Terry de Gunzburg Reve Opulent Review

op·u·lence 

1. Wealth; affluence.

2. Great abundance or extravagance.

Reve Opulent is supposed to be the gardenia scent of Terry de Gunzburg's line of fragrances.  This was not a house that I was familiar with and until I read some reviews wasn't convinced that I wanted to try them.....but the notes on their fragrances seemed enticing enough.  Reve Opulent is the first I've tried....it's been awhile since I've worn a gardenia scent and figured I could smell it with a fresh approach, since I don't have any gardenia fragrances stuck in my mind in which to compare.  Opulence implies to me an elaborate use of ingredients, and I was expecting a big gardenia scent.  I took my sample and sprayed.....

Reve Opulent opens on a tide of honey, jasmine and sweet, ripe peaches.  These peaches are heavy with juice, just past tangy to full on sweet, and ready to fall off the tree.  One of the areas where I lived is known for its orchards and fruit picking.  Luckily we knew quite a few orchardists and throughout the season, they would allow friends to come to the orchards and grab 'floor fruit'....basically, fruit that had fallen off the tree recently that was relatively unmarred and ready to be eaten.  The peach in this scent reminds me of those fruits......so sweet that it was like sucking peach syrup when you got past the fuzzy red and yellow skin, almost a peach wine.  The honey is a light clover honey, no beeswax or richness, just a light scent as if a spoonful was diluted in a glass of warm water.  The jasmine is pretty and prominent, along with a pop of gardenia (there it is!), fully bloomed and without any surrounding leaves.

A pretty plum joins us, peeled and sliced to get the full effect of the red-tinged fruit, as well as a touch of cinnamon.  It also adds to the effect of an end of summer ambrosia, with the fruits of the season ready to vanish until the following season, and the sense of spice in the air that embodies the approach of fall and the comforts of a warm blanket.  There is a velvety yellow rose, adding some soft brightness.  The syrupy sweetness of the scent continues to develop, without turning overly sharp, but removing any juiciness from the peach and turning it into a candied scent, like fruit covered in a layer of sugar crystals.  The gardenia is present throughout this stage but as a supporting actor to the fruits which play a starring role.

When the vanilla enters, it does so gradually and in the polite manner of a vanilla orchid.  There is no baked good element here but the effect of a vanilla powder, enhanced by a cloud of white musk.  Thankfully, the white musk (though pleasant) never dominates the drydown, which is a powder puff of peach and vanilla sugar.

Note from my husband:  "It's ok.  I like it.  It makes me think of hummingbirds....you know, what they drink?"  Ambrosia, dear.

When I was young, I really used to like Fun Dip Candy.  They still make it.....it's a paper package with 3 compartments that hold different flavors of flavored candy powder.  To eat it, you open a separate compartment that contains a white candy stick that tasted of powdered vanilla sugar.  The taste of that candy will stay with me forever.  My mother wouldn't let me have much candy, and if I wanted any I would have to buy it with my 2.00 allowance....what a bargain it was to buy Fun Dip and have it last for three days!  This scent for some reason reminds me of a packet of peach flavored Fun Dip.  I don't find it extravagant but comforting and a little bit childlike.  I think it would be a great crossover to niche for a young woman, or a fun summer scent for a lady, but I don't view it as a grand dame sort of experience.  If you like a true fruity floral, please try this one.  If you don't like sweetness, stay away.