• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

Arquiste Boutonniere no. 7 ~ fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 9 January 2013 20 Comments

Arquiste Boutonniere no. 7

I grew up in Virginia, and all the summers of my childhood, I smelled the intoxicating 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 “industrial-strength” metal fan I always had blowing at full speed in my direction (an excellent mosquito deterrent) could not disperse the smell of gardenia. Since leaving home, I’ve always had gardenia plants wherever I’ve lived: in balmy L.A. and here in the Pacific Northwest. In Seattle, I have my gardenias in pots I can move — 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’s call me a Gardenian.

I was excited to try Arquiste Boutonnière no. 7* (with its touted “gardenia jasminoides” — the gardenia most people are familiar with — and “gardenia citriodora”). I have never smelled a perfume (or soap, or candle…) that captures the true, complex scent of gardenia (I somehow missed Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia that everyone raves about), but I always hope for a miracle.

Arquiste Boutonnière 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 “orange peel” note, a gentle touch of “smoke” (the vetiver?) and oak moss. Arquiste Boutonnière 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’s notes work together to create a “happy,” sunny, summertime vibe. Boutonnière no. 7 dries down to a “fresh” (but creamy) white floral and smooth vetiver perfume.

Arquiste Boutonnière no. 7 can easily be worn by women, but how will men take to a jasmine/“gardenia” fragrance? (I’m betting, without any evidence, that women will buy this fragrance more than men.) Arquiste Boutonnière no. 7 contains excellent ingredients, has good lasting power, discreet sillage, and it does not smell old-fashioned (as its inspiration, “May 1899, Foyer of the Opéra-Comique, Paris,” could lead you to believe). As for me…the gardenia perfume I’ve been waiting for has not yet arrived.

Arquiste Boutonnière no. 7 Eau de Parfum is $195 for 55 ml (this price includes a M. de PHOCAS ‘gardenia’ stick-pin/boutonniere and knotted-silk cufflinks). For buying information, see the listing for Arquiste under Perfume Houses.

*Perfumer: Rodrigo Flores-Roux; listed notes of bergamot, lavender, mandarin, gardenia jasminoides, gardenia citriodora, genet absolute, vetiver, oak moss.

Possibly of interest

Amouage Figment Woman ~ fragrance review
Maria Candida Gentile Lady Day ~ perfume review
Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia ~ fragrance review

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: arquiste, rodrigo flores roux

Advertisement


20 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. Annikky says:
    9 January 2013 at 3:57 pm

    This one is on top of my to-sniff list, as it seems an intelligent and complex interpretation of white flowers. I have never encountered a real gardenia, so will not be devastated if it doesn’t smell like the real thing. Unfortunately, it’s really difficult to aquire a sample of this here on the North-Eastern edge of Europe. So I have ordered a sample of Aleksandr instead to keep me company until No. 7 becomes obtainable. Thanks for the review!

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      9 January 2013 at 6:24 pm

      Annikky: hope you get to sniff this soon.

      Log in to Reply
  2. Kelly Red says:
    9 January 2013 at 4:05 pm

    I also adore the scent of gardenias, the rare floral smell I like. Have you smelled Crepe Gardenia put out by Gap many years ago? I have always thought it was one of the best “pure” gardenia scents. Gap did rollerballs only in about 6 frags, this was the best IMHO.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      9 January 2013 at 6:25 pm

      K.R.: I think the only Gap scent I ever tried was an “incense”…certainly not the gardenia one….

      Log in to Reply
  3. fragrantfoodie says:
    9 January 2013 at 4:52 pm

    You won’t hear me raving about Velvet Gardenia. I am keen to try the Arquiste, though, to my mind, the best gardenia scent I’ve sampled has been the sadly discontinued Yves Rocher. Still not as heavenly as real life.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      9 January 2013 at 6:26 pm

      fragrantfoodie: I’ve always felt left out with that “black gardenia” of Tom Ford’s. I’ve noticed that people rave about it even more when they find out I’ve never smelled it. HA!

      Log in to Reply
  4. SmokeyToes says:
    9 January 2013 at 5:20 pm

    I love real gardenias, and have several large bushes at my house, but prefer not to wear them. The closest I’ve found to a real gardenia perfume was Terra Nova’s Gardenia oil. It was one of my cheap thrills, perfectly capturing the green leaves and dewey leaves. Perfect Gardenia by SHP is close, but not enough indoles and the drydown is way woody/powdery. The beginning is beautiful though.

