Anne Flipo

by

Second Sunday Samples: Jo Malone Scented Mementos Collection

Jo Malone is a very special brand for me: over the years, I’ve tested over a hundred of their perfumes, more than any other single brand. And thanks to the combination of their accessibility (several stores nearby carry the line), pioneering small format (10-15 years ago, not that many brands had even 30 ml bottles), relative affordability and focus on my favorite perfume family, florals, Jo Malone is the best-represented brand in my collection.

My top 12 perfumes from the brand are French Lime Blossom, Sweet Milk, Mimosa & Cardamom, Orange Bitters, Blackberry & Bay, Dark Amber & Ginger Lily, English Pear & Freesia, Lotus Blossom & Water Lily, Pomegranate Noir, Wild Fig & Cassis, Black Vetyver Cafe, Wood Sage & Sea Salt.

And even though in the last five years, only a couple of new perfumes interested me enough to get a mini bottle, I continue to check all their new releases religiously.

My recent trip to the Jo Malone counter at Nordstrom has almost resulted in an impulsive purchase. I saw their Scented Mementos collection and wanted it before I even sprayed any on paper.

Jo Malone Scented Mementos Collection

“A limited-edition collection inspired by unique pieces filled with memories, found at the British antique market.”

* * *

I’m not into antiques or trinkets. I don’t even like vintage perfumes. But every time in our travels we come across an antique store, in some childish hope I expect to find there something magical there… In all the years that I’ve been doing that, I bought just a couple of mini bottles. But since one of them was a perfect replica of Chamade extrait bottle, I keep searching.

I saw all of Jo Malone’s limited edition collections in the last 13 years, and I liked many of the perfumes as well as the colorful variations on the standard Jo Malone bottles. But these bottles from the Scented Mementos collection fit the theme spectacularly. Not only they are very different from anything previously released by the brand, but they are so eclectic and random that you can easily imagine them being picked up at a garage sale, flea market or provincial antique shop. In the photo above, they seem larger than they are in real life, and I was drawn to them.

I sprayed them all on paper strips… and liked three out of four, which paradoxically saved me from an impulse purchase right there on the spot. Even if it weren’t for my low-buy year, I couldn’t imagine buying three perfumes after a brief sniff, no matter how cute and cohesive I found the collection to be. So, I sprayed two perfumes on my wrist, borrowed my vSO’s wrist for the third, and continued shopping, periodically sniffing all three wrists to decide which one should come home with me. By the time I was ready to leave, I still couldn’t make up my mind and left without getting any of them.

At home, as we probably all do from time to time after sniffing something we liked, I started searching the web to see if maybe one of the stores had some promotion that would entice me to buy one of them… but then, even if could find any, which one? In the end, I was happy to see that the Jo Malone site had a discovery set for the collection (smart!) and bought it without hesitation.

Jo Malone Scented Mementos Collection Samples

Musk Memento (the rightmost on the photo) with a bottle that strongly reminds me of vintage Estee Lauder Pleasures perfume was the only one from this collection that I didn’t like. To my nose, it smells like a laundry detergent, and I wouldn’t have used it even as such since I prefer unscented ones. The positive aspect of this perfume is that it smells exactly as intended if judged by the brand’s description:

“A clean musk scent inspired by a ceramic soap dish. I’ve long loved the scent of a traditional soap bar […]. The nostalgia and comfort are captured in clean notes of soft musk and aldehyde, a sprinkle of English lavender and elegant cedarwood.” If I deciphered correctly from the recent interview in The Cheshire Magazine, the nose behind this perfume is Marie Salamagne. I liked just a couple of plethora of perfumes she authored, so I’m not surprised that Musk Memento left me unimpressed. Ironically, it is the most tenacious of all.

Ginger Beer created by (I think) Yann Vasnier is a spicy woody composition with a prominent citrus opening that quickly subsides, and after about 20 minutes all I get is a delightful slightly sweet skin scent. I can’t tell if it smells even reminiscent of the beverage it borrowed its name from (I’m not sure I’ve ever tried it), but I like how it smell. The Ginger Beer bottle doesn’t remind me of anything in particular, but it looks well-made and is pleasant to hold.

