Lately I've been buying tuberose every few weeks to keep in a crooked, blown glass vase on my mantel. The stems are tall and plain, and the flowers look like plump stock or jagged-edged snapdragons. Sometimes the blooms even brown and tumble to the hearth when the night is too cold. But, oh, the scent. Orchids can keep the blue ribbon for beguiling appearance. Tuberose has it all tied up for fragrance.
I want to wear that smell on my skin, but I've had a heck of a time finding a tuberose perfume that suits me. I love the smell of Piguet Fracas, but on me it comes off like a girl scout wearing Versace. Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle is glamour in a silver cocktail glass, but too icy. Comme des Garçons + Daphne Guinness Daphne presents tuberose wrapped in enough incense and bitter orange that I love it, but I want more tuberose. Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia is too Ladies Who Lunch. (I haven't yet given Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower a fair try.) So when a sample of Histoires de Parfums Tubéreuse 3 L'Animale Eau de Parfum showed up in my mailbox, I yanked up my sleeve and spritzed it on.
Histoires de Parfums' website lists Tubéreuse 3 Animale as having top notes of tuberose, neroli, and kumquat; a heart of tuberose, aromatics, and plum; and a base of tuberose, blond tobacco, and immortelle. I've worn Tubéreuse 3 Animale off and on for a few weeks now, and for all the tuberose listed in its notes, I'd call it an immortelle-tobacco fragrance. In the tradition of the Turin-Sanchez Perfumes: The Guide, I'd label it "Honeyed Mohair."
Tubéreuse 3 Animale is a fairly linear fragrance. On first spritz, the tiniest hint of citrus does freshen it, and as much as I wanted to smell kumquat, the citrus hit is quickly replaced by honey, powder, non-armpit-like immortelle, tobacco, and soft woods. Underneath it all, tuberose struggles to glow. The tobacco sweetens, and with the maple scent of immortelle it steps forward. The tuberose pulses on, but its crisp edge is all bound up in a lap blanket of fuzzy, sweet competing notes.
In the end, Tubéreuse 3 Animale feels indistinct. Almost from the beginning, it smells like the fragrance left over on a sweater the day after it was first worn. In some ways, maybe that's good. For someone who loves the dry down more than the progress of a perfume, the blurred afterglow of Tubéreuse 3 Animale might be perfect. For me, though, it misses the point of wearing tuberose.
So, I'm still on the prowl for my perfect tuberose, the tuberose fragrance that will tune into my inner Rita Hayworth: sexy, warm, insinuating without being cloying. I hear Bernard Duchaufour has cooked up Nuit de Tubéreuse for L'Artisan Parfumeur. Could that be my Holy Grail tuberose? I wait with bated breath.
Histoires de Parfums Tubéreuse 3 L'Animale is available in 120 ml Eau de Parfum. For buying information, see the listing for Histoires de Parfums under perfume houses.
Oh, I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you! On me I get lots of honeyed tuberose, and also leather, which I take it you don’t get? Maybe the Tubereuse #2 would work for you. I have a decant of that as well, and like it nearly as much as #3. Have you tried Delrae’s Amoureuse? That is primarily tuberose, honey and cardamon on me, and a very sexy scent IMHO.
I didn’t get a speck of leather from T3, unfortunately, and I’d been looking forward to it.
I definitely need to get out my sample of Amoureuse–thanks for the reminder!
I’ll tell you what….there are so many of us waiting with baited breath for that new L’artisan Tubereuse de Nuit….I’m surprised we haven’t all hyperventilated and passed out.
I’ve been reading about this HdP T3—-and it sounds nice, I love 2nd day sweater, but I think anything that hints around at maple syrup would get washed off before too long. I love to smell like cookies, but I don’t think I want to smell like pancakes…
I wore Tuberose de Nuit over the weekend and it’s wonderful…but the tuberose is wonderfully subtle, though…
I’m jealous! So looking forward to trying it.
You Liked it Luha? On me it was a green fruity extra sweet mess. I didn’t dare scrub it, but I really hated it. I was eagerly waiting for this BD, but hey, I already have a stock of tubey loves, so it is not like I won’t have my fix for a while.
(today I was wearing the tubey lady who launch!)
I am also firmly against strange fruits in fragrances: the only melon I tolerate is the one in Carnal Flower- now that’s a tubey I like!!!
Everyone seems to be sampling it already! Now I’m really jealous.
