I felt the need (for quite some time now) to update my take on Illuminum White Gardenia Petals, the famed perfume Kate Middleton allegedly wore to her wedding.
I could write a lot about this issue here, but I won’t, because it is not my first priority or my wish to engage in a conflict with anybody. But I certainly wanted my friends in the perfume community to know about this though.
Therefore, as neutral as is humanely possible, here is the updated link:
Illuminum White Gardenia Petals
I hereby rest my case.
My friend Vanessa of Bonkers About Perfume, who got the ball rolling, updated her review as well.
Olfactoria's Travels 
I did say I never see this time on a Saturday, but I had to get up to go to the bathroom, and thought I’d look in! I love the phrase “as neutral as is humanely possible”. : – ) I know you have reservations about the official version, and we may learn more about how it arose in due course. I have now tried official WGP about a dozen times, and I still don’t care for it like your bottle, but familiarity is breeding a sort of acceptance, if not content as such. And I would be curious to know if my response would have been different if I had smelt the two in the opposite order ie whether my having bonded and believed in version one made me more inclined to reject the markedly different one. I am sure my nose would have picked up the disparity regardless, but I wonder if there is any psychology involved. Likewise, do the people who only know the official version like it more than they otherwise might because of the association with the Royal Wedding? I guess I am trying to get my head around the Luckyscent reviews, many of which are favourable. Whatever the whys and wherefores, I would like to thank you for your help in this matter – both logistical and nasal, not forgetting Mr Olfactoria, our stalwart “control”. : – )
I didn’t have the chance to answer earlier, but I appreciate you getting up at this ungodly hour! 🙂 I still think the second, recent, official – however we should call it – version is horrifying, and I didn’t wan to lose my credibility when people smelled it amd read my review. I think the update took care of that, so for me it is history. Also I really, really hope I never have to smell the new, original, current version again…
Mr Olfactoria is very proud to be mentioned and sends his best. 😉
Hm, which version was worn by the Duchess of Cambridge on the day of her wedding?
A very good question. The company says it was the current version (the one I did not review!) We will never know for sure… I think what is clear, is that Kate is not a perfume person. 😉
A lady-in-waiting “mole” allegedly clocked a bottle of Narciso Rodriguez for Her EDT on her dressing table, from which I would deduce that she has a high tolerance of clean musk. : – )
The kindest thing I can think is that this company is having major production problems. The harshest is that they cheapened the formula when it became popular from the wedding, so they could make more money on it. Sadly, my bet’s on the latter. The current version is ‘orrible.
And they really thought nobody will notice the difference ?
What can I say…
I was in the same frame of mind as Masha. When I commented about the possibility of cheaper materials on Vanessa’s post, she responded with some interesting points.
What an interesting little mystery. Hopefully it won’t turn into a total PR disaster.
I don’t want to cause a disaster for anyone, but I didn’t want let it go either. For me it is over now that my review is corrected.
I agree that these two scenarios seem very likely. Which one it is, we’ll never know for sure.
This is truly a shame. I haven’t been impressed with offerings from their other line (sadly) either.
Do you mean Boadicea? I tried a few – with desastrous results. 😦
Yes, Boadicea the Victorious. I tried one or two that were okay but not my style (very overbearing), but most of them were “No, please no. Get this off me.”
Exactly. Scrubbers for me too, all of them. 🙂
What the PR company are saying just doesn’t add up. It must be the first time ever that an “error” has led to a far superior batch of a perfume. What makes this so much worse is that WGP has been, and will no doubt continue to be, an unsniffed purchase for a huge amount of people. (No doubt this has a lot to do with the situation).
I’m very glad you and Vanessa have provided updates and hopefully people will find your reviews when searching for it on the Net.
That is so true, Tara!!!
There has been a lot of Google traffic to this post since the wedding, at least these people are now forewarned…