Niche Perfume Review: Jo Malone Rose Water & Vanilla – The Irresistible Allure of Exotic Confectionery

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I have a confession to make: I have an undeniable, indefatigable sweet tooth. The times I have decided to remove sugar from my diet have been insufferable. I am somewhat particular with my sweets, but I do definitely like them. What surprises me however, is that I'm finding out that I also like candied sweetness in perfume. I am particular with perfume sweetness just as much as I am edible sweetness; for instance, just as I don’t seek out pastries, I don't like perfumes that involve sticky baked goods that have buttery aspects. I don't care much for sort of crystalline candy smells, or overly saccharine or white sugar smells, just as rock crystal sugar confections don’t do much for me. I like spice drops and cinnamon imperials.

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The sweet aroma I do like in perfume is represented very well by Jo Malone Rose Water & Vanilla cologne. This perfume is reminiscent of the exotic sweet known as loukhoum, or Turkish Delight. It is a jelly candy often flavored with rose, cardamom, and other exotic tastes. There are several perfumes available that smell like loukhoum:  Serge Lutens Rahät Loukoum, Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum, and Montale Sweet Oriental Dream, among others. The advantage of the Jo Malone is that it is more readily available, and somewhat less expensive.

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The Bath by Jean-Leon Gerome

I first tried Rose Water & Vanilla when I was out and about sniffing, and it was the perfume that stood out to me as the hit of the day. When I went back to get a sample so I could review the scent, my companion said that it reminded him of the smell that comes from the ice cream store when they are making waffle cones. That is a pretty good description, especially of the very heady opening. However, although this fragrance is fairly linear, it does have more complexity than just a waffle cone. The rosewater and slightly almondy loukhoum notes help to give this perfume an exotic tinge. When I wear it, I get a sense of being somewhere else, in a slightly dusty, sunny marketplace in a foreign land. It is almost like having a sense memory of a past life. This has happened to me before with some of these sweet, almost honeyed scents, and I always enjoy that ethereal, beckoning experience.

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La Rose aux Plusiers Centres by Nur Muskara

The drydown of this perfume is comforting and soft. It lasts a fairly long time on my skin, although the waft goes away after a couple of hours. Of course, working from a sample, I haven't had the opportunity to give myself a really good application. I'm looking forward to the day when I can really spray myself down with this and really bask in its unashamed, unabashed sweet delight.

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Jo Malone Rose Water & Vanilla cologne is part of the Cologne Intense collection, available in 100 ml size only. It was released in 2010, and I’m not sure how I managed to miss it. I can't wait until I can own a bottle. Notes for this are a little bit vague but include rosewater, vanilla, rose loukhoum, orange blossom, and agarwood (per the Jo Malone website.) I received my sample from Neiman Marcus in San Francisco.

Tama Blough, Senior Editor

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6 comments

  • I have a new appreciation for rose scents and an undeniable sweet tooth. This does sound like something I would like to sniff.

  • I've been mulling over buying this one. Should I take your timely article as a sign from the universe that buying is a big YES?

  • I finally beat my sweet tooth but sometimes a sweet scent is just right. You had me at almond notes 🙂

  • Thanks–loved this review.  I really love a couple Jo Malones already and look fwd to sniffing this!

     

     I was just thinking of exotic desserts–> perfume because I had saffron ice cream and cardamon and rose infused honey with a friend, and thought Safran Troublant would pair perfectly but wasn't exactly the same as either of those sweets, both of which would make great perfumes!