Jardins de Bagatelle

Trying again in warmer weather - the aldehydes give an interesting pollen-esque quality to it that brings out the narcissus. Very sunny and golden feeling floral.

Trying a vintage EDP mini. I'm not the best at distinguishing white florals that aren't orange blossom, neroli, or jasmine; I get a sharp soapy opening followed by some honeyed white flowers (assuming tuberose is the sweet lead here!) and violet. Not getting pickles at all, I assume that's coming from the aldehydes which imo can give a kind of boozy/pickled note when they're part of sweeter scents - think how the vanillin scent of old books can smell kind of boozy/pickled.

Testing a vintage EDT version from a decant and I'm struggling with a prominent pickle note on my skin. I know sandalwood can sometimes lean this way, but I wasn't expecting it here. Such a strange twist for a vintage classic!

Wow! I bought a small vintage 15 ML version. It’s absolutely beautiful❤️

I absolutely loved the original Guerlain Jardins de bagatelle. The new formulation is totally different, not at all like the original.

Jardins de Bagatelle (JDB) starts with a bright clarion call of bergamot and aldehyde, but with a minute it suavely segues into its chief pleasure: a rapturous duet between white florals in chorus (led by tuberose) and a beautifully not shy violet. This is a splendid olfactory pairing, and one that continues for quite awhile. It is, by far, the best part of JDB's performance. However, alack and alas, sweet violet notedoes eventually fade away, ...and the white florals, ever-present, receive a new, but much less exquisite partner: a sudsy, detergent scent. Jasmine, tuberose, orange blossom, and narcissus do not normally smell this way, either in real life or in most perfume accord formulations. Somebody at Guerlain (Jean-Paul?) decided to deliberately make JDB's drydown resemble an unsubtly harping tribute to ablute purity, A.K.A. soap. 'Suddenly' (relatively speaking), JDB's sniffing fanboy finds himself abruptly relocated from a fragrantly blossoming chateau garden in the 16th arrondissement to some kind of foaming sink basin or laundry room with all machines churning. The change is both disheartening and infuriating, to say the least. "But earlier it was all so delightful!" one may exclaim. Indeed, the only thing to do is reapply and return to 'le jardin'.

My typical favorite white floral fragrance, but however it could be overwhelming.

She's just that girl. Gorgeous fantasy bouquet. Sweet and herbaceous, like the flowers are floating all around. Soft use of aldehydes, much like in Chamade, another gorgeous green floral by Guerlain. Tuberose shines above all, green, stemmy, almost leathery; perhaps its earthy facets lifted by vetiver, cedar, and patchouli. It's no surprise this is among the legendary creations of the house. Interestingly, it feels to me like somewhat of a precursor or ancestor to Nuit de Bakelite by Naomi Goodsir (which is perhaps my favorite and among the most unique and audacious uses of tuberose). The botle I have is a well-preserved vintage, in the angular geometric crystal design by Robert Granai, which is so beautiful. I wish Guerlain brought back some of these unique bottles. All in all a gem.

Not long ago I bought two vintage miniatures of different sizes from different sellers. The aromas matched. In both there was a brine with a luxurious bouquet of white garden flowers with sunny greenery. I consider the smell of brine to be a non-perfume note, but it can often be noticed in new, fresh perfumes. I don’t know if it was originally intended (cedar - Iso E super?) or time has worked on vintage miniatures? Therefore, no rating. I poured both perfumes into a container where I mixed unsuccessful and broken perfumes and corrected them. The brine became an unnoticeable stroke, the rest added brightness to the chorus about the plant world.

I bought a bottle of the EDT in the early 80’s when the fragrance was new. It’s a very bold, heavy floral fragrance and I’ve always gone back and forth between loving it and not, which is probably why I have some left from my original bottle. I recently purchased a bottle of the EDP and wanted to compare the two. I knew that it had been reformulated, but it’s like a completely different fragrance. In a way it’s a little more wearable, more suitable for everyday use, but I miss that over the top, tuberose heavy floral fragrance. I’m fickle, I can admit it - but I can’t help but miss the depth and opulence of the original formulation.

