Late-ish entry into the gardenia game: Jovoy Gardez-Moi

We’re easing into fall here, so before it gets too late, I wanted to get this little beauty in under the wire. Like many of you, I’m a sucker for a gardenia scent. Not as keen on the super-blue-cheesy/mushroomy ones as some of you diehards are, and I tend to like ‘em a little more green and fresh, but there’s no doubt that I’m a gardenia gal through and through. And Gardez-Moi from Jovoy hits the spot quite nicely.

This one is lovely; not quite as true to life, IMHO, as Michael Storer’s Stephanie, and certainly not earthy or dirty at all, but every bit as pretty as other takes on the flower, including Van Cleef & Arpels, Estee Lauder, Arquiste and others, but not going over to the slightly soapy side like Kai (which I love, too).

Gardez-Moi opens with a hothouse feel, and shares that with Ineke’s Hothouse Flower. A wet, green bouquet comes to mind, and the watery aspect (but not veering into melon or aquatic territory, so never fear) lends freshness. A hint of other white florals pops up but not enough to mar the overall impression of gardenia. As it heads into the drydown, a little fruity character slides ever so gently into the mix, and that, joined by a touch of vanilla, sweeten it a bit. It’s not what you’d call gourmand, but something about it made me liken the barely brown edges of a just-past-its-prime gardenia bloom to a delicate edge of caramelized sugar on a creme brulee. I could happily wear this for three seasons, and perhaps even in winter when a visit to the gardenia bush might be most welcome.

My only quibble with this is that I wish it came in something smaller than that whopping 100-ml size. I really like this scent, but not that much. The bottle would probably give me twinges of perfume guilty conscience.

Notes (courtesy of Luckyscent): Coriander, aldehydes, black pepper, cyclamen, tomato leaf, ylang-ylang, Egyptian jasmine absolute, mimosa absolute, gardenia, white lily, styrax, musks, Virginia cedar, raspberry bouquet, oak moss, vanilla.

Gardez-Moi is available at Luckyscent, Min New York, and of course, the namesake Paris boutique.

Anyway, this is the first scent from Jovoy that I’ve tried. I’m glad my gardenia curiosity put this line on my radar as some of their other scents look interesting as well. But that’s for another day (or month, as the case may be).

Have any of you tried Gardez-Moi? Or do you have a fave scent from Jovoy?