Jo Malone Marmalade Collection©

Jo Malone has been a fascinating company to follow over the years, ever since 1994 when she opened the first boutique and unleashed her own vision of flower power plus from a distinctly English point of view. Five short years later, Estée Lauder acquired the company and Jo Malone has continued with its inception intent, that of delivering fine quality wearable fragrances (which are indeed staggering in number). I confess to standing in front of those legions of beautiful, classic flacons, candles, body creams, bath oils, etc. – in high-end shops with glazed-over eyes. Where does one look, smell first? It can feel overwhelming. I’ve tried to keep up with the prodigious output, but it isn’t easy – so it was a great pleasure when I was generously offered to sample the entire new Jo Malone Marmalade Collection just last week. I’d like to share my impressions with you, dear readers; you might find yourselves a bit surprised by my favorites (I was, too).

 

 

Jo Malone Ad Campaign for the Marmalade Collection©

Firstly – what IS an English Aesthetic, anyway? It sounds like a landmine. Any time someone launches into stereotype of any kind, our ears rightfully prick up expectantly, as well they might. I’ll try to share my perspective, that of a woman raised by a Russian-transplant Cockney grandfather and married for 38 years to a loyal British subject. Living on a small, crowded island is challenging, for one thing. Especially one which has been populated and dominated, skirmished over by many nations, tribes and clans. One of the ways everything functions is by virtue of a mannered society with well-defined rules and social expectations. Nonetheless, there is the lovely subversive side of quirky personality which sings of individualism. English fashion is a gorgeous illustration of this: Vivienne Westwood, Mary Quant, Alexander McQueen. A wild orderly/disorderly English garden exemplifies a love of natural beauty and can identify its owner/keeper’s particular penchant for the conventional vs. unconventional. Think lordly manor estate vs. Bloomsbury. Manners count: generally, one doesn’t seek a fragrance which screams or invades tight spaces. Subtlety is greatly appreciated and a virtue (mind, we’re not addressing the custom of many Middle-Eastern, African or Indian/Pakistani folk to whom England is home; their fragrant history/experience is vastly different). There is a long history of English affection for the rose, violet, lavender, lily of the valley and fougère, as well as traditional eaux de colognes. How to take a classic, well-loved scent and render it more compelling? How to express that desire for individuality without exhibiting rudeness?

 

 

 Collage by Michelyn courtesy of Jo Malone©

Jo Malone Marmalade Collection treats one to an aromatic romp from garden to kitchen in one fell swoop – and it’s the confectioner’s garden. There is nothing to top a homemade jam, jelly, marmalade – a medium through which one can express love (without actually having to utter the words), hospitality and the desire to make others feel welcome. From the ethereally delicate to the zestfully cheerful, the Marmalade Collection celebrates two blossoms and two fruits in a delightfully playful manner. The fifth addition is their popular Blackberry & Bay Cologne, which they suggest as an additional layer ( the company has suggested that the public feel free to combine or layer their fragrances to create a bespoke scent).

 

Jo Malone Marmalade Collection -Tangy Rhubarb, Rose Bush, Elderflower Cordial, Orange Peel and Blackberry and Bay

Inspiration for the Jo Malone Marmalade Collection arose from several sources. Having launched a Sugar & Spice collection 10 years ago which revolved around British desserts, the concept of English preserves created from seasonal fruits seemed particularly appealing. As might have been anticipated, a good deal of the perfumers’ time was spent in London’s Fortnum & Mason’s – long renowned for their dazzling array of extraordinary jams, jellies, preserves and marmalades. Perfumer Marie Salamagne then brought a Scottish supplier of natural fruit flavorings to the team’s attention; these could be employed via adaptation for fragrant use – which, to their credit, were successfully modified and utilized to deliver an authentic, realistic character. The two exceptions in the five-flacon set are Elderflower Cordial, which was brought back from the Sugar & Spice collection – and Blackberry & Bay Cologne, which has been a longstanding favorite and was included as a layering complement to the other scents.

