you like it, you'd better stock up, as Velvet Gardenia is one of the Private Blend fragrances that is being phased out.
Tom Ford Private Blend scents ($180, 1.7 oz) are available from top department stores and Tom Ford boutiques worldwide.
Image: Gardenia In The Dark by Georgia.Peaches on Flickr.
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