Gardenia de

Corday's Gardenia de announces itself as a gardenia fragrance, then promptly abandons florals for something far more intriguing—a molten resin accord wrapped in citrus-spiced velvet. Olivier Pescheux constructs an amber that lives up to its 100% accord rating, but this isn't your grandmother's powdery oriental. The opening collision between green mandarin's bitter oil and cardamom's eucalyptus-like bite creates an almost medicinal sharpness that slices through the impending sweetness like a scalpel. What follows is a triumvirate of church incenses—frankincense, opoponax, and myrrh—each lending its own character: pine-like clarity, balsamic warmth, and bitter smoke respectively. They meld into something that recalls both temple braziers and expensive leather goods.

The base is where Pescheux earns his keep, marrying bourbon vanilla's creamy vanillin to Australian sandalwood's subtle creaminess whilst patchouli lurks beneath, providing earthy ballast. The sweetness registers as 88%, and you feel every percentage point—this is unabashedly gourmand-adjacent, though the spice and resin keep it from tipping into confectionery. The powdery accord manifests not as iris or violet, but as the soft blur that quality amber develops on skin after hours of wear. This is for the person who wants to smell expensive and slightly louche, who appreciates that 'unisex' means challenging rather than safe. Wear this when you want to trail incense and skin musk through dimly lit rooms, when cashmere seems like the only appropriate fabric, when gardenia would be far too innocent a choice.