An intoxicatingly sultry fragrance of delicate, floral proportions—gardenia balances between alluringly sensual qualities and rather floaty, soft and whimsical facets. The milky white petals of gardenia flowers match its creamy, sweet essence. A woody and deeply floral fragrance found in high-end feminine fragrances, and typically used as a middle note in floral bouquets.
Native to China and growing in warm, temperate climates, the gardenia bush is rather small and produces intoxicatingly fragrant flowers. It is impossible to extract essential oil from the gardenia blossom, and thus the scent is reproduced synthetically using styrallyl acetate—a molecule that almost perfectly recreates the coveted gardenia note.
The fragrant gardenia bush derives its name from the Scottish botanist, Dr. Alexander Garden, who spent most of his life studying plants and animals while living in South Carolina during the 18th century. The flower itself has been cultivated and celebrated for centuries, with its roots firmly planted in the warm tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania.
People's Republic of China
The white camellia, a flower whose perfect shape makes one forget its lack of fragrance, was the emblem of Coco Chanel. In 1925, she created, with perfumer Ernest Beaux, a fragrance in its image and called it GARDÉNIA, a flower that resembles camellia so much, but exudes a suave, almost exotic fragrance. Green notes, creamy heart, the flower is there, whole, with its petals.
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