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      9 January 2013 at 6:27 pm

      Smokey: yep…gardenia, magnolia and water lily/lotus…never am satisfied with the perfume versions.

      Log in to Reply
  5. nozknoz says:
    9 January 2013 at 9:21 pm

    A floral vetiver – this sounds great to me! I was sure I’d love Guerlain Vetiver pour Elle, but its gigantic (to my nose) white musk overwhelmed everything else. Not seeing any white musk in the list of notes above, so I’m hopeful! :-)

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      9 January 2013 at 11:32 pm

      Noz: no terrible white musk here

      Log in to Reply
  6. Abyss says:
    9 January 2013 at 9:52 pm

    I don’t get on with gardenia perfumes so this actually sounds really nice. Shame about such limited distribution *sigh* Must try and move out of the sticks soon!

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      9 January 2013 at 11:34 pm

      Abyss…it seems Arquiste is expanding distribution all the time…hope you can try it soon

      Log in to Reply
  7. poodle says:
    10 January 2013 at 5:43 am

    I wish I could grow gardenias. It’s too cold here and I don’t have a sunny enough window to put one in. I’ve tried numerous times but those plants are more to take care of than most pets. I’ve given up and I’m content to get my fix in perfumes now. I don’t have a favorite but I’m not that fussy with this note. As long as it reminds me of gardenia I’m happy.

    Log in to Reply
  8. FearsMice says:
    10 January 2013 at 7:03 am

    Hi, Poodle: Have your tried a gardenia that’s labeled “winter hardy”? Maybe something like “Gardenia jasminoides ‘Kleim’s Hardy'” (no affiliation) would work for you?

    Log in to Reply
  9. breathesgelatin says:
    10 January 2013 at 1:46 pm

    I have a mini-sample of that Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia that I haven’t gotten around to trying yet. I do like gardenias a lot but I think they can smell really old-fashioned and blah in perfumery. I rather enjoyed Jo Loves Gardenia, have you tried that one?

    Anyway would really love to try this but with the deluge of things coming out, who knows if I ever will? Arquiste doesn’t have distribution near me.

    Oh, and Andy Tauer plans to release a gardenia-based scent in late 2013, I think. Looking forward to that.

    Log in to Reply
  10. Kevin says:
    10 January 2013 at 4:35 pm

    Breathes: do try your Velvet Gardenia before it turns and give me the verdict. I have not tried the Jo Loves…but Jo Malone has never appealed much to me

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      10 January 2013 at 4:36 pm

      Jo Malone’s PERFUMES I should have written

      Log in to Reply
  11. ladymurasaki says:
    10 January 2013 at 4:54 pm

    Keven, I adore gardenias and just like you, I grew up with large gadenia bushes in the garden of my family home. I’ve searched for the perfect gardenia perfume that captures its scent and found the journey interesting, but came out with very little. One of them is by Jo Loves and the other is Kai. They come pretty close to the real gardenia in my opinion. Andy Tauer is supposed to be releasing a gardenia perfume this year and I am so looking forward to that. To me, TF’s Velvet Gardenia was a bit of a disappointment in that it was too fruity and aminalic. I was also disappointed by Jardenia. It smells like gorgonzola. Not something I’d like to smell on me or on anyone else!

    Log in to Reply
    • Kevin says:
      10 January 2013 at 8:54 pm

      Lady M: cheese, the Final Frontier in perfume!

      Log in to Reply
  12. MontrealGirl says:
    10 March 2013 at 3:58 pm

    I too have been on the hunt for a Gardenia perfume and have tried many but none with satisfaction. I tried Arquiste’s Boutonniere No.7 last week in great anticipation. I liked it but found it to have a rather green/vetiver twist compared to what I recall gardenia smelling like. Unfortunately I do not have a gardenia plant to help compare the authenticity so I was glad to read your review. I wanted your opinion on “Gardenia’ by Penhaligon’s. Does it come any closer?

    Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement


Luckyscent

Search

Browse by…

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

From NST at Twitter

  • Headline of the day: "Gwyneth Paltrow’s vagina-scented candle almost burns down home of woman who won it in a quiz" https://t.co/F6bvZtoSXl,
  • "Jo Loves adopts refillable technology for Fragrance Paintbrush" (cosmeticsbusiness) https://t.co/sn2tZ1cguT,

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

TBA April ~ freebiemeet

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2021 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.