House  MDCI
Released  2013
Perfumer  Cécile Zarokian
Fragrance Family  Floral
Notes  orange, violet, green notes, gardenia, orange blossom, rose, ylang-ylang, salicylates, sandalwood, musk, vanilla

Description  Gardenia is a tough note to do well. Like all white florals, it has its own set of peculiar facets alternatively described as mushroomy and blue cheese-like. To complicate matters further, gardenia does not readily yield an essential oil so perfumers are instead forced to use a combination of synthetics and essential oils of other white flowers to create a convincing gardenia accord. As a result, good gardenia fragrances should be considered a specific art of the highest order—an olfactory illusion performed for our enjoyment. Nuit Andalouse is one such marvel, authored by the incomparable Cécile Zarokian. The fragrance opens with a violet accord, the citric sweetness of orange oil and a burst of orange blossom. The fragrance soon segues into the heart of tuberose and ylang-ylang, both of which are legible up close. However, the magic of this fragrance is in the combined effect of the materials which work together seamlessly to produce an impressionistic rendering of a gardenia in full bloom. The whole of the fragrance is enveloped in a soft, peachy milkiness that blends wonderfully with the ylang-ylang in the heart and the high-quality sandalwood in the base.

75 ml eau de parfum spray
$250.00

1 ml eau de parfum sample
$5.00