Note · White flowers

Tiare

Gardenia taitensis

Photo: Forest & Kim Starr (new tab) / Wikimedia Commons (new tab), CC BY 3.0 (new tab)

Tiare, or Tahitian gardenia, is the emblematic flower of Polynesia, macerated in coconut oil to make monoi. Its scent is creamy, sunny and lightly spiced.

What it brings

A sunny, milky floral note that evokes sun-warmed skin.

Origins and uses

Tiare, Gardenia taitensis, is a small evergreen shrub of the Pacific islands; its Tahitian name means "flower of Tahiti", and it is the floral emblem of French Polynesia. Its white flowers, with petals arranged in a spiral, have a powerful scent reminiscent of jasmine. They are made into the crowns and garlands offered to visitors, and macerated in copra oil to obtain Tahitian monoi, a process compared with the enfleurage of perfumery.

In perfumery, tiare is used as a tincture or, more often, recreated by the perfumer. It brings a creamy, sunny white floral quality with coconut accents that evokes the islands.

In our catalogue, tiare opens 1804 George Sand by Histoires de Parfums, with peach and pineapple, and appears in the heart of French Riviera by Mancera, with marine notes and mimosa.

Text written with the help of AI, based on reference sources: encyclopedias, raw-material manufacturers and official information from the fragrance houses.

Material profile