Le Gardenia by Isabey c1926

Gardenia by Isabey: launched in 1926. The perfume was created by Jean Jacques.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? Gardenia was classified as a floral fragrance for women.

•  Top notes: bergamot oil, neroli oil, orange oil benzyl acetate, styrolyl acetate, cassie, daffodil
• Middle notes: bois de rose oil, rose absolute, jasmine absolute, tuberose absolute, ylang ylang oil, phenyl methyl acetate, terpineol
• Base notes: sandalwood, coumarin, musk, musk ambrette, benzoin

 

Bottles:

Gardenia was presented in fabulous pearly bottles designed by Julien Viard. The luxurious presentation boxes manufactured by Maison Sorys were covered in purple leather accented with gilded tracery, the interiors were lined with a vivid hue of padded violet silk and velvet to recall the image of expensive jewelry cases. The pearl shaped flacon was nestled in the purple velvet base of the box that opened with double doors.

The pearl bottles were manufactured by Nesle Normandeuse Glassworks. Andre Jolivet used his "laitance de hareng" pearlization technique for the bottles. The thin coating is prone to loss over the years and it is not unusual to find antique bottles today with much of the fragile pearl coating missing revealing the clear glass underneath. Also worth noting, is that the pearl coating can be easily worn off by cleaning which will ruin the value of your bottle. The tiny glass stoppers are often found frozen in place due to the perfume residue acting like a glue, and can easily break if forcefully removed, I find it best to leave them in place.

The perfume was also presented in less luxurious examples: simple cylindrical glass bottles with glass ball stoppers. Bottles range in size from 2 1/8" tall to 3.75" tall.

 

Other bottles included the following:

 

In 1934, Isabey discontinued their cylindrical styled bottles in favor of a new look, these bottles were now square shaped with truncated corners. These remind me of some of the bottles used by Coty at the same time.

Fate of the Fragrance:

Isabey's Gardenia was discontinued for many years, but luckily for us, Panouge acquired the Isabey company and resurrected several of it's perfumes in recent years.

Gardenia by Isabey was relaunched in 1999 with only 1500 pieces available worldwide. This limited edition quickly sold out, so to meet the demand, a second spray version was introduced in 2006 as an Eau de Parfum. 

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a floral oriental fragrance for women. 

• Top notes: orange blossom absolute, ylang-ylang essence and Italian mandarin
• Middle notes: iris, jasmine, gardenia and Bulgarian rose 
• Base notes: musk, Indian sandalwood and ambergris

I purchased one of the 2006 version bottles of the Eau de Parfum. I just applied a large spray to the back of my hand. Immediately, a zesty tangerine-like Italian mandarin note is first to arrive, then a sweet white floral blend of heady gardenia and narcotic orange flower wafts towards me. Bubblegum scented jasmine enters. Then a hint of Bulgarian rose punctuated with an ethereal tracery of iris appears, followed by a slight tropical banana odor of ylang ylang. The drydown is a deep, rich amber, sensual musk and soft Indian sandalwood.

Below are some images of my own bottle that I purchased. I have included photos of the label on the base of the bottle and the ingredients list on the back of the box.

The original chunky glass bottle is a cube shape and entirely covered in a thick, metallic gold finish. It is topped by a clear resin cap with the Isabey name on the top. The presentation box is a tribute to the original jeweler's boxes used by Isabey in the 1920s. Made up of purple faux grained leather, it has gilded serigraphy and features magnets on the bottom of the cover to ensure a tight fit to the base.

In 2017, the bottle for Gardenia Eau de Parfum was given an update, by combining modern design with a 1920s Isabey bottle originally produced by Czech master glass craftsman, Ludwig Moser. You can purchase the 50ml flacon directly from Parfums Isabey's website. A 10ml travel flacon of the eau de parfum was also released which is great for carrying in your handbag.

I believe the fragrance may have been slightly tweaked, though I have no confirmation.

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a floral oriental fragrance for women.

• Top notes: orange blossom absolute, ylang-ylang essence and Italian tangerine
• Middle notes: iris, jasmine, gardenia and Bulgarian rose
• Base notes: musk, Indian sandalwood essence and ambergris

Perle de Gardenia:

In 2014, Isabey introduced a luxurious limited edition extrait for Gardenia. Known as "Perle de Gardenia", the fragrance is housed inside of a 50 ml round natural spray flacon based on the 1924 "perle" designed flacon. In this case, it is covered in a modern version of the pearly nacre that decorated the original 1920s bottles, Gardenia is housed inside of an opaque pearlescent glass flacon. The presentation box is covered in a rich, white leather and lined with white satin. The extrait is a concentrated and intensified version of Gardenia. You can still purchase this at the Parfums Isabey website.

• Top notes: orange absolute, neroli
• Middle notes: iris, rose essence, gardenia, ylang ylang essence
• Base notes: amber, labdanum, patchouli essence, sandalwood essence, white leather

I received a generous sample from Panouge. I found that the extrait has a wonderful vintage gardenia scent, richly akin to the beloved Fracas perfume by Robert Piguet. There is a sweet bubblegum aspect from the jasmine. The orange flower compliments the other white flowers nicely. The ylang ylang gives off a fruity vibe. The fragrance faithfully echoes the aforementioned eau de parfum, but the extrait is much more intensified with added ingredients such as white leather and labdanum. I also find that the extrait version lasts a great deal longer on the skin and continues to bloom beautifully as the day (or night) enfolds. i could still smell the leathery note on my skin the next day.

From Isabey:

"the story

The White Pearl is a symbol of Love. “La Perle de Gardenia” is part of Isabey's essentials since its creation. In 2000 this fragrance was reintroduced as a limited edition with a hand made bottle and box and in 2007, as an “Eau de Parfum”. This high-end Pearl is now adorned with white leather. Epitome of elegance in its hand made Box, this Pearl is a dazzling star in the night. Its opulent scent is the signature of grace, romance and intensity. What better feelings can celebrate LOVE?

The Fragrance

An oriental, opulent floral, more intense, more leathery and more ambery than the Eau de Parfum. The first notes of orange blossom of “La Perle de Gardenia” lead to the exotic and voluptuous embrace of Ylang flower. Surrounded by this white flowers bouquet, Gardenia goes further in utter femininity, adorning itself with Roses and Iris. Hooked in a dangerous liaison, it plays with leathery animalic notes of Labdanum and White leather, attracted by magnetic Amber and Sandalwood enveloping notes."

 

Parfums Isabey has issued a wonderful candle scented with its famous Gardenia fragrance. Now you can perfume your boudoir as well as yourself. You can purchase the 180 gm Fleur de Gardenia candle at Isabey's website.

From Isabey:

"The story:

An invitation to feel surrounded by a French art-de-vivre atmosphere with this luxurious candle. The candle scent of Fleur de Gardenia corresponds to the main note of the mythical Gardenia fragrance from Isabey. “I wanted to be as close as possible to the scent of the original Gardenia flower, in all its splendor and naturalness: exotic, intense, vibrant, hypnotic” as quoted the perfumer Patrice Revillard that created this first candle from the house Isabey, Fleur from Gardenia.
The Candle:

Fleur de Gardenia has a thick and fleshy floral intensity with wet dark facets and warm, radiant and solar tones."