A four minute tourism video about the Monoï road (La Route du Monoï), a 22-stop journey around the island of Tahiti. The early part of the video shows how Tahitian tiare, a variety of gardenia, is processed into monoï.
Flora by Gucci The Garden Gorgeous Gardenia, Gracious Tuberose and Glamorous Magnolia ~ perfume reviews and a quick poll
Gucci launched Flora in 2009. Flora is one of those light and sparkling casual florals, pretty and inoffensive — you know the sort I mean, the kind that go for pleasant and wearable over interesting, but that so perfectly hit that “pleasant and wearable” mark that they’re memorable anyway. When I reviewed it, I called it the still-cheerful older sister of Marc Jacobs Daisy, if that helps you place it. And like Daisy, it was just a notch above the competition. I often recommend it to people who are looking for something in that genre.
Gucci’s new Flora by Gucci The Garden is a quintet of floral flankers. Two of them — Generous Violet and Glorious Mandarin — are in limited distribution, and I have not tried them.1 The other three — Gorgeous Gardenia, Gracious Tuberose and Glamorous Magnolia — are widely available in department and beauty stores, and those are the three I’m reviewing today. All of them, like the original Flora, were reportedly inspired by Gucci’s “renowned” Flora print…
Illuminum White Gardenia Petals ~ fragrance review
Almost as soon as word got out that Catherine Middleton1 wore Illuminum White Gardenia Petals during her wedding to Prince William, the fragrance flew off the shelves. Illuminum vendors Luckyscent (in the United States) and Roullier White (in Great Britain) have month-plus waiting lists for the fragrance. Illuminum is hard to find, leading me to wager that many of the White Gardenia Petals purchases are unsniffed.
I was definitely curious what White Gardenia Petals smelled like. With what would a prospective queen, dressed in Alexander McQueen, watched by heads of state from around the world, serenaded by choirs and trumpets, surrounded by a massive stone abbey impregnated with centuries of incense — with what would she perfume herself? Thanks to a decant from the industrious [Now Smell This reader] Daisy, I can now tell you. With something that smells like a scented panty liner, that’s what.
I wouldn’t write this if I thought the Duchess of Cambridge were a regular Now Smell This reader. I hope every time she wears White Gardenia Petals she feels the love and exhilaration she felt on her wedding day…
Christian Dior Escale aux Marquises ~ fragrance review
Escale aux Marquises is the third fragrance to join the Escale collection at Christian Dior (see also: Escale à Portofino and Escale à Pondichéry). Like the others, it’s done in a fresh cologne style (in the citrus aromatic family); this one pays tribute in particular to the tiare flower. And like the others, I rather enjoyed it when I tried it quickly in the store while testing umpteen other new fragrances, but much of the luster wore off after I took it home and spent some time with it.
Marquises opens with peppery, heavy-on-the-lemon citrus (the notes: blood orange, pink pepper, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, coriander, elemi, lemon peel, tiare, freesia, benzoin and vanilla). It is mildly spicy in the early stages, but it is not as vibrant or exotic as you might expect from the list of notes…
The Body Shop White Gardenia, Avon Chic in White ~ new fragrances
The Body Shop has introduced White Gardenia (shown above left), a floral musky fragrance that was previously only available through their direct-sales channel:
A delicate, soft and serene scent, infused with a sparkling blend of lotus flower, gardenia, bergamot and soft musk notes…