The maple bit isn’t quite pancake-like, or cookie-like, really. T3 is just so cloudy to me, not distinct at all. I’d be interested to know what you think if you try it. And yes, I’m waiting (im)patiently for Tuberose de Nuit to hit the market!
I’ve also been searching for the perfect tuberose that I can wear. I have the same problems with Fracas and TC. I’ve recently been sampling By Kilian’s Beyond Love and this may be it. It might be too sweet for you but I feel so enveloped in tuberose creaminess when I wear it.
A lot of people really love that one, and I have to admit I haven’t tried it yet. It’s so darned expensive! What if I like it?
DE-CANT! DE-CANT!
(Sorry. NCAA tourney got to me.)
Yes, you’re right. I sure do love a bottle, though.
I adore Beyond Love and the refill set is the way to go with the By Kilians–really reasonably priced and tailor made for splitting. Just sayin’…
http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/section/1/item/42521/brand/By_Kilian/Kilian_Refill_Set.html
Yay, other beyond love lovers!!!
I have the travel spray, and though I am definetely more interested in the juice than the packaging, I must say that the black magnetic spray holder is just stunning, and is perfect for this perfect tuberose. IMHO!!!
It would be the one fragrance I’d keep if forced to choose one!
Zazie, at least you’d be able to choose one.
I adore Beyond Love, but like if not love all the other Kilians I got in the Discovery Set. Especially Back to Black, Love and Liaisons Dangereuses.
I’m also admittedly very anxiously awaiting L’Artisan’s tuberose and my anticipation grows with every little review.
Good review, Angela. I’m hoping to try all three from this collection since I do adore tuberose, whether subtle or beat-you-over-the-head. Now I’m off to find a local florist who stocks it. That would be perfect this week as we shiver out of March and into, hopefully, a warm and wonderful April.
If you love tuberose, you definitely need to try a few stalks of it in the house, if you can find it. It doesn’t like a shock of cold, but otherwise a stem of tuberose lasts a good week or longer.
You guys are awful! (Awfully good enablers, that is.)
I’d also encourage you try Beyond Love. The refill set is really affordable. I personally am on bad terms with tuberose, but from a purely objective point of view, BL is a very nicely done tuberose.
BTW, envious that you’re able to keep a vase of flowers in your house and not have them eaten or knocked over by devious cats.
I’ll definitely try it, then.
Fortunately for me, Mae West is such a darling little chub that she couldn’t jump to the mantel no matter how frisky she felt.
HA! One of my guys jumped to the top of my vertical blinds on a 9 ft. wide window and BROUGHT THEM DOWN!
They must still be talking about that one around the feed bowl!
I can just see the photo caption: “O HAI! I KNU DEZE NEEDED CLEANINZ SO I DECIDED TO HELP U TAKE EM DOWNZ!”
Rapple, I think my kitty may have been taking tips from yours when she decided to wake me up this morning by clawing her way to the ceiling by way of the (fragile!) curtains.
Or, in lolcat: OHAI LUKIN FOR CEILINGCAT BRB.
Angela – I third (or fourth) the love for Beyond Love. Tuberose can get too big, too sweet and too cloying on me, but this one just stays beautiful. IMHO, it is the best tuberose out there.
Yet another reason to give it a try. Thanks!
If it makes you feel any better – Beyond Love was a huge scrubber on me. In fact, I’d be happy to send you my sample – I still have most of what looks like a 2ml sample. Daisy has my email address if you’re interested.
I’d love to try it!
Thanks for the review!
I 2nd the Beyond Love by Kilian. IMO, it’s the best tubereuse soliflore available.
2nd fave is L’Artisan Tubereuse.
I am anxiously awaiting the chance to sample the new Nuit de Tubereuse from L’Artisan.
If I may also suggest something on the gardenia side….. AJNE Fleur Blanche is my top white flower perfume. It’s sultry, earthy, and just plain beautiful. Compliments galore when I wear it. If you have already tried this one, what did you think? If not, order a sample pronto!
~Dawn
I’m pretty sure I did try it as an oil, from Trish at Scent Hive, and it really was beautiful.
The “right” tuberose can be so difficult to find! Thanks for your take on this one, Angela – I haven’t smelled any of the three HdP tuberose scents (yet), but people tend to be pleased with them. I’d cast my personal vote for Carnal Flower, since I love its florist-case greenness, but I’d take Beyond Love as a second choice for straight-up tuberose. (TC led to some extremely unpleasant associations – the week I tested it I had cleaned some, shall we say NOT-FRESH raw chicken out of the fridge. So I smelled rotting raw chicken as well as the camphory stuff in the beginning, and although it quieted down, it never went away. Thus, TC is the Rotting Raw Chicken of Evil for me.)
