Tahitian Gardénia

Tahitian Gardénia is a plush floral-tropical fusion with a volcano of oud on the verge of erupting in the distance.

Don’t think aftershave, ‘fresh’ colognes, or cloying mainstream lipstick smells. Imagine sandy beaches and ritzy cocktails, gardenia pollen darting in and out of the flower bouquets that adorn the seaside.

If you own Musc Gardénia, you might be wondering about the similarity. Well, the two share the creamy gardenia facet to the extent that Tonkin Musk and Egyptian Musk share musk or Oud Sultani and Tigerwood share agarwood or EO3 and Sultan Red Rose share rose.

In other words, they are distinct perfumes with shared notes. And if you like Musc Gardénia, you’ll love TG.

The key difference between the two is how Tahitian Gardénia is composed more around tropical fruits instead of green, more herbaceous botanicals. For instance, there’s no rosemary or cypress in here. Instead, you’ve got a duo of high-grade sandalwood and Musk Mitti to impart the sandy beach tone sweetened by green apple, pear, and pineapple…

The sumptuous fruits are auxiliary notes that act like honey to sweeten the thick gardenia pollen that’s almost golden in tone, and it’s this union that brings to life the opulent tropical vibes. Lick it.

Juniper berry, carnation, and the sandal/mitti/apple/pear chord laced with pink peppercorn and iris exalt the creamy gardenia. One thing that the heart does share with Musc Gardénia is that there’s a handsome shot of frangipani to inject its buttery sweetness and intensify the fruits to give the top notes a delectable bite and luxuriant departure from plain ol’ fruity.

This is the most distinctly floral EO Perfume, plenty fresh yet lavishly packed with sumptuous glacé as if you’re at an olfactory buffet serving wafts of vibrant wildflowers neat and up-close, with gardenia petals whirling all around you. And a sultry oud fondant for dessert!

Just like the secret to a stunning Hindi spray lies in rose, the secret to a glorious Borneo parfum is in the Gardenia flower. Gardenias were made for Borneos and Borneos for Gardenias. It’s like the legendary profile of premium Malinau oud was specially made for this perfume, oozing into every crevice of the aroma to transmute it with its resinous pizzaz.

This is one of my favorite perfumes to wear and also the most versatile in my collection. But more than anything, I love how it adds a whole new dimension to the EO aesthetic while letting you experience a fragrance as delectable and flawless as the artisanal Malinau that lies at the heart of it.

Featured Testimonials…

The new Tahitian Gardenia is so good

It’s quite similar to the OG but I think the blue facets of the Borneo 3000 have been perfectly replaced by even more creamy and tropical notes.

If I’ve understood it correctly, there’s an oud in the style of oud extraordinaire in it and I think it fits perfectly since it’s complimenting the fruity and floral notes of the gardenia DNA on point.

There’s not much else to say since this perfume is a no brainer for everyone who loves the old musc gardenia dna with a fresh and fruity twist.

Great job! I’m totally in love with the new releases

—Chris A / Germany

Smelling them side by side, they’re almost identical, I’d say somewhere around 98~99% close but with a few micro differences in subtle nuances, which is to be expected given the age difference, and maybe different Ouds being used, just a big maybe.

The OG is a tiny bit sweeter and fruitier, I remember when the OG was fresh I didn’t get much fruits in the beginning, the fruity top notes only get more pronounced after a few months, this new one behave and smell EXACTLY like the OG when it was fresh, but at this stage the new one seems to be a little bit Oudier but that could just be a perception or my imagination.

EO didn’t disclose what kind of Oud being used in the new one, smell like a Borneo 2000 and maybe it’s the same Borneo 3000 that EO stashed away? Ensar Oud can you please confirm?

I keep sniffing them back and forth, it is VERY hard for me to discern any differences, 10min later they smell EXACTLY the same, 100% spot on from top to bottom. To be honest if you put the new juice in my old round bottle and swapped out the juice quietly, I probably won’t even take notice, that’s how close they are.