Guerlain's answer to Giorgio. Big, white floral!

What a spellbinding blend this is. Deeply floral, but with sophistication. This superb floral bouquet with beguiling notes of jasmine and tuberose and a whole ‘Jardin’ full of flowers is never too sweet, never too over-powering, just deliciously wearable, exuding confidence and beauty, for a grown up woman, happy in her own skin. Delectable and unforgettable.

I love this ! This is pretty much a big jasmine bomb. Jasmine and tuberose are extremely present in this. Despite being feminine, I could really wear this as a guy, it doesn't have an extremely feminine feel and more of a natural floral feel.

Jardins de Bagatelle was a blind buy for me, and when I got it, I had no idea as to what to expect. In Guerlain, I trust. I sprayed and was overcome by aldehydes, which screamed retro to me. I put it aside until today. I decided to give it another spray, and I am so glad I did, because on second spray, it was stellar. The floral explosion is overwhelming, but in a wonderful way. The Garden is there, in all its glory. The tuberose, jasmine, violet, and gardenia are all screaming for attention. I can’t think of a more complex floral scent. Yes, there is a retro quality to it, but Guerlain’s retro scents harken lost elegance…and this is an elegant scent.

I tried my vintage mini again today. One teensy, tiny dot on my knee. I’m craving strong spring florals … So many screeching florals, blends completely into strong skunk accord, an intense pollen overdose on me. Lethal. Could knock right anyone out. One thing’s for sure, this vintage hasn’t lost its potency. Perhaps the new reformulation is good though.

It's a sweet pure floral that never takes any wrong turns. I get the white florals (gardenia and tuberose) at first, but later I get the narcissus notes and ylang ylang. Best of all the base of this is not dark, ambery or sweet. So the dry down is dry and grassy, such a refreshing change from today's florals that always seem to end up smelling like candy or oud eventually. This would layer well with Heno de Pravia products because there is a hay note in here. The vetiver is 75% grass, 25% smoke. Wearing this feels like being outside on a clear bright day. Just lovely. It takes me back to normal times.

Guerlain meets the 80s and I'm wallowing in it! As I write this, it's a far warmer than average April day here in New England, and I am just not ready for these kinds of temps. The birds outside are singing a chorus, though, heralding spring, and as I wear this I am transported to a garden, greeted by aldehydic fanfare, finding oceans of smiling narcissus, humid gardenia and brazen, indolic jasmine. They are all kept in check by a neroli and orange blossom all the way through to the heart. Que volupté! You must appreciate the bold florals, the ones that lead you around a leash as you wear a studded collar. They show you who's boss! Hell, even the bees come for me wearing this, and since I am the insect whisperer, I let them investigate for a bit, and once they realize it's just a dirty human being, they move on. Who can blame them for being entranced by this though? Man, this is heady, I sprayed more than I needed to, but I am taking it all in, as dizzying as it might feel—and to think this is the eau de toilette. This is the most wonderful and penetrating floral bash I've experienced in a fragrance; a culmination of all I love about yellow and white florals, with just a wee bit of sweet Viola odorata for good measure. Jean-Paul Guerlain took a detour from the Guerlainade and let this baby simmer in a heap of vetiver and cedar shavings, all sealed with honeyed musk. Jardins de Bagatelle is like a nectar of the gods.

