Gardenia Perfume Redux – Arquiste Boutonniere & Serge Lutens Une Voix Noire & winners

I have so missed gardenia perfumes, and we have two more to add to the gardenia perfume list

Arquiste Boutonniere and Serge Lutens Une Voix Noire.  

We also have the winners of the Best Perfumes for Fall, the Fairy Perfume Mother and Best Orange Blossom Perfume Sample sets.  All of that will be at the bottom. The winners have until Thursday October 18, 2012, to claim their prize, or they will go back in the drawing.  

We have a hiatus from a new note comprehensive review this week because I couldn’t figure out how to test or do a reminder spray on about 40-50 amber perfumes while in New York City.  Amber is next week so if you’ve been whining — bitching — asking me politely to please do amber next, well, it is next.

Arquiste Boutonniere is billed as gardenia for men.

Um, no.  Just no. Hell no, mitts off.  Mines!  Okay,  yours too, but definitely MINES!  

It’s not that I begrudge the guys a gardenia perfume, but I’m quite fond of this one. More than quite fond. Arquiste Boutonniere is really spectacular, it’s the best of gardenia perfumes all wrapped up into one, and I think anyone, even those not crazy about gardenia will find something to hug really tightly in the Arquiste Boutonniere. Rodrigo Flores-Roux created this for Arquiste, with the brief describing a men’s gardenia boutonniere. Denyse noted a while back that the first mod that came back was too feral, so Carlos Huber moved up the time of the Boutonniere in the evening out to more early evening – shaving some feral off of the night.

Can I just say here – again – that if Carlos were so inclined to let us at that “more feral” gardenia, we would be exceedingly grateful?  A nice limited edition for a few people who are quite enamored of the gardenia would be not too much to ask surely.  

arquiste boutonniere review - gardenia perfumeNotes for Arquiste Boutonniere are gardenia, gardenia, gardenia and gardenia. There.  Okay, there are a couple of other notes in it –  lavender, bergamot, mandarin, gardenia, genet, vetiver and oakmoss.  I get a nice amount – not excessive and probably won’t even make the bleue cheese in gardenia hater’s lips curl a little – of bleue cheesy skank on the open.  Up pops the lavender and bergamot to stand in front distracting attention from all the gardenia butt-grinding.  Arquiste Boutonnier should be worn by a man of good breeding, always prepared to drop the facade and start  

ripping off bodices.  

I can’t think of anything that would make me happier than guys wearing this amazing gardenia.  It really walks the gender-bending line, veering away from the overtly floral gardenia, but girls can happily wear it.  

Arquiste is a subtle fragrance line that is creating an array of perfumes that are slowly just taking my breath away.  They aren’t headline snatchers, smacking you over the head with how whacky and weird and wonderful they are.  They are perfumes that you find wearable and slowly discover how whacky and weird and wonderful they are. 

Mark at CaFleureBon has a review of Arquiste Boutonniere as well, which is a great guy’s perspective if you are a wee bit suspicious of a chick who admittedly loves gardenia telling guys they should be wearing this.  

serge lutens une voix noire review - gardenia perfumeWe stroll down the gardenia path, leaving the dandified and slightly dangerous Arquiste Boutonniere to play with…

Serge Lutens Une Voix Noire (black voice) 

I’m having more trouble putting this somewhere in my gardenia perfume classifications.  Opening with that gardenia grape Kool-Aid smell that’s so enchanting because you think you know what’s to come, it doesn’t roll into bleue cheese or rich dank, it doesn’t go green or feral or all of the other lovely things a great gardenia perfume often does.  It drifts back and forth – at turns sweet and then smoky, never settling to one until it changes a quarter turn to some new variety of sweet and then smoky, taking on booze in the sweetness, tobacco in the smoky, getting a raspy edge, then smooths out velvety soft.    It is the overripe sweet that has not yet decayed the last slowing intakes of air.  Mark Behnke at CaFleureBon called Serge Lutens Une Voix Noire “Requiem for a Gardenia.”  

Like Serge Lutens De Profundis, this… this calls to me in the same way.  They are both a wistful surrender at the end.  The heart that no longer hopes for itself and savors life’s last sweet drops.

It is not what I thought it would be or wished for.  

It was better.  

The perfume and life.

I’ll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day through.

In that small cafe;
The park across the way;
The children’s carousel;
The chestnut trees;
The wishin’ well.

I’ll be seeing you
In every lovely summer’s day;
In every thing that’s light and gay.
I’ll always think of you that way.

