Hothouse Flower is the eighth fragrance in the alphabetical series from San Francisco-based niche line Ineke, and the description — a hothouse elegance wrought from an overindulgence of gardenia — sounded very nearly perfect. Ineke is one of those in-between sort of niche lines: the fragrances are made with care and they don’t smell like all the money went towards the promotional efforts, but they’re neither outré nor esoteric nor difficult to wear; it’s easy enough to imagine them doing well on the counter at Nordstrom. Oh, and they’re under $100 — and as we all know, $100 has long been the new free when it comes to perfume, especially niche perfume.

The only one of the line I’ve wholeheartedly adored so far is Field Notes From Paris, which Kevin (and everybody else, I guess) thinks of as an orange blossom fragrance, but which I think of as one of my favorite patchouli-tobacco blends (actually, my only favorite patchouli-tobacco, neither note being a usual favorite of mine).

Hothouse Flower is an “almost” for me…

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