I love your description, in comments, of T3 as being “cloudy” and “indistinct.” Even though I haven’t smelled it, I think I know what it feels like now.
(Stepping onto the Wishes She’d Gotten That Degree in English Lit Soapbox: it’s “bated” breath. “Baited” means you hung a worm on it. I see it spelled this way all the time, but it’s a misspelling. That said, I’m awaiting the L’A NdT with bated breath, myself!)
well you never know, now do ya?
too funny because I was looking at “baited” and thought “is that right?” hmmmm…but was too lazy to look it up! So just went with it. but hey, you never know, maybe Angela and I stopped for a sushi lunch?
No, it was just a stupid mistake. I shouldn’t have put in that part of the sentence anyway–too cliche. Now I’m doubly sorry!
But it does give me a chance to quote a little poem by Geoffrey Taylor called “Cruel Cruel Cat”
Sally, having swallowed cheese,
Directs down holes the scented breeze,
Enticing thus with baited breath
Mice to an untimely death.
If you remember that, you’ll always know it’s “bated”…
I love that!
This must be well known amongst cats…..as Miss Maxie loves cheese but she is certain it works on birds…specifically the ones on my birdfeeder….
Love that poem, Fernando!
Of course it’s not baited breath! Of course! (Besides the fact that I shouldn’t have used such a cliche.) Over the past three or four years, my spelling has gone down the toilet, and instead of *seeing* words like I used to, I *hear* them now, so I make all sorts of terrible misspellings that spell check doesn’t catch. I think the change in how I write (and consequently how I spell) is from starting to write fiction.
Anyway, thanks for the tuberose recs and the correction!
SpellCheck is ruining us… I’ll stop before I get into the whole “Back in MY day” speech.
Don’t even get me started. Sometime we should get together set the world straight.
Goodness, I’d blame Paris. Who can blame you for not being 100% focused on your typing? The more tired or preoccupied I become, the more of those mistakes I make. And I *did* get the English degree, and was a spelling champ to boot.
It’s been happening so much lately, though. But thank you for the handy excuse! I am pretty distracted about Paris. So much to do before I go…
The most wearable tuberoses I own are Carnal Flower, Beyond Love, and Life Threads Platinum. (Laughing remembering your Georgette Mosbacher-themed review, Angela!)
Love TC too but it’s not an everyday scent.
I tested but didn’t fall in love with any of the HdP Tubereuses, alas. I thought the tuberose was MIA in all of them.
I really do need to get a few mls of Carnal Flower to try, it seems…
Putting in another vote for Carnal Flower. To me, Carnal Flower *is* tuberose — the closest thing I have smelled to the actual flower. TC with that camphor note is too much on me — very mothball. Carnal Flower’s light wintergreen touch makes me think of standing in the florist shop, carefully selecting the cut branch of tuberose from the vase.
Here’s another positive review
Can’t wait to see you!
https://nstperfume.com/2006/01/03/perfume-review-carnal-flower-by-frederic-malle/
With everyone’s help, I’ll find the perfect tuberose yet!
Are you packed yet? I still have heaps of laundry to do, plus vacuuming, etc etc.
Mmm…. well, define “packed.”
Eh. It’s fine. Eventually I run out of time and have to go to the airport, right? And I never mind the actual travelling. It’s 7+ hours of nobody asking me for dinner, a cookie, or a ride to the mall!
Good point! As long as you have your passport and plenty of trashy reading, you’re in great shape.
Off topic, but I was interested in your remark about the Lauder being too Ladies Who Lunch. The whole Lauder brand is a bit like that to me, much as I love a couple of its fragrances and some of its cosmetics. My impression of Aromatics Elixir – Clinique, but owned by Lauder – is that it is VERY Ladies Who Lunch. You know: tanned, tennis party ladies. But I’m attracted to it all the same so I have a half-used mini of unknown vintage on the way, after an eBay purchase, to experiment with. Even with international postage it still cost less than a sandwich and a cup of coffee, so I can’t go wrong.
When I was buying Bronze Goddess a few weeks ago during GWP time, I started to wonder about my affinity of Estee Lauder. I’m in my early 40s, tomboyish, and fairly hip (at least I still listen to current music and stuff) – yet I found myself surrounded by people 30 years older than me drenched in Youth Dew. So, I started wondering if I’m really an 80 year old woman inside or if it was just the time of day that I found myself at the EL counter (mid-morning on a workday). But seriously, it makes me wonder if EL is projecting an image that’s congruent with mine – or if they just have a serious marketing problem.