The last two perfumes, Emerald Thyme and Passiflora, were created by Anne Flipo. Emerald Thyme is a heavenly cologne for all 15 minutes of its development, and then it becomes a very pleasant skin scent. The juicy bright and slightly sweet lemon opening is mouthwatering (literally!). As it dries down, the sweetness goes away together with the lemon, and what is left is a masculine-leaning dry composition grounded by herbs. The Emerald Thyme’s bottle looks like many cologne bottles I saw before, but I can’t pinpoint any specific one.

Passiflora is the most feminine perfume in the collection. It’s warm and smooth from the first slightly spicy cardamom burst until the comforting ambery-vanilla skin scent in 30 minutes after the application. When I picture Passiflora’s bottle in my mind, I feel on the verge of recognition: I definitely saw another perfume in a similar bottle… but it slips away, and I cannot place it.

* * *

I love these bottles. I quite enjoy Ginger Beer, Emerald Thyme and Passiflora, and would gladly wear them. But at $3/ml, these perfumes just shouldn’t be that fleeting! I can live with reapplying perfumes after 2-3 hours, and my collection of Jo Malone perfumes is proof of that. But a skin scent 20-30 minutes into the development?! It feels like they are giving customers just enough time to make a purchase decision at a counter. That doesn’t feel right.

Despite that, if they had released a set of mini-bottles for this collection, I would have paid even more per ml just because I would love to have this bottles in my collection.

 

Images: my own

by

In the Search for the Perfect Linden, Take 2

 

I’m not much of a spontaneous person, if you haven’t noticed yet. I try to plan most things in my life. It gives me the feeling of comfort and control. But, as with many other things we crave because we do not have them – straight/curly hair, lighter/darker skin, etc., from time to time I wish I would do something on an impulse, without going through every detail in my head first.

My vSO is even less spur-of-the-moment man. So when a couple of weekends ago he told me: “Let’s go to Santa Cruz mountain wineries!” in less than an hour we were on our way there.

*

I just couldn’t pass by a small boutique named Scentsations# – a tiny soap and cosmetics shop. An older gentleman, most likely an owner, peeked over the newspaper he was reading to greet me. A usual small shop small talk (as I keep sniffing different soaps):

– It’s a nice day. What are you doing today?
– Yeah, it is. We’re here for the wine tasting.
– Are you even old enough to drink?
– (I laugh: I know I’m old enough to have a kid of a drinking age but since he’s old enough to be my father I do not feel bad about his obvious flattery) Thank you, I appreciate it.
– Where are you from?
– (my habitual answer to such questions) I live in the Bay Area, my accent is from…
– I thought so. You should try this one…

He hands me a bar of soap. It is tender green and smells of linden. On the paper wrap it says “Tilleul” and “Made in France”. How could I not buy it?

Linden Soap And Rusty

In my last year post I told the story behind my affection towards linden blossom and reviewed briefly perfumes that I tried while looking for the perfect linden-centric perfume: French Lime Blossom by Jo Malone, Linden by Demeter, Tilleul by Provence Sante and Zeta by Tauer Perfumes. I didn’t find the perfect perfume then so I kept looking.

Waltz No. 14 by Tokyo Milk – notes include linden, honeyed rose, wisteria petals and white musk. To my nose it’s a bitter green scent. I can smell what is supposed to be a linden note (it’s not a bad representation of linden if smelled alone without comparing to other takes on the same scent). I do not smell rose in Waltz – honeyed or otherwise. It’s nice and crisp on my skin for the first 10-15 minutes but then gets a little soapy for a while. Like most Tokyo Milk’s perfumes that I tried it doesn’t stay for too long. The sample sent me by Victoria of EauMG (thank you!) will stay in my scents library. Read her real review for Waltz.

Tilleuls au Vent by L’Artisan Parfumeur isn’t really a perfume, it’s a room spray but it usually doesn’t stop a real perfumista in the search for a perfect scent (thank you to Vanessa of Bonkers about Perfume for sending me this sample). What can I say? It’s a room spray. Tilleuls au Vent is a very pleasant scent but it’s too single-dimensional and lacks depth.

La chasse aux Papillons by L’Artisan Parfumeur – created by Anne Flