Gucci Perfume, Starting From a Scarf Made for Grace Kelly

Gucci Perfume, Starting From a Scarf Made for Grace Kelly

Gucci perfume has a garden at its center, and it goes back to a scarf from 1966. Here are the Gucci Flora bottles, the Bloom and Guilty fragrances that sit beside them, and a handful of jasmine and gardenia scents from other houses.

The Flora print started life as a scarf. In 1966 Rodolfo Gucci and Vittorio Accornero designed it for Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, and a bit of botanical showmanship has stayed with the house ever since. I think about that scarf every time I pick up a bottle of Gucci perfume, because the best ones still smell like a garden that someone has arranged with confidence. The house itself is older than the print, of course: Guccio Gucci founded it in Florence in 1921, and it became part of Kering in 1999.

The fragrance called Flora by Gucci arrived in April 2009, and its notes read as peony, citrus and mandarin, then osmanthus and rose, then sandalwood, pink pepper and patchouli. That is the original, and the Gucci Flora bottles in the grid below are the Gorgeous line that came after it. I find it easiest to sort them by flower.

Gorgeous Gardenia comes as an Eau de Parfum and as an Intense, the Intense being the richer of the two, which is the one I would wear in cold weather. Gorgeous Orchid also comes in both strengths, and the Orchid Intense with Vanilla Orchid and Dark Cocoa is the sweetest thing here, closer to dessert than to a bouquet. Gorgeous Magnolia with Berries and Patchouli is the fruitiest of the group, and I would choose it for a warm day, when a heavy white floral feels like too much.

Try two on separate wrists and give them an hour before you decide.

Collage of Gucci floral perfumes and jasmine fragrances from other houses beside a photo of a pink lipstick balm resting inside a full, blush-pink garden rose against a soft peach backdrop.
Gucci Flora bottles, Bloom and Guilty, and the jasmine and gardenia scents from other houses that sit beside them.

Flora bottles

Bloom, Guilty and the wider Gucci shelf

Flora is only one room in the house. Bloom is the one people tend to reach for next, and the two Bloom bottles here are built around jasmine and tuberose. The Eau de Parfum with Tuberose and Jasmine is the lighter one to wear on a spring afternoon. The Bloom Parfum adds vanilla to the same idea, so it should sit richer on skin.

The Guilty bottles are a different mood altogether. Guilty Pour Femme Eau de Toilette with Mandarin, Lilac and Patchouli is the daytime pick for me. The Guilty Love Edition Pour Femme Eau de Parfum with Juniper and Orange Flower is softer and more floral, with the juniper giving it a clean edge.

Two more are for him, but I will admit that scent has never followed the label. Guilty Pour Homme Eau de Toilette with Lavandin, Lemon and Patchouli smells fresh and herbal, and Guilty Eau de Parfum for Homme with Rose and Cedarwood is warmer and woodier. If you share a bathroom shelf, either can be borrowed without anyone noticing.

The test I use is simple. Spray once on the inside of the wrist, walk around the house for an hour, and see if you keep bringing your wrist to your nose. If you do, that is the bottle to keep.

Bloom, Guilty and the rest of Gucci

Gardenia and jasmine, other houses

Sometimes you want the same feeling from a different house, so I picked a few scents that share the jasmine and white floral core of the Gucci bottles above, each with its own twist.

Yves Saint Laurent's Mon Paris Eau de Parfum Patchouli and Florals is the one for someone who likes their flowers a bit dark and earthy. Prada's Paradoxe Intense with Amber and Jasmine is warmer and denser, a good evening scent. Burberry's Her Elixir de Parfum with Dark Red Berries, Jasmine and Vanilla leans fruity and warm, and it is one of the sweetest of the six. Viktor&Rolf's Good Fortune with Jasmine and Vanilla is polished and rounded, the sort of bottle you keep on a dresser because it looks good there. Jimmy Choo's I Want Choo Eau de Parfum is the easy party option. And Marc Jacobs Beauty's Daisy Wild with Jasmine is the youngest and loosest of the group, the one I would wear with a T-shirt and no plan.

What I would skip: spraying a heavy white floral on a hot, crowded day, and testing four scents in a row on paper strips. Your nose gets tired quickly, and everything starts to smell the same after the third one. Try one or two, step outside, breathe some plain air, and decide later. A coffee bean is a nice idea in theory, but fresh air and a few minutes do the job just as well.

Gardenia and jasmine from other houses

How I would choose one

Choosing one is a matter of when you will wear it. A garden scent like Gorgeous Gardenia suits an occasion, while something like Guilty suits an ordinary Tuesday.

Spray on clean, slightly moisturized skin at the pulse points, and keep the bottle somewhere cool and dark rather than on a sunny windowsill. If you are unsure, start with a bottle from the Flora family, since that is where the house began, and move to the bigger, sweeter versions afterward if you want them. Scent changes on each person, so let it settle before deciding.

If you want a bottle to give, the Gorgeous Gardenia is my safest suggestion, because it is pretty without being loud. For yourself, be a little braver and choose the one that made you stop mid-sentence at the counter. Those are the ones you end up finishing. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Hermès Mini Kelly and Cartier Necklace.