Oh- and I love Youth Dew – just not when I’m surrounded by 50 people who apparently BATHED in it.
Somehow when I think of Youth Dew, I imagine it mingled with cigarette smoke. Probably because that’s how my grandmother wore it.
I know what you mean, though.
Ok, I’m a dude in my late 40’s, and I love Aromatics Elixir, Azuree, and Aliage, I have restrained myself from Youth Dew as of yet, though Amber nude calls too me!
Amber Nude is a good one. Grab a bottle while you can.
I think Azuree would be fabulous on a man.
Hehehehe – and when I think of Youth Dew, I think of 7th grade since that’s when we discovered it.
Funny you should mention EL and demographics. I’ve been wondering about that as well. I became famaliar when my mother brought home sets of GWPs for me whenever she would visit an EL counter. That was back in the early ’80s and I was crossing over from teenage years into my 20s. Now on the other end of the 40s, I recently bought a (first) powder compact for my step daughter because EL is her initials and I believe the quality to be reliable. There’s a sense of deja-vu with the full-circle. I’d be curious to know whether they’ve been able to reach young women in their 20s and 30s.
You’re my new favorite person for referring to 30’s as “younger women.” I’m going to take that and run with it. I love a lot of the Lauder fragrances. But then, I used to steal my mom’s bottle of Youth Dew (she hated it, BTW… it was a gift) and wear it when I was five or six. What’s amazing is that she never ever said anything and how could you not notice a six year-old drenched in Youth Dew?
So true! She had to know.
I’d run with it, except my 30s are nearly over. :O Perhaps your mother was so grateful to you for using it up for her, she opted to keep quiet about it.
I think really do have nice quality products. I don’t wear their make up because I don’t like the scent–which is funny, considering that I do like many of their fragrances.
Not funny at all. I wear a few EL cosmetics, but the face creams are too highly scented for me. I’ll take my scent out of a scent bottle thanks, not out of a jar face cream.
It seems like Estee Lauder is pretty tightly branded, for the most part, and their brand isn’t much about taking risks. Still, they’ve done some terrific fragrances. Clinique seems aimed at a slightly younger crowd.
My impressions of EL since the beginning has always been – Conservative, upper-middle class professionals with a touch of class and plenty of femininity. Most of the time, rarely a hair out of place. It seems to look to an earlier era, but I think there are still plenty of women (of all ages) that would want to strive for that image for themselves.
I aspire to have my hair all stay in place one day – I’m truly baffled by people who can pull it off. My hair seems to have a mind of it’s own – no matter what product I use. Within 5 minutes of walking out the door, my hair looks like I just tumbled out of bed.
Opera Fan and Cynthia, I know just what you mean by the “pulled together” feel of the EL PC Tuberose Gardenia. And I wish I could be that way, too!
I chuckled the other day when I noticed that on its website Cliniques is marketing AE as its ‘non-conformist’ fragrance – presumably in an effort to reach that younger crowd.
The whole juxtaposition of “marketing” and “nonconformity” is interesting, I think.
Angela, thank you for the review! I’m also on the look out for the perfect sexy tuberose and was wanting to try this, but honey, especially combined with tobacco, makes me quite sure this is not the one.
I just came home from a 3 day trip to Paris
and since you are going soon, I want to tell you that if any of you are into P de Nicolai you must visit their shop on the left bank, rue de Grenelle. They are discontinuing the light concentrations (that I had no idea existed), and have really good deals on “light” edt:s and the “intense” perfumes. And the sales woman was fabulous, very helpful and knowledgable.
I wish you a really great trip!!!
What a great tip! I’ll go for sure.
Oh my goodness!!!! Thanks so much!!! There are two light concentrations I want and can never find…. (why does everyone want everything *heavier*? pouts)
WAAAAAH! I want some Balkis LIGHT!
Yep. Too bad you aren’t going to Paris, mister (not to rub it in or anything.)
oh: OW!
well….you’ll be MISSING OUT on all my cold and wind and rain! so nehhh!
Daisy – but YOU get to go to the Final Four. No kidding, I’d take that over Paris any day! (I know you all are going to think I’m nuts, and I am – lol!)
Um. Yeah. Looney Tunes, Rapp.
Cole Porter never wrote about Springtime in East Lansing for GOOD reason! Lord!
