Floral · Natural material · Heart notes
Tiare flower
Tiare flower is the white bloom of Gardenia taitensis, a gardenia from the South Pacific and the national flower of French Polynesia. It smells creamy and sweet, like a tropical white flower. In perfume, tiare usually sits in the heart notes and is often linked with the coconut scent of monoi oil.
· Written by the FRAG team
What does tiare smell like?
Tiare smells creamy, sweet and full, like other tropical white flowers. It has a side that recalls jasmine and tuberose, but tiare feels softer and cleaner. Paired with coconut, tiare brings to mind traditional hair oil and the beach.
On skin, tiare usually moves from a bright flower to a creamy scent that stays close. The finish is warm, like skin just rubbed with scented coconut oil.
Where tiare and monoi come from
Gardenia taitensis grows on South Pacific shores. It originates in Melanesia and Western Polynesia and was carried to the Cook Islands and French Polynesia. Despite the name Tahitian gardenia, the plant is not native to Tahiti. Tiare is the national flower of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.
In Tahiti, tiare flowers are soaked in coconut oil to make monoi, a scented oil for hair and skin with a protected appellation of origin since 1992. A true tiare absolute exists, but it is expensive, so many perfumes build the tiare impression from white-flower materials and coconut.
Tiare in perfume
Tiare usually sits in the heart notes, where it gives a creamy, bright white-flower feel, a little lighter than tuberose. You find it in many tropical florals and beach-inspired perfumes.
Coconut is a common partner, since the two meet in monoi oil. Tiare also pairs with other white flowers such as jasmine, tuberose and ylang-ylang, with vanilla and musk in the base.
When to wear tiare
Tiare feels bright and tropical, so it suits daytime, holidays and hot weather. In humid air, choose a lighter tiare blend so the creaminess does not feel dense. For the evening, tiare with vanilla feels warmer.
