Gardenias and Leather
This concludes Marina’s Round 6 with mod R6/S and R5/T.
One of the previous two mods had me saying that it was the beginning of the end, one of the last two, specifically mod R6/T, convinced me even further that Holy Grail is almost within our sight. Like last time, the other mod, in this case R6/S, was great, but not exactly what I wanted. It was leather and not much else…not that it’s a bad thing, but, again, not what I wanted.
With R6/T, however, Clement hit the spot with amazing precision. I asked for gardenia and leather, he gave me gardenia and leather. Both notes were apparent from the start, intertwining like silky ribbons of creamy-white and black, weaving a luscious, nocturnal ornament. The base was earthy and deep and featured a little bit of patchouli, which I liked. The overall effect was that of a gorgeous contrast of lightness and dark, of the yin of the flowers and the yang of leather, of velvety softness and elegant harshness. I find the pairing of gardenia and leather to be incredibly appealing, even more so than the gardenia and labdanum combo (Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia, which I adore). Whereas the latter is prone to creating a “blue cheese effect” (which I admittedly like), leather does nothing of the kind.
While some of the previous mods felt – understandably- like drafts, sketches of a great perfume to come, R6/T strikes me as a perfectly finished product. If I were say, an owner of a famous niche fragrance line, I would have been proud to include this scent in my collection. Given its sumptuous feel, its forcefulness and an overall attitude of unapologetic luxury, I would say that R6/T might be a good fit for the aforementioned Tom Ford’s Private Blend line.
And that brings me to the question of what I would like to be changed in R6/T. I would like it to be somewhat less robust. I am not asking for an understated scent, but I feel that, on the scale where L’Eau d’Hiver would exemplify the subtle and Obsession would illustrate the too-powerful, R6/T edges a little too close to the Obsession territory. If on that same scale L’Eau d’Hiver is a 1 and Obsession is a 10, I want my perfume to be no more than 7. Strange as it may sound, the mod feels…too rich. Using Luca Turin’s comparison of chic and luxury, I will say that R6/T smells luxurious, whereas I would love it to smell chic.
Another change I would like to see in R6/T is for the yin of leather to be brought down a couple of notches and for the yang of gardenia to be strengthened further. In other words, I want the leather note to become less strong (quite a lot less strong, in fact) and I want gardenia a little stronger than it is now. And then… you never know, one of the mods from the next batch might really be last one…
Images: Yin and Yang by Peter Sanderson, avalongallery.com; Gardenia Garden by Rebecca Swanson, allposters.com.
18 Comments
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Marina
C,
I am so glad you like the gardenia in this too. Yeah, I’d say it’s a 9 strength- and richness-wise. I’d like a 7 maximum 🙂
I think that maybe, if we tone down the leather, we wouldn’t even have to oomph up the gardenia, it would just automatically become stronger. And when I say “we”, I of course mean the very patient Clement. 🙂
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kuri
A 7 in strength and richness sounds very nice. Quite likely that the gardenia would become more apparent if you (i.e. Clement :D) tone down the leather. T is currently taunting me with long moments of straight leather and then gentle wafts of gardenia. S has softened quite a bit but I think it’s been tainted since I’m cooking chicken – I swear I smell my chicken in there now 😛 I’ll retest these tomorrow.
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Marina
C,
My husband thought S was too subtle. Of course this is the man who thinks Feminite du Bois is subtle, but…I also find that it softens considerably and sort of fades away after a while. T keeps going Very Strong 🙂 -
Ina
What a spot on description! Before I add my 2 cents, I must say I really loved R6/T (and even wore it to my birthday dinner, as you know). I’m also very thrilled your perfume is almost ready! It’s so exciting! Now on to the scent itself. I somewhat agree, the leather needs to be pared down a bit but not too much. Actually, it cracks me up as I write this, Marina, since about this time last year you’d have asked for more leather, and now you want more gardenia. 😉 Anyways, I also feel like I’d like more oomph, and perhaps it can be achieved by more gardenia. But even as it is right now, it’s perfect. I can’t wait for the final version!
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Marina
Ina,
I am so glad you liked it too!