Please don’t get your hopes up TOO high, there weren’t that many left to choose from!! But it’s definitely worth going there to check it out. The shop on the right bank on rue des Archives didn’t have the same discounts and you don’t want to miss the brilliant shop keeper either. Enjoy your trip!
Thank you–it’s worth checking out for sure, even if there weren’t lots of bottles on sale.
I’m looking for the ultimate tuberose too, haven’t tried the HDP trilogy yet, my best try for the moment is layering Do Son with tubéreuse criminelle… TC works quite well for me! Carnal flower on the other hand is something green that turns to coconut (at least on me, so, neither tubereuse and not “carnal”, side note: fleur de cassie should be called carnal flower instead..). So yes, I’m one of those waiting for the next Artisan
Fleur de Cassie does feel really carnal, doesn’t it?
Agreed, the Tubéreuse Animale is more syrupy-tobacco-y than animal, it has a very thick texture and it’s definitely not enough for someone looking for a tuberose fix.
I alternate mostly Carnal Flower and Beyond Love for straight-up tuberose. Nuit de Tubéreuse is so different it doesn’t really compete in the same league. I’ll be publishing my review pretty soon on that one…
I saw your “tuberose alert” post this morning and am happy to know there are so many coming down the pike. And I’m looking forward to your review!
lol – I love EL’s Tuberose Gardenia, but …
a. I think of it as more gardenia than Tuberose – which is fine with me.
b. I can’t disagree with the “Ladies who Lunch-ness” of it.
I think I like the dichotomy of my decidedly unladylike, tomboy self in a ladies who lunch scent.
Have you tried Le Labo’s Tuberose 40 yet? I love it.
Cynthia, I discovered the ELPC TG just a couple of weeks ago… and I bought a bottle on the spot. I fell in love so easily!! Like you I get mostly gardenia, which in my book is *a dream comes true*!
I am wearing it today, and it softens so beautifully my tomboyish edges!
Tomboy and ladies who lunch is a great juxtaposition!
I am not a fan of HDP, but T3 sound quite lovely and it is on my “to try” list! I am always ready to fall in love for new tuberose scents: it is a flower that, unlike other white beauties, seems to have inspired many daring and amazing renditions, whether to my personal taste or not (well, most happen to be definetly à mon goût!!!).
I love the idea of keeping the fresh flowers in the house, I am ashamed to say that I never smelled the real thing- lots of gardenias where I live, but never stumbled on a tuberose!
Well, you must try the three HdP tuberoses, then, and let me know what you think!
I’m lucky to have a florist within walking distance who carries fresh tuberose most weeks. It really is wonderful.
Great review and thread. I’m still searching, too. I love Carnal Flower for its green naturalness (well, relative naturalness!). Do Son is a favorite of mine for very hot and sultry weather – it’s watery-salty and perfect! I now want to check out the PG Tubereuse Couture (sounds great – thanks Delfina!), and I’m VERY eager to try the new L’Artisan. Strangely, I smell tuberoses in the air from just THINKING about them. Thanks for the free room fragrance!
Oops – this ended up in the wrong place. I think I was going to comment about how lucky you are to have that florist so nearby!
It really is nice!
Now I’m really feeling the urge to line up all my tuberoses and do a sniff off!
I was kind of doing that on various parts of my arms earlier — it’s nice to have the rare occasion to read NST on a weekday at home with my samples within reach — and now I’m continuing that with Beyond Love after a dinner break.
Any winners so far?
Beyond love is marvellous and creamy and to me, like you Angela, Tubéreuse criminelle is too icy and camphorous and Fracas is wonderful but… too much. I tried the new Artisan at Exscence and it’s very nice, very green and a bit watery. Something Campari-like. To me, the prize for the “most wearable” tuberose goes to Tubéreuse couture by Parfumerie Générale. The beginning is like Tubéreuse criminelle with wheels, like its cheerful little sister. It’s sweet but transparent and green but at the same time decidedly tuberosey and intense and… did I say cheerful and springy and easy to wear? Love at first sniff for me.
Oh, and now I’m obviously very curious to try the 3 HdP tuberoses!
I have a sample of Tubereuse Couture, and I need to get it out and give it another try now that I’m serious about tuberose.
Campari actually sounds nice to me!