SMOKY bed of white florals hiding the fumigating source of a burning cherry tree! Imagine a wedding feast where the banquet hall is filled with sky-high vases of white florals and cane chairs. A server surreptitiously weaves a smoky path through this forest carrying a flambe of Cherries Jubilee. A white floral masterpiece, this beauty opens with burst of jasmine-aldehyde-violet that gives me a sense of cherries, white floral and smoke, the aldehydes coming over as smoky and burning, while the violet comes off as cherry and sometimes cherry blossom. The transition to the heart involves the aldehydes burning off to some degree and becoming less smoky and the tuberose develops while I feel the cooling notes of the magnolia, lily of the valley and rose. The base develops slowly, and as the tuberose deepens I feel the cedar, clean and sweet, like a cedar cutting board beneath the Cherries Jubilee resting on its white floral bed. Contrast to Poison Dior: These are very different, but there are similarities in the white floral with a delicate fruity note. Poison has a more forward plum instead of violet/cherry. Contrast to Giorgio Giorgio Beverly Hills: Very different scents, with Giorgio having a clean laundry vibe that I don't smell in JdB, and JdB having the smoking qualities and fruity violet, but the longer they dry down, the more similar they become. Overall: Well above average performance, connoisseurs of vintage white florals will want this in their collection. Enjoy!

It's an 80s style and the modern equivalent might be Nomade. It "smells like" gorgeous perfume, not flowers in a vase, or gardens, or parks, or whatever. Is this somehow an homage to the Parc de Bagatelle in Bois de Boulougne? There was a wonderful streetwalker who worked the shady troittoir on Avenue Foch in the 90s and oughts who bathed in this perfume. Avenue Foch runs from Arc de Triomphe to the Bois and is lined with lux apartment buildings mixed with hôtels particulier (mansions) - many dating from the Belle Époque and very showy, not classically elegant. My casual acquaintance likely in her 60s, chic of course but racy too, dressed in a mix of couture and some fetish pieces straight out of 30s Brassaï. That's the 80s for you. I love this perfume. It smells like perfume but it has some youth and spirit to it. Improves in allure in the presence of leather, fur, and cigarette smoke. Bottle reviewed: 10-15 year old EDP refill in the jazzy gold Guerlain case - the one with the ridges and holes. A perfect commodity and it's a pity they don't market this anymore. PS - i have been keeping a vintage refill bottle of this on a shelf near my bed. A few times a week, late at night when everything is still, I catch a distinctive but quick waft of the perfume to my nose. The bottle is capped, the sprayer is intact. But that's how penetrating the distinctive top note is on my older juice.

I’ve had this for ages - literally decades and seldom wore it. And on Monday I decided to pop some on - I have to be in the right frame of mind for florals. Anyway I’ve worn it every day this week and absolutely love it. It starts of boldly as a big booming floral and it’s tbh it can be a little jarring however within 15-30 minutes it develops into a green but creamy confection. It’s sweet/sharp/green/flowery/violet/creamy - a mix of many opposing notes but they work beautifully together. A very beautiful spring/summer perfume. Cool, elegant. This composition seems it won’t work on paper with all the conflicting notes. I would say it’s clear the master perfumer M. Guerlain knew his craft. Wonderfully feminine and cool.

I had a vintage EDT and thought I'd try a vintage EDP this time. Heavy on ylang-ylang and civet at first (there is civet in it despite not being listed on this website), and heavy on tuberose and civet later. A lavishly decadent floral that I find best for summer evenings. Makes me think of old Gothic novels. I do prefer the EDT, however, as it's not quite as overwhelmingly animalic, though it is evident in the base later in the drydown.

An explosion of flowers! Sparkling loud notes of flowers! How joyful is "Jardins de Bagatelle"!

𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐕𝐀𝐂𝐔𝐔𝐌 1990s formulation: JARDINS DE BAGATELLE by Guerlain is a remarkable perfume, structured like a symphony with three distinct phase shifts. Wearing this edp is like embarking on a ride you were never ready for. A ride of hope and despair. 𝗠𝗬 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘: The fragrance begins with a bouquet of floral aldehydes. I'm walking through a sunny grassy field of flowers that are getting more and more chaotic as I go. Suddenly, I'm completely surrounded by flowers of every colour and shape! Just as I'm about to succumb and dive into a thick blanket of velvety leaves, the flowers begin to fade, one by one, leaving a deep layer of vetiver, cedar, and neroli, with a touch of patchouli and musk at the end. This darker chypre-like layer lingers on my skin for hours, while the florals linger in the background. JARDINS DE BAGATELLE unfolds as three distinct stages that play a harmonious sonnet, perhaps classical orchestra with a sprinkle of jazz! Three distinct paradigm shifts: Greets being a tamed down floral aldehyde, fun, playful yet extremely complex! As the long carbon chains break apart, the floral elements amplify giving lift to a voluptuous, indolic dirty facet superimposing with coherent mineralic wave transitioning to a chypre direction. This is devastatingly good, one of the many masterpieces by the hands of Jacques Guerlain.

Very heady bouquet of opulent and heavy white florals. You have to really adore pure white flowers to appreciate this, but if that is your penchant then this is among the best options for your distinguished taste. There is an overripe quality to the scent, it isn't fresh, powdery or green.....it literally resembles an array of fully blossomed white florals bathing in sun nectar for hours on a sweltering summer day. The texture is dewy, abundant and opaque. An uplifting and extroverted tuberose is the most prominent and she's paired with a well-behaved earthy gardenia and a soapy jasmine. The latest formulation is powerful and this is coming from someone who rarely calls a fragrance beast mode. Characterisation: Strong, self-assured, obnoxiously confident, but in no way arrogant, the heart of the party, surrounded by company, echoes of laughter, flamboyant opulence, pearls consipicously falling from her neck, red lipstick, a baroque brooch, hair swept into an Audrey Hepburn bun, oversized Chanel sunglasses. Although shes overbearing, you love her company, you can't help but smile and you regret her absence

Inspired by Marie Antoinette's castle gardens, a smorgasbord of period wildflowers. Finely crushed lemons and tuberose, orange blossom, and lily of the valley dormant under the skin, construct a rough and messy country garden. It is a golden liquid like the essence of nectar with high sweetness. The medium that triggers white flowers is water. Jardins de Bagatelle gives you a taste of what it means to be surrounded by flowers, this big weave band is made up of loud-sounding brass instruments. The sharp metallic acidity is like the humming of a wild bee, noisy, but adds to the interest of Jardins de Bagatelle. Rather than Tuscan country, Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" is more suited to Jardins de Bagatelle.

I don't like Jardins, or maybe it does not like me. I have tried two different versions, one was about 15 years ago, the second is the current one. Although I like the head notes, there is something claustrophobic in this fragrance that puts me off. It could be the ylang-ylang, or maybe the indolic jasmine, not sure. But it seems to lack the freshness of the air that one should enjoy in a garden, while smelling all the beautiful flowers. One of the very few Guerlains that do not work on me.

I have a sample, which I'm going to presume is this version as it's very violet heavy & the others in the database do not list it in the notes? Not feeling the aldehydes much, this doesn't 'sparkle' with them, just slightly soapy. Very indolic white florals, mainly jasmine, over n above anything 'yellow'. Mildly earthy herby quality which does feel like being in a garden, a dryish garden in summer. This is another one the philistine husband describes as 'granny's bog cleaner'. He def hates indolic jasmine. Tbh I am not madly keen either. For a big ol' fashioned floral I prefer Amarige, which it does vaguely remind me of.

