L'Art & La Matière

Cruel Gardénia – Eau de Parfum

Bewitching gardenia with a startling sweetness

Intensity

Review

Need help?

1-855-634-6767

or contact us by e-mail

Complimentary shipping on all orders

2 samples offered to discover Guerlain’s expertise in skincare, makeup and fragrance

Guerlain commits to the bee, sentinel of the environment

A delicate, musky interpretation of gardenia

Cruel Gardénia is a delightful trap. Bewitching and almost hypnotic, the gardenia flower reveals a startling sweetness.

The gardenia accord is imbued with ylang ylang and charmed by enveloping musks. This vaporous aura bestows the fragrance with a tenderness that tugs at the heartstrings.

The fragrance artist’s touch

Gardenia, usually so sultry and opulent, becomes ensnared in dangerously sweet musks. Out of this sensual bodily encounter, the flower emerges deliciously cruel.

"If it were a poetry collection, The Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire."

A genuine Flower of Evil, Cruel Gardénia has that same devastating allure as the writings of Baudelaire. His collections were among the favourite texts of the Guerlain Perfumers, who were particularly appreciative of the multiple olfactory references contained in his poems.

Gardenia accord

Gardenia is a powerful, sensual white flower with fruity accents. Yet, paradoxically, it stays mute in the world of Perfumery, unable to offer up its fragrance through the traditional techniques of distillation or extraction.

It must be written as an accord, as if composing a poem. For Cruel Gardénia, notes of rose, neroli, ylang ylang and peach recreate its trail.

In the Perfumer’s words

“Gardenia does not exist as an extractable essence. The Perfumer must build an illusion of its scent. The musks play their part here in casting the spell.”

Thierry Wasser,
Guerlain Master Perfumer

THE ART OF BOTTLING

Taking inspiration from the Guerlain heritage Square Bottle (1870) and made by Pochet du Courval - historic glassmakers of the House - the L’Art & La Matière bottle is an exceptional object whose design exudes unisex sophistication steeped in modernity.

THE ART OF PERSONALIZATION

Personalize your bottle, choosing from a mix of elegant combinations to transform it into your very own olfactory masterpiece. Engrave it to make it uniquely yours.