About two or three weeks ago I myself realized, on a beautiful morning, that I was “serious about tuberose”. I had Tubéreuse couture on both my wrists and put a tiny spritz of Fracas on my left arm and a tiny spritz of Beyond love on my right arm. After inhaling the three of them all the day, Fracas made me feel a little bit nauseous, too creamy, too static and more and more intense; Beyond love suffered a bit from the Fracas nausea, but its creaminess had a more vegetal edge that let me breathe a little bit more, so I still want to give it a full wear one of these days; but Tubéreuse couture killed them all that day by surviving after hours of tuberose overexposure and managing to retain that peculiar mix of sweet camphorous transparency and green dewiness. I had to go out and buy it the next day…
Oh I forgot to tell you that, as a vintage and second-hand lover, I think you would love to visit Chercheminippes in Paris. It’s a series of four or five shops, all on the same street (rue Cherche Midi if I recall correctly) near Le Bon Marché. Great finds in clothing and accessories… last time I was in Paris I lost myself in there for hours
Yes, it’s definitely time for some side by side tuberose comparison.
Thanks for the tip on the shop! I’m writing it down right now.
DID YOU WRITE THIS DOWN?!?! Where’s my dang folder…
I got it right here.
You two are too funny!
Tuberose Couture is really pretty. It veered a little too sweet on me, but it is somewhat transparents – it has none of the buttery-creamy heft of Fracas.
Typo: transparent, no S!
Yes, they are definitely two entirely different animals. TC is much more on the Tubéreuse criminelle side, but without the icy hiss that sucks the life out of you.
Delfina: Tubereuse Couture was one of the first niche samples I ever received, and though I still only have that tiny sample, I continue to like it a lot. It does have a nice, “juicy” greenness to it, which I think might come from the sugarcane sap accord or something. Glad you mentioned it.
I love Carnal Flower (I am so surprised you have not tried that yet, Angela!) and L’Artisan Tubereuse, which is buttery good. Fracas is wonderful, too, but she is such a diva, I only wear her once a year on Mother’s Day.
I should really try Beyond Love. And, of course, I can’t wait to try Nuit de Tubereuse!
The Tuberose-Gardenia is lovely, but it really is a mix of gardenia and tuberose.
I understand the AG Tubereuse is beautiful, too, but that may only be available in the AG boutiques.
Speaking of which, you will be visiting AG and all the other wonderful perfumers in a few days. Have a wonderful time in Paris!
Hugs!
Thanks for your wishes for Paris, and I’ll have to hunt down the AG Tuberose. I’ve tried Carnal Flower fleetingly, but never had a sample around to try when I don’t have my skin covered with other things.
Carnal Flower Does Not Share, so it is best tried alone, at home, where one can take evasive action if necessary. I adore it and own a bottle (my second!) but I have several dear friends who loathe it. Will you wear it? Will it wear you?
That is the question, isn’t it? There’s only one way to find out!
I tried the EL PC Tuberose Gardenia last week and loved it (and I am not a lady who lunches!) but also liked the Kai gardenia fragrance. Should try FM’s Carnal Flower but fear it is way too expensive for me! Sadly HdP is not available in Australia, sob!! I am on the hunt for a white floral fragrance in order to expand my horizons so will probably have to get samples from overseas…
I think PC Tuberose Gardenia is really pretty, but it somehow doesn’t blend with who I am.
Yes yes, order some samples! It’s the only way to explore all those luscious white florals.
I’m just about the opposite of a Lady Who Lunches, and I love ELPC Tuberose Gardenia. On me it morphs back and forth between the two flowers, and the gardenia, especially, smells real. It also lacks that EL knock-’em-dead base that ruins so much of that line for me. I bought a bottle of the AG Gardenia Passion last year, and found that it’s all tuberose and very sweet on my skin — too sweet, in fact, but I have that problem with most flower scents. I’m very curious about the new L’Artisan, along with many, it seems!
It sounds like the EL is perfect on you. You’re lucky! I need to try it again.
Angela – even though I love tuberose in nature, it doesn’t really work for me in fragrances – it’s a love hate thing involving a big headache. So I am pretty sensitive to its presence in fragrances. I’m not sure if you’ve ever tested it, but the Annick Goutal Gardenia Passion, IMHO, should really be called Tuberose Passion. It is totally in that classic natural understated Goutal style, but once the light green gardenia burns off in about 5 minutes, it is a total tuberose floral. Maybe it would fit your bill?
That’s another one I need to give a good, long test on skin rather than a passing spritz of the tester bottle. Thanks for the reminder!
I’ve mentioned this before but I fell for AG’s Gardenia Passion before I knew what tuberose smelled like. I then made the connection when on a subsequent visit to AG’s at Saks in NYC and smelled the Tubereuse. I remarked it smelled like GP and the SA told me it’s because GP has tuberose in it. I liken GP to a great white bordeaux, nice and dry and elegant!
