![\"Arquiste](\"https:\/\/nstperfume.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/bouton3.jpg\")
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I grew up in Virginia, and all the summers of my childhood, I smelled the\u00a0intoxicating scent of gardenias wafting through our home. My grandmother planted gardenia bushes close to the house: north, south, east and west. At night, when the windows were open, I could smell the heavy aroma of gardenias in almost every room, upstairs and down. Even the \u201cindustrial-strength\u201d metal fan I always had blowing at full speed in my direction (an excellent mosquito deterrent) could not disperse the smell\u00a0of\u00a0gardenia. Since leaving home, I\u2019ve always had gardenia plants wherever I\u2019ve lived: in balmy L.A. and here in the Pacific Northwest. In Seattle, I have my gardenias in pots I can move\u00a0\u2014 in summer I can bring them under my bedroom window, in winter they can be rushed into the garage when a cold spell hits town. Let\u2019s call me a Gardenian.<\/p>\n
I was excited to try Arquiste<\/a> Boutonni\u00e8re no. 7* (with its touted \u201cgardenia jasminoides\u201d\u00a0\u2014 the gardenia most people are familiar with\u00a0\u2014 and \u201cgardenia citriodora\u201d). I have never smelled a perfume (or soap, or candle\u2026) that captures the true, complex scent of gardenia (I somehow missed Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia<\/a> that everyone raves about), but I always hope for a miracle.<\/p>\n Arquiste Boutonni\u00e8re no. 7 opens with a burst of fleshy white flowers (not gardenia, but jasmine); the flowers are sweet, mildly indolic and have an undercurrent of woodiness. As the fragrance quickly develops, I detect a soft \u201corange peel\u201d note, a gentle touch of \u201csmoke\u201d (the vetiver?) and oak moss. Arquiste Boutonni\u00e8re no. 7 plays nicely on skin: after I sprayed the fragrance on, I detected indoles on my left hand, orange peel on my right hand, and vetiver and flowers on my wrists; this fragmentation makes for an interesting experience, and all the perfume\u2019s notes work together to create a \u201chappy,\u201d sunny, summertime vibe. Boutonni\u00e8re no. 7 dries down to a \u201cfresh\u201d (but creamy) white floral and smooth vetiver perfume.<\/p>\n Arquiste Boutonni\u00e8re no. 7 can easily be worn by women, but how will men take to a jasmine\/\u201cgardenia\u201d fragrance? (I\u2019m betting, without any evidence, that women will buy this fragrance more than men.) Arquiste Boutonni\u00e8re no. 7 contains excellent ingredients, has good lasting power, discreet sillage, and it does not smell old-fashioned (as its inspiration, \u201cMay 1899, Foyer of the Op\u00e9ra-Comique, Paris,\u201d<\/em> could lead you to believe). As for me\u2026the gardenia perfume I\u2019ve been waiting for has not yet arrived.<\/p>\n Arquiste Boutonni\u00e8re no. 7 Eau de Parfum is $195 for 55 ml (this price includes a M. de PHOCAS \u2018gardenia\u2019 stick-pin\/boutonniere and knotted-silk cufflinks). For buying information, see the listing for Arquiste under Perfume Houses<\/a>.<\/p>\n *Perfumer: Rodrigo Flores-Roux<\/a>; listed notes of bergamot, lavender, mandarin, gardenia jasminoides, gardenia citriodora, genet absolute, vetiver, oak moss.<\/p>\nPossibly of interest<\/h2>\n
Amouage Figment Woman ~ fragrance review<\/a><\/div>Maria Candida Gentile Lady Day ~ perfume review<\/a><\/div>Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia ~ fragrance review<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n