I’ll find you
In the morning sun
And when the night is new.
I’ll be looking at the moon,
But I’ll be seeing you.

I’ll be seeing you
In every lovely summer’s day;
In every thing that’s light and gay.
I’ll always think of you that way.

I’ll find you
In the morning sun
And when the night is new.
I’ll be looking at the moon,
But I’ll be seeing you.

Winner of the Fairy Godmother giveaway is – Jackie!  

Winners of the Orange Blossom sample sets are Lynda Barclay Mathis and Farouche.

Winner of the Best Perfumes of Fall giveaway is – Tammy!  

Click up there on Contact Us, send me your name, address and a reminder of which giveaway you won, and I’ll confirm that I got your e-mail and then get it shipped out to you. Make sure you get that confirmation from me. Every now and then our e-mail thingie misfires or it gets trapped in my spam filter, and goes nowhere.  

I have just a teeny amount of the Arquiste Boutonniere and the Serge Lutens Une Voix Noire, and I can do two sample sets in a giveaway – just leave a comment here or on our Facebook page to be entered.

I did have two vials of the Arquiste, but I lost one in New York.  The source of the Arquiste sample is a shamelessly begged-for one from Arquiste. The source of the Serge Lutens Une Voix Noire is, um, Anita’s deft work at Barney’s in New York City. On that subject, I really won’t can’t will get killed if I say more.  

BTW, the Sniffa lunch was probably outside of the norm..  Alyssa Harad and Anita (Musette) both did a great job with their speeches.  March, not having access to stale rolls, did get a fortuitous gift of mints at the table to throw at Musette during her speech.

  • Marte says:

    I would love the chance to try these!

  • Zazie says:

    I would love my husband to wear gardenia – la boutonnière sounds so great that I would probably steal it from his dresser!
    Une voix noire – I am so curious to smell it: despite all the reviews I stalked on the internet I have no idea of how it might smells like…Everyone is liking it, for different reasons….so curious!!!

  • Lynne Marie says:

    Ooh, I would love a man brave enough to wear gardenia – just a little bit of it… Now I have to add Boutonniere to my want list – the Luten’s was already there but you increased my want of it, like you always do! I think Arquiste is an amazing line – I broke out Anima Dulcis for the season just the other day. Chocolate, hot spice, smoke – what’s not to love? Thank you for the draw!!

  • ugh, want to try both of these so badly! Thanks for the draw.

  • Lily says:

    Wow, looking forward to trying both the Lutens and the Arquiste. Please enter me in your draw.

  • Zoe says:

    Please enter me. I absolutely <3 gardenia.

  • rosiegreen says:

    Oooh , those sound so good ! Please enter me in the draw. Also more details of Sniffa when you get around to it.

  • Tomate Farcie says:

    The Arquiste really fascinates me, gardenia unisex, sounds like something I’d love and
    bien sur the Lutens!

  • Gwenyth says:

    I am a complete and utter Lutens fangirl. To my nose, each of the creations of M. Lutens and M. Sheldrake is a masterpiece. I’m not an expert by any means, but I know what I like.
    I would love the opportunity to have a sample of Une Voix Noire. Thanks for the chance.

  • Janice says:

    I would love to try both of these. I’ve been impressed with everything from Arquiste that I’ve smelled so far.

    • Patty says:

      Arquiste is a really beautiful line! They are so quiet, it took me a while to pay attention to them. When I did, bang, right over the head!

  • Simone says:

    These both sound amazing. I don’t even know which one appeals to me the most…
    I am torn… Arquiste’s gardenia,gardenia,gardenia or the strange and moving Serge Lutens?
    Anyway, while I ponder, thank you for the draw!

    • Patty says:

      You know, they both are great gardenia renditions, I am having trouble figuring out which I like best. I think it will be a mood thing.

  • Eva S says:

    I would love to try these, everytime I read about them I get more intrigued!

  • Claudia says:

    Would love to try them! Thanks for the offer, Patty.

  • Rena says:

    Is the arquiste in stores yet since it sounds like a must try even if i do not win the draw

  • Janet in California says:

    Yes please! I would love to smell gardenia on a man.

    • Patty says:

      Are you going to put it on a man if you win? I tried to put it on my sons, and they backed away. Gardenia is too scary for them or something.

  • LCT says:

    Unisex gardenia. Would love to smell what that means. Thanks for the draw!