Sadly, I could not do Tubereuse Couture. There is a (metallic?) facet to it that screeches to me. It was a disappointment especially since everyone else seems to love it so much…
It seems like tuberose is so personal. Slightly different variations seem to play so differently for different people. I guess that makes sampling it that much more important. I definitely will try AG Gardenia Passion again.
A woman was wearing the Gardenia Passion Oil at a party a while back and she smelled like a bouquet of tuberose. I was floored and the sillage was monsterous!
Both gardenia and tuberose can be real blockbusters, it seems.
Go for the edp if you can, it has more depth. I have the same issue with the edt as others who have complained – lack of longevity.
Good tip, thanks!
Hi Angela! I’m glad you reviewed this, but I have to say I still LOVE this one and wore it a LOT back in January. “Honeyed Mohair” is right on, though I can’t pick out notes well enough to know that this was immortelle (a note I like) until I read your review. To me it’s warm and rich on the tuberose continuum near SL Cèdre, but warmer and in a lower octave perhaps. This is exactly the kind of fragrance I find so cozy in the neck of my tshirt or sweater throughout the day, especially in cool weather. I just spritzed a bit on my hand; the weather’s a LOT warmer now and I can affirm that the sweet, brown-sugar aspect seems amped up quite a bit. This might be the type of scent that is VERY weather dependent.
I also liked HdP Tubéreuse 1 “La Capricieuse” quite a bit, but just sprayed that on and realize that it’s well-blended in a very woody-iris-suede base, so it might not be for you. You must try Carnal Flower; I was smelling it last night and it’s like a hothouse tuberose blossom. I can’t often pull off such a lush tropical, but it may be just what you’re looking for because tuberose is definitely at the fore.
Finally, have a GREAT time in Paris! Bon voyage!
And whaddaya know: I just received a small decant of Tubéreuse Criminelle. Quite medicinal and camphoraceous, yes? I do like it so far for sure, but it’s not easy-breezy! This is what I love about perfume: seeing how one accord can be embellished, stripped down, or decorated in myriad ways; definitely as complex as any variations and fugues on a musical theme, or as compositions for a single instrument in chamber concerti.
Nice description. I love the odd, almost camphor-kerosene scent of TC’s opening–in fact, I love it all. The problem is that it doesn’t suit me. A sniff of it and a look at me at the same time might make people laugh.
I haven’t tried the other 2 HdP tuberoses, and I know I’ll need to. I’m glad you liked this one.
Thanks for the good wishes for Paris! I’m really looking forward to it.
… and thanks for THAT lemming, Joe. Honeyed mohair from Angela and the immortelle info was probably enough for me anyway, but comparing it to Cedre pushed me right over the edge!
We can smell it together!
Hey, M, I like to pull my weight.
Cèdre is a lot more high-pitched and… fruity? … so don’t expect a close resemblance, but there’s an incest thing going on there if you get me.
Sputter! Thanks for THAT giggle.
I hear you. I can see this would be a disappointment as a tuberose soliflore, but I think tobacco, immortelle and tuberose sounds pretty phenomenal.
You need to try it! There’s lots to recommend it, even if it isn’t the tuberose fragrance of my dreams.
I encourage you to try Annick Goutal’s Tubereuse. I’ve persisted in trying every tuberose I could get my hands on but none of them worked until this one. Luckyscent has samples available.
After your recommendation and violetnoir’s, I will definitely give it a try. Thanks!
Wonderful review, Angela. This doesn’t sound like my thing at all and I’m happy to not have a new lemming, but I can “smell” it perfectly from your description.
Who knows? You might really be drawn to it. But it is nice not to have too many lemmings going at a time.
I adore Carnal Flower. It was how I came to know and love tuberose, but since that time, though I’ve tried many others, I haven’t found one I can wear comfortably, unless you count the solid of Fracas, which I don’t really–too much orange blossom and other stuff.
I had a brief love affair with Caron’s Tubereuse, which goes on easy and then opens up like a major diva in the third act, but mysteriously, the third time I tried my samp, the sweetness of the orange blossom in the top notes took me down.
P.S. I seem to remember *someone* on this blog swearing up and down that Sand and Sable was just as good as Carnal Flower…
Darn it! Now where did my little bottle of Sand & Sable go?
I can’t compare it to Carnal Flower, as that’s not one of the FMs that I’ve tried – but I love Sand and Sable. Plus, you can get a small bottle for under $5 at Walgreens.
