Gardenia inspirations

I’ve been busy with all kinds of things the last few days — my brother and family visited over the weekend (fun to see them!), I’m working on label files for the printer, I shipped lots of international orders yesterday, and I’m still working on a number of new scents. The label files for the new bottles are almost done and I should have a test print soon from the printer. I’m really hoping this method will work because it’ll save me a lot of time in the long run.

The photo above is a new little gardenia that came with 3 buds on it. The first bud just opened, as shown in the photo. It’s a variety called Frost Proof and may be hardier in my area (we get some heavy frost each winter). The scent is wonderful! It’s more lactonic and less indolic than my standard gardenia. It’s very creamy and milky, like sniffing a beautiful blend of jasmine lactones. It has made me want to bring those qualities out a little more in Bouquet Blanc, so I’m going to try a tweak today. I already have a creamy lactonic accord in it that I find beautiful, but it only lasts about 2 hours. It’s been hard to accentuate that accord while still providing lasting power for the scent. After sniffing the blossom I have one more idea that I want to try tonight.