If you love the OG, and about to run out, this new one is a perfect replacement and refill, if you missed the OG boat, now is your chance to jump on it, they’re virtually identical in practice, most definitely one of my all time favorite from the Gardenia series, exceptional value even at the full price, absolutely a steal with the 15% discount.

—Ben W / USA

Brooooo this is good!

Mind-blowing juicy/citrusy/zesty/uplifting/fruity/delicious opening, creamy smooth frangipani/ylang ylang exotic yellow florals, smooth sandalwood.

—Florent F / USA

Wow what a perfume! Tropical fruity blast opening. Floral bomb with creaminess sandalwood and oud, and the musk making this alive.

—Reda S / USA

Reviews of the previous Edition of Tahitian Gardénia…

I seriously didn’t know it was possible to cram an entire flower garden into a perfume. Tahitian Gardenia is my kind of meditative fragrance.

I definitely get the bits of pineapple in the background but it’s more the green aspect from those pieces of pineapple with a bit of skin on them. Can see this being amazing on high heat days.

Going to give a shot to layering this with Yusuf pure parfum, I can see it going nuclear.

Thanks for the experience.

—James / Australia

My goodness, this stuff is good. Tahitian Gardenia just makes me feel so joyful! (I can literally feel the neurons in my brain tingle when I take a deep smell.) I get a fruity, floral blast of tropical sunshine, but enough depth in the base to keep the scent holding strong for hours. It’s sweet, but it’s a reserved, flowery sweetness that is tempered by the dry, dusty facets of Borneo 3K, and the sandalwood.

It’s not a listed note, but I swear I smell coconut. I’m not sure how it’s possible, but to my nose, Tahitian Gardenia is both creamy AND dusty. Frangipani is distinctively noticeable as the dominant floral, but the floral blend is delightful. Very occasionally I can pick up the subtle fruity greenness of the juniper berry which is a favorite note of mine. Very easy to wear and very versatile. At first, I though this might be a little too feminine for me, but after a few wearings I kept smelling the amazing sillage and now I’m sold. This is an absolute banger from brother Ensar. I imagine paradise smelling like this.

—Nathan P / USA

My go to scent recently… the heatwave is unbearable… TG is just fit so nice very versatile very lovely scent… and i prefer how seamlessly b3k blended with with gardenia

—Edward L / Malaysia

Perfect for a sunny and warm summer day. A fruity start with a lot of apple, pineapple and honey. It’s a beautiful opening and fits the name perfectly. The best part of Tahitian Gardénia is the drydown. When iris hits you with a bit sweetness of sandalwood and in the air the musc starts to shine, you start to understand it more and more. During that moment the main player enters the spotlight: Borneo 3000. The spicy and woody character is one of a kind. It’s a little bit sweet but also has some smokey nuances to it. Overall this composition is a must have during these days.

—Dardan Z / Germany

Fresh fruity wafts, slight minty vibes and a big load of beautiful Gardenia flowers melting into tropical cocktail that makes you feel like you’ve just sprayed the essence of summer on you.

…It’s always a pleasure to wear this scent 😌

UPDATE:

One of my favorite releases of 2022 was Tahitian gardenia. It has the core DNA of the old musc gardenias but it goes in a completely new direction. The Granny Smith Apple is my favorite apple and I love to eat it, but I’ve never thought that.

I’d love it even more as an aromatic ingredient in a perfume. The apple note together with creamy and sweet gardenia, pineapple, pear and pink pepper makes you want to spray it again and again. The opening is such an addictive and delicious smell, the drydown makes it even better. It’s heavy on ambergris which makes it smell like an ocean breeze. The ambergris gets complimented by a fresh and creamy sandalwood smell and the beautiful sandy smell of musk mitti with a touch of mint.

Borneo 3000 is the perfect oud for this perfume, it gives the perfume the final touch of refreshing, oceanic Borneo oud smell and I can’t imagine that any other oud would have been better in Tahitian Gardenia.

—Chris A / Germany