Jo Malone Bronze Wood and Leather Cologne Intense (Marie Salamagne) 2019

Céline Roux the Creative Director of Jo Malone has done a wonderful job of reinventing the brand.  I took notice when Yann Vasnier of Givaudan  was named and composed The Bloomsbury Set in 2017. For those who read CaFleureBon regularly, Tropical Cherimoya won a Best of Scent Award in 2018 and we have high hopes for  the recently released Jo Malone Bronze Wood and Leather Cologne Intense. Composed by Marie Salamagne (many of you recognize her from Atelier des Ors, as she creates all the perfumes for the brand) In Marie Salamagne’s words:

Marie Salamagne

“The brief was to create a Cologne Intense that was warm and sensual, with a masculine edge, but still with the Jo Malone London clarity. The newness for Jo Malone Bronze Wood and Leather Cologne Intense comes  from the wood leather – the new molecule that Céline Roux has mentioned. About six or seven years ago we were having a meeting about something else and we told Céline that we had a new, fantastic scent that she needed to smell. She fell in love with it. It had nothing to do with the scent we were working on at the time, but she knew she would find the place to use it in the future. When we started to work on this fragrance, she said ‘I think now’s the time to use this wood leather note’. Hundreds of new notes are created every year but only very few of them are kept as they are considered interesting for the palette. As perfumers, we always want new ideas – things that are original, powerful and pleasant, so you can imagine how difficult it can be to find that. This is how we created the scent of leather. The wood leather molecule is so original on its own – it’s as leathery as it is woody. It was totally Jo Malone London – unique and strong, with such a big character, and it’s never been done before.”

“Jo Malone Bronze Wood and Leather evokes the scent of sultry leather encased in a medley of woods.  At once smoky and warm, bronzed by the sun’s evening rays. Enlivened with vibrant juniper and fresh grapefruit and finished with a mysterious twist of vetiver."

Jo Malone Bronze Wood and Leather Cologne Intense pricing: 50ml RRP $125/100ml RRP $185

Available NOW at jomalone.com and stockists nationwide

Via Jo Malone and my own synopsis

Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

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7 comments

  • Bethany says:

    I want jo malone bronze woods and leather cologne intense. I love woody leather and Jo Malone fragrances are my favorites

  • susie q says:

    Sounds interesting I like Marie Salamagne style and I often wonder how when I experience a fragrance I really love how hard it was to create. There are so many perfumers and even though there’s a lot of ingredients and it seems new ones also being added it must be hard as hell to create something original that people don’t think smells like this or that which happens frequently although partly too we smell things differently. Then there are those certain creators who just keep doing it. I like Jo Malone I think they’re mostly or all cologne light|short wear which is my only downfall with them

  • cressit says:

    I am on a bit of a leather mission and I am so happy to read about these releases. Thanks for sharing Ms. Salamagne’s thoughts! I look forward to trying these.

  • mahigermez says:

    This sounds amazing! “…original, powerful and pleasant…” I can’t wait to try it!

  • roxhas1cat says:

    It was more unisex in the dry down I felt. It has longer staying power for a Jo Malone, even for an “intense”. I liked it, but didn’t love it. Leather isn’t my favorite note, but I suspect it will be popular especially for the gents.

  • Aquafortis says:

    Picked up a sample yesterday. I’m not super familiar with Jo Malone and don’t own any, but have smelled many of them. First impressions is that this is a big outlier from the rest of their collection. The notes list grapefruit at the top and if there is any in here it disappears almost immediately. The wood in this is restrained, and some review comments I’ve read reported aversion to what was noted as a gasoline-like dominant accord – which I picked up on but was not turned off by as I tent to prefer the dry and austere to the sweet and creamy. I found the traces of any softness and sweetness comes out in this during the dry down, where the subtle “leather” note also presents itself. After smelling this on a test strip and on myself, I can see how Marie Salamange’s influences are coming through, based on this quote

    “My main influences are the things from my daily life. The smell of my fireplace in the Périgord, the smell of my attic, the putty around the windows. Humus, fresh-cut pine, the cracking of a match… Any of life’s little moments can be the starting point for a new creation.”