Yeah…we should start wrapping up, because you never know, in a couple of months I might start asking for fruits or aquatic notes :-O -
Judith (lilybp)
Well, I’m finally checking in here, and I have to say that I really liked both these mods. From your descriptions, I thought I might like S better, but while I did like it, I ended up agreeing with your preference for T. It seemed both more complex and more powerful (S vanished pretty quickly on me, too). And thankfully, there was no blue cheese. I think my skin eats certain ‘fumes, so I don’t know that I would want it “toned down”–or with less leather–if it were for me. But it’s yours, after all–and I am sure it will be beautiful (IMO, it already is:)
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Marina
Judith,
I am so glad you liked it too!! I know, toning down leather sounds like a crime…but what can I do, I am a flower-loving fool this season 🙂 I still want leather there, but just a tiny bit less of it. -
Sali
I seem to be the only one who smells a hint of gardenia in S (that gets stronger over time), and a gardenia-dominated blend in T, but I agree the leather could be toned down overall (but I’m not a huge suede fan anyway). One last thing I’d like to say about this blend is that in recording music, sometimes we fatten up sounds by layering them: for instance, the kick drum could be made heavier and more ambient with the addition of other kick drums (different ones on top of eachother recorded on several tracks and doubled, tripled, etc). Maybe what you could use now is just more amplification of specific notes, not only more gardenia (which could also be supported by additional notes such as the tuberose absolute in Carnal Flower). Just my two cents again but I’m sure your Holy Grail is going to be spectacular as long as you stay true to your own dreams and desires. Congratulations on the birth of a new and exciting perfume made just for you!
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Sali
Oh, sorry, I thought the blend was sheer, not rich…it’s pretty chic and modern to me already. Obsession is just orangey and brash (in the best possible way, like Opium), maybe because of the spices sticking out. Did you really think T was like Obsession? I thought S was closer to Obsession which to me doesn’t smell floral at all. I suppose T is a rich-smelling scent due to the full gardenia heart; that’s why.
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Marina
Sali,
That (the amplification of specific notes) sounds like the way to go. I will leave to Clement to decide what to amplify to showcase gardenia.
As for your second comment…I am starting to think if maybe I was sent a super-duper concentrated version or something. On me, this is the kind of scent that one can actually feel in the back of one’s throat, you know? Very strong. The kind that people can smell before the wearer enters the room 🙂
I applied it last night, btw, and gardenia decided not to show up practically at all, it was mostly all leather. -
Sali
Marina,
Yes, I know what you mean–the powerflorals that ruled the Big ’80s. A strong attitude can be captured in a chic, controlled way, without going the fussy route. Gardenia if it’s very punchy (the spicy ones especially) can fill the room with so little. Toning down the gardenia or amplifying something in the mix might balance it if you don’t want the suede all pumped up. I think deepening the blend (texturewise more than pitchwise) making it sumptuous rather than sillagefying is what I meant by amplifying. That’s funny you couldn’t smell the gardenia last night–was it cooler or warmer there than usual?
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Marina
Sali,
It was absolutely the same as usual. Funny, huh? And funnier still, on my wrists it smelled of pure leather, whereas when I swished my hair a little (I also sprayed on the neck ), I smelled quite a bit of gardenia. Hmm. -
Sali
Hmm, I don’t know why that would be, but the thought of gardenia scenting the hair is absolutely bewitching. A dirty blend is OK, but for me, I prefer just a subtle nuance of dirty note rather than for it to take over. A hint of leather will do for me.
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Marina
Sali,
A couple of months ago I would have disagreed and said, no, give me lots of dirt, but now…I completely agree with you 😀 -
Judith (lilybp)
BTW, T layers very nicely with MKK. Just sayin’:)
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kuri
What a gorgeous photo by Rebecca Swanson. Anyway, I’m only in my first five minutes of testing, but so far I totally agree with you Marina. I really like the hints of gardenia that I get in R6/T. It’s mostly leather though, so far. After the first burst of leather and gardenia, the gardenia fades away to become almost undetectable. And R6/S is pretty much straight leather. I’d be happy if they were toned down a bit too. Would you say it’s a 9 right now?