I know! It’s a heck of a deal.
Full blown tuberose for is perfect in Beyond Love by Kilian !
Love that gravatar!
Sorry – left out a word – Full blown tuberose for ‘me’ is perfect in Beyond Love by Kilian !
I’m definitely going to try Beyond Love. With so many recommendations, how could I not?
Tuberose doesn’t play nice with me. Wearing a big ‘un feels about as comfortable as being mauled by some playful bear cubs. The wimpy ones are fine by me, though: Diptyque Do Son (..right? I never get the name right. The Diptyque tuberose entry, anyway) or Datura Noir or even Ck Secret Obsession. And I sorta count Daphne as a wimpy one, too – more spice than tuber on me.
And it may simply be that tuberose is great in a vase for me, but just plain won’t work with me on skin. But until I’m absolutely convinced, I’ll keep searching.
I have a hard hard time with tuberose in perfume – the flowers are so divine, though. I love to wear a lei with tuberose in it, and put the homely little stems in bouquets.
I think Fracas got me off to a bad start, but I am opening myself to new possibilities. I love ELPC T&G and wore it the other day to the delight of my companions. I tested Carnal Flower, but the EL will do me for now – it was wonderful but I don’t need a bottle yet. I think I need to try Beyond Love, though.
Have fun in Paris! Jealous.
The EL is so much more wallet-friendly than the By Killian–so good that it works well on you!
Thanks for your wishes for Paris. I’m so much looking forward to it.
Did I give you some of my Tuberose enfleurage butter from Enfleurage NYC? It is amazing stuff. If I didn’t, I’ll give you some when we meet up apres Paris!
Yes, and it truly was amazing. I’m going to dig some out to wear tonight!
I’ve never smelled tuberose up close and personal, though I have to try it now.
I like tuberose in the theory: it’s weird, interesting, sexy, evil. So why can’t I wear it? Fracas is too buttery (I remember telling Robin in some back review when I first started up here that a tuberose scent I’d tried smells like Buttered Popcorn Jelly Bellies), Tuberose Criminelle falls apart when it realizes you aren’t a vampire too, and nowadays, tuberose means SUGARY SNAPPLE BATMAN, THAT’S A FLOWER? The one tuberose I can really get behind is the vintage Chloe (which has been discussed at length over at PP so no used dragging it up here) and even then, it’s kind of cloying. Maybe I should just move into another hothouse for now.
I can’t remember who, but some perfume blogger thought tuberose was the only fragrance a man couldn’t pull off. I can’t make a blanket generalization but I know tuberose doesn’t really like me much. I have a sad TC decant just begging for me but….
Man, I LOVE those Buttered Popcorn Jelly Bellies. (And the pear ones, but that’s another story.) Wore my little bottle of Chloe, a dab at a time, for close to ten years – but absolutely could not wear it now, too many high school memories…
I think I’d love to walk up behind a man at, say, the grocery store, and smell Carnal Flower. I like Fracas, but I think I prefer the less-buttery tuberose things.
I agree–I think it would be great.
I haven’t yet explored the FM line (4 hours away from Dallas, the nearest city that has a store that carries them!) but Carnal Flower actually sounds really nice. Might have to make a road-trip sometime; maybe lure a friend or two who wouldn’t bite my head off for driving 8 hours for perfume sniffing!
I know what you mean about the sweet juiciness of some tuberose. Maybe that’s part of its attraction for some people, but it doesn’t always work for me, either.Your story may well end up my story, too–as much as I want the perfect tuberose for me, maybe it’s not out there. But it’s fun looking for it!
I had such high hopes for beyond love but it was very sweet on me, nice after a couple of hours but before then a bit blahh. I do love TC and carnal flower though!
Aha, a dissenting vote on the Beyond Love!
Aah, someone else who is going on the “obsessive tuberose journey”. LOL.
I’d also cast my vote for Beyond Love by Kilian, this was the scent that caught me up in it’s sway. My sample of Animale is on it’s way so I’m very keen to see how it works for me but it sounds like the tuberose didn’t really shine through for you *sadface*.
I found Carnal Flower almost too green on my skin, which saddened me hugely. Still I’ve got Do Son coming, plus Creed’s Tuberose Indiana as well as Animale.
I’ve also had lots of people pimping Nuit de Tuberose, so I’m getting all excited about that too
It’s amazing how much you learn when you put similar fragrances on your skin next to each other. I think I see some kind of test like that in my future.