Jo Malone Tangy Rhubarb©

 

What I didn’t expect to love and really did: Jo Malone Tangy Rhubarb Cologne.

Honestly, I enjoy a good rhubarb pie as much as the next person, or in combination with berries in patisserie – but when it comes to perfume, it’s rare that I’m smitten by the note as most approach it. Rhubarb can come across to me as very astringent, a tad bitter and/or acrid, even synthetic in an unpleasant way. Enter Tangy Rhubarb, with its beautiful orange zest and gentle cedar (as far from pencil shavings as you can get). It’s so sprightly, zingy, tonic! There’s nothing sulfuric here (which happens with rhubarb) to frighten or repel one. Honestly, this was the LAST one in the group I thought would hit all the sweet spots, but it does. If you want an energetic, purely happy fragrance to spray wantonly in a hot climate, this is the ticket. It smells natural, unaffected, truthful and is effortless to wear. I also did as suggested (you can run out of fleshly real estate trying to do this all) and added a bit of Blackberry & Bay, with its grapefruit and vetiver: surprisingly good, imparting a bit more verdant depth. BIG SURPRISE! Notes: rhubarb, orange zest, cedar

 

What I really wanted/expected to love, but didn’t quite: Jo Malone Orange Peel Cologne.

Oh how I wanted this to be The One, with its abundance of orange peel. Try as I might, it didn’t work for me – only marginally in the drydown, just. The addition of rhubarb this time felt fairly sulfuric, giving an acrid edge, and the ‘warm woods’ referred to was, for me – a scratchy woody amber synthetic material which I generally find unpleasant (embedded cleverly by a handful of perfumers, I’ve known it to work very well, but that is a rare occurrence). Eventually, it did calm down considerably, but it simply wasn’t my cup of tea. Those of you who truly enjoy a more intense woody/amber aromachemical base will enjoy it, most certainly (and there are many). There it is. Notes: orange peel, rhubarb, clary sage, warm woods

What I truly enjoyed – and it was both Sweet AND Powdery: Jo Malone Elderflower Cordial Cologne.

Recent articles lamenting the abundance of gourmand fragrances: my apology. Here’s a scent teetering on the precipice of Powder Excess and Syrup, and I ate it right up. I love elderberries (no Monty Python and the Holy Grail, please) and elderflower. This is a puff pastry of sweetest cordial sprigged with a soupçon of hawthorn (likely in the form of anisaldehyde, with its almondy doughiness) and only a hint of gooseberry. By all rights it should make the teeth ache, but it’s as pretty as it is sweet. In my moment of madness I spritzed the suggested Blackberry & Bay; it changes everything, but now I’m super sweet woody cordial. I also detect an undisclosed hint of coconut-like something in here. Notes: elderflower, hawthorne, gooseberry

 

What I expected to love, did, and what it reminds me of Rose Blush.

Oh, the loveliness! Does anyone recall the glory of the earlier Rosines – those plenitudes of truest real rose, and the one with ribbons of fresh basil running through it like a cooling river? 2008, perfumer François Robert’s Zephir de Rose: it’s quite a compliment to Jo Malone, I think. This is SO natural smelling! You are in the garden in real time: rose-petal jellies coupled with the beauty of basil, an absolute thrill. A little lychee for sweetness and tang, fluffy musks to prolong but not intrude upon a private pleasure. Is it traditional? Quite possibly – but it’s difficult to argue with perfection. Notes: rose, basil, lychee, white musk 

Sample set generously provided by Jo Malone – heartfelt thanks!  My nose is my own…

All photos courtesy of Jo Malone London©

Available at Jo Malone.com here. They are sold separately and are Limited Editions in special flacons.

~ Ida Meister, Deputy Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor

Which in the collection appeals to you the most?  Do you have a favorite Jo Malone?

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Which in the collection appeals to you the most?  Do you have a favorite Jo Malone