  • Ann says:

    Great post, Patty! Can’t wait to try both of these gardenias (and of course, no draw for me).
    So happy you guys had a great time in the Big Apple. Must.hear.more tales of Sniffa. And glad March got to throw mints at least. Wasn’t sure if you knew this (or maybe this is where it came from), but there was (not sure it’s still there) a funny restaurant in Alabama that calls itself “home of the throwed roll” (their grammar, not mine) where they throw rolls to/at their customers. BTW, not to be Debbie Downer or anything, but your clip of “I’ll Be Seeing You” was so beautifully bittersweet to me this morning, as the daughter of one of our oldest and dearest friends died yesterday, so it had me smiling through the tears.

    • Patty says:

      Thanks, Ann! Sniffa was really fun, it’s always great to hook up with old friends and make some new ones.

      I’m so sorry about your friend’s daughter. I find “I’ll Be Seeing You” to be one of the saddest songs imaginable. I’ll keep your friends and their daughter in my prayers.

  • Emma says:

    I’m curious what “outside the norm” of a Sniffa lunch is (and I was there!). And yes, Arquiste is the flipping bomb — Infants En Flor was sprayed on my tissue paper of my purchases at Osswald, and it filled my NYC bedroom for a day and a half with its quiet pervasive loveliness.

    • Patty says:

      I just think they haven’t ever had something thrown during a Sniffa lunch. 🙂

      I adore all of those Arquistes. I’m not sure what took me so long to pay attention to them. I’m a little embarrassed!

  • Christy C says:

    Ooh! They both sound wonderful! Thanks so much for the draw!

  • Margie says:

    Ooh I found this site searching for a gardenia perfume!!! I just took a chance and ordered Marc Jacobs perfume hoping it will smell like gardenias and here you are with fresh new smells. Please put my name in the drawing !!

    • Patty says:

      You know, Marc Jacobs isn’t a bad perfume at all. It’s not the most realistic gardenia scent for me, but not everyone wants all the mushroomy bleue cheesy goodness of the gardenia. 🙂

  • dleep says:

    Oh, I would love to try those. Thank you.

  • may says:

    I really want to win those samples! My nose is craving for them!

  • DinaC says:

    Would like to be entered into the drawing, thanks. Sniffa sounds like it was great! Looking forward to stories. 🙂

  • Joe says:

    These both sound wonderful – would love to try them. Thanks.

  • Ines says:

    Ooohhh! I’m completely in love with Arquiste Bouttonniere and I don’t even know how it smells like. 🙂
    But it sounds like everything I would love.

    • Patty says:

      Oh, I love it when that happens! I was drooling over it from the first mention, just given Arquiste’s track record so far, even though they haven’t been around very long! I knew it had to be interesting or at least good. It’s great when it’s both!

  • Irina says:

    I would be very happy ( please, please…) to be able to try these two

    • Patty says:

      You’re entered, Irina! I do the drawings via random.org, picking a number at random, then matching it up with the comment number, but surely your number is due up soon!

  • Blimunda says:

    Wow, this sounds amazing – I’d love to try both of these. Fingers crossed……xx

  • Audrey H. says:

    ahh two more gardenia perfumes I’ve never heard of, and one being for men. hmm I agree, mines! not my DH lol

    • Patty says:

      But, you know, put some on him sometime and see how it goes. I suspect that a lot of men will be in the ohno, not me, reaction, but maybe once they find out women love the smell, they’ll learn to love it more.

  • Alexandra says:

    You had me at “bleue cheesy!” Gardenia is such a lovely scent. Also I love anything by Serge Lutens and would love to try Arquiste.

    • Patty says:

      It’s not a lot bleue cheesy, just enough to make us happy, but not so much to make the anti-roquefort people all pissy. I can’t believe I used to not like that smell. 🙂

  • Bluepinegrove says:

    Gardenia in real life is my favorite flower scent. I need to learn more about what makes a great gardenia perfume!

  • Colleen says:

    Hrm, bodice rippers -drool-

    Why yes, it’s been a slow weekend and I’m very jealous of those of you who went to Sniffa.

    But mint throwing? Now I really wish I could have gone.

  • JulieT says:

    I would love to be able to try these!! Thanks for the chance.

  • Flora says:

    Wow, I would love to win these, thanks! I have been craving the new Lutens like mad, and i that Arquiste is as good as Flor y Canto, Iam all for it!

    • Patty says:

      I love flor y Canto, and they are different, but this is a unique take on gardenia that surprised me. I was expecting a much more masculine thing, and it’s not feminine, but it’s not masculine. The “dandy” tag on it fits. more men should wear it. It would make the world a better place and probably promote world peace. 🙂