Musc Gard?nia

Often, most of the work that goes into producing the world’s most expensive perfumes is done by jewelers, not perfumers. But when it comes to perfumes judged on olfactory merit instead of how many carats are in the cap, then you see recurring actors: Tuberose, orange blossom, vanilla, jasmine…

You can probably think of one or two more – I’d add blue lotus and frangipani to the list, but who actually dares to use these?

Imagine those precious florals, then add South African rosemary and blue cypress. A spread of honey sprinkled with pink peppercorn lacquered with mimosa and yes… blue lotus and frangipani – to give the fragrance that pollen-powdery effect like you’re smelling the scent of wildflowers from afar. The latter duo especially must be among the most beautiful fragrances a person can ever smell. 

EO Parfums have been quite counter-culture compared to, say, traditional French perfumes. Some may describe them as rugged, “tough” even.

So it might surprise you to take your first spritz of Musc Gardénia and think it smells… lovely. 

When you visit a perfume boutique, this would be taken from the ‘Floral’ section.

… But like the natural rendition of those fresh-floral tones you always wanted. The difference is in the thickness, the richness, the consistency of the fragrance you’re smelling this time. Not just “fresh” but wholesome, not just “floral” but butter-creamy frangi-mimossa-lotus delicious. And that pollen profile………

I thought hard about how to amp up, compliment, and play on this pollen-rich honeyed gardenia tenor and narrowed the options down to an absurd choice: Borneo 50K.

Borneo 50K is golden pollen honey encapsulated. With added wafts of vanilla and the creamy addition of sandalwood, can you think of a better oud than Borneo 50K to smell gushing from Musc Gardénia’s beautiful creamy floral glaze?

Borneo 50K was distilled almost seventeen years ago and is named so because the same caliber agarwood it was distilled from back then would today run you up to $50,000 a kilo. Forget blue lotus and orange blossom, no perfume (‘oud’ perfume or otherwise), uses such a precious aromatic. Not even close. 

But that’s not the only reason it’s insane to dunk 50K into… anything. Distilled right alongside Borneo 3000 in 2005, this is the last of my 50K. I’m using the bulk of what remains in this limited edition Musc Gardénia to make this edition as luxurious as possible; as lush an olfactory legend we could muster.

To explain what I mean with ‘lush’: the concentration of Musc Gardénia is already a full 30% – and I’m not counting Borneo 50K as part of the compound! We’re adding the 50K on top of the extrait, which alone is worth ~$500. In addition to that, the carrier is entirely composed of our dear Sultan’s ancient Tibetan musk tincture. 

(I’m sure you realize that those two components alone already cover the cost of this 50ml bottle. )

From using pretty much the entire line-up of those extracts you’d read about in articles about the world’s most extravagant perfume ingredients to one so precious none of those authors ever heard of it, to an ancient carrier no other perfume currently in existence has used, this 50K edition of Musc Gardénia is a no-expense-spared pure parfum. Spray cautiously… a little goes a long way!

Top Notes:
Honey, Rosemary
Spearmint, Pink Pepper

Heart Notes:
Orange Blossom, Jasmine
Frangipani, Blue Cypress 
Blue Lotus, Mimosa

Base Notes:
Borneo 50K (Oud Oil)
Kashmiri Musk
Sandalwood

Carrier:
Royal Tibetan Musk

To be precise, there are only 41 bottles available and I’m signing each bottle personally, along with noting your number (x of 41) on the label by hand to make this a true EO collectible.

*Ships by 5 Nov.