Hello from Decodawn. It's wild & windy weather in February 2022, I hope you are all staying safe. This is my review of Jardins de Bagatelle. Firstly, Jean Paul Guerlain fragrances are to be admired because each original bottle tells a story in the design & also liquid content. I own the original tall rectangular vintage edt. In the early 80s, it was all about the abundance of flowers. Romance & nothing was 'too much'. With all Guerlain fragrances patience is required for a true olfactory experience. They are not cheap grab spritz and go. They are very expensive luxury products and need handling with awe and delicacy. Jean Paul Guerlain was inspired after visiting the Chateau de Bagatelle Abbeville, France with its abundant Rose gardens & created this wonderful ode to joy for perfumistas. Many have listed the notes etc my take on this fragrance is voluptuous, well blended, rich & sensual. A loud opening, happy & joyful heart, with a sexy musky honey dry down. Obviously the Guerlainard is very prominent in the dry down. It is not similar to other fragrances it is not cold like Chanel I personally find Chanel a cold fragrance house very clinical and clean. Guerlain is all blood, sweat & tears and history and passion. I would recommend buying a small vintage sample on ebay for about £15-£20 to experience this classic fragrance. Then to save up your pennies and invest in a large rectangular bottle of the edt the edp is gorgeous but incredibly expensive. The new launch last year 2021 is a pale imitation of what was a floral powerhouse mainly due to the restrictions of ingredients. As someone once said this is a Happy, joyful fragrance and one to be loved & treasured. I absolutely love it. Masterpiece. Enjoy x 🙏❤💕

I have two unopened vintage miniatures of Jardins de Bagatelle, EDP and EDT, and I have been comparing them over the last couple of days. The EDP is in the original 80s packaging, complete with large gold cap, while I believe my EDT is slightly newer. My mom had a bottle of CK Eternity not too long ago, and JDB reminds me of it - a slightly sour white floral bouquet with green notes, more extroverted than elegant in typical 80s style. I was surprised to find that the two concentrations are slightly different fragrances. The EDT opens with thin citrus notes that are most likely past their best. Aldehydes creep in, adding a bright soapiness and some soft white florals emerge as it develops. It is slightly metallic, souring as time moves on, but fades into quite a nice woody musky skin scent with some remnants of the florals. It doesn't last long at all - less than four hours on my skin. I much prefer the EDP, which opens with a rich jasmine note, sweet and slightly indolic. There is a hint of lemon, adding a Shalimar-esque fresh lift, and it becomes a floral bouquet. Waxy, Fracas-style tuberose and a sweet gardenia note are pretty prominent alongside the jasmine, with a soft, dry narcissus and some rose joining in as it develops. Aldehydes add a bright soapiness, as in the EDT, and there are sap-like damp green notes, reminiscent of freshly cut daffodil stems. Here, JDB is at its best - a big, 1980s white floral bouquet. Unfortunately, it sours as it develops further, with that unpleasant metallic quality hovering behind the florals. The drydown is quite nice, slightly buttery and sweetly animalic, as Estelle17 below puts it. It becomes sweetly musky as it dries down, with almost undetectable woody notes, unlike in my EDT. Here, the sillage is pretty good and longevity is moderate. My EDT is a much thinner, sparser, pursed-lips version of the altogether more lush EDP. (I accept that it may have gone off, but this seems unlikely considering the bottle was sealed.) A 1980s time capsule made with high-quality vintage ingredients, JDB is well-blended and has various points of interest. Better than Eternity, but it's a pity about the unfortunate sour phase. 3/5 (EDP).

So I recently bought Jardins de bagatelle in the new bee packaging and I loved it so much that I ordered a backup immediately but this time I got the older bee packaging in the gold box with black lettering. There is a difference, both are really aldehidic at first spray so wait about 10-15 minutes and that will subside. the newer one has more of a woody note at the base that if you put your nose to close to your wrist that is all you smell but put your nose 5 inches away and you get the most lovely flower bouquet in a beautiful layered effect that floats around you. The older bee bottle the base has a buttery animalic note that is not as clean smelling as the newer one. The older one also has the beautiful floral floating middle notes but it is heavier and I think I prefer the newer formulation. The newer one is definitely spring and summer appropriate and fresher in my opinion but the woody base notes sometimes compete with the florals. The older version the florals seem a bit stronger but I don’t like that buttery animalic kind of fecal note at the base. I think it is a matter of preference to which base notes you prefer.