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I wrote recently about the Body Shop's White Musk perfume oil. Rummaging through my old cosmetics boxes recently, I found another Body Shop perfume oil: Indian Gardenia. This 2004 perfume has been discontinued (according to the perfume blogs). The Body Shop revived it as White Gardenia, but the notes to this newer version are different, and there is no perfume oil, but an eau de toilette spray.
The core flower of Indian Gardenia is...the gardenia. This is a flower that is very hard to incorporate into a perfume. It often has a sharp, acerbic scent (both Elizabeth Taylor and Marc Jacobs have launched gardenia-based perfumes, but not very successfully). But the gardenia in Indian Gardenia comes out warm and slightly sweet. I think what helps is that it has the heavier jasmine and sandalwood, and the sweet/spicy clove to ground it.
Notes for Indian Gardenia:
Top notes: Rose Petal, Neroli, Crisp Orange
Middle notes: Indian Gardenia, Yellow Champaca, Jasmine, Lily of the Valley, Carnation
Bottom notes: Amber, Sandalwood, Clove
I associate this perfume oil with an Indian movie, Devdas, that came out in the 2000s. I hardly ever go to see Bollywood productions, but for some reason, I thought that this might be worthwhile. Bollywood movies are famous for their "musical" aspects, and the exaggerated acting (and actions), and I've never been attracted to them. Perhaps it was because it was showing in ordinary theaters (at least two, as far as I can remember) and not some hall in the Indian section of town, that I decided to watch Devdas. And I wasn't disappointed. I liked it so much, I think I went back to see it three times, and even looked for the DVD (which I never found).
Here is the synopsis for Devdas:
At the time of its release, 'Devdas' (2002)...was the most expensive Bollywood film ever made—and every rupee shows. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali...spared no detail here, from the costumes to the choreography. The sumptuous sets literally shimmer, enhanced by artful cinematography.More on the movie here.
But what's most engaging about the film is its wrenching story of separated lovers...The novella 'Devdas' was written in 1917 by esteemed Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and it's so beloved by Indians it has been made into a film 12 times, in various Indian languages, including three Hindi versions. This adaptation features Shahrukh Khan as the doomed Devdas, Aishwarya Rai as his childhood sweetheart Paro, and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi, a courtesan with a heart of gold.
Madhuri Dixit (the courtesan with a heart of gold) is an enchanting dancer. She has a very good singing voice also. Aishwarya Rai, who plays Devdas's childhood sweetheart, is apparently the more famous of the two. At least, I'd heard of her. She's tried to cross-over into films in the West, and she won various beauty contests, including Miss World in 1994. But Madhuri is the true talent, and the true beauty. I don't often get Indian dancing and singing, popular or classical. I appreciate the forms in the classical dance, and the rhythms in the popular, but I cannot get submerged into them like I would in ballet or modern dance.
But Madhuri's dancing is different. I thought she might have a ballet background, but her biography indicates that she's a trained Indian classical dancer. She is very musical, and doesn't exaggerate her movements, as I've watched other "Bollywood" dancers do. Her singing voice is also gentler than the higher pitch that the women often have, as does Aishwarya's voice.
Here is Madhuri in Devdas dancing (and singing) to Maara Dala:
In this video, you can compare her dancing and singing to Aishwarya's, both of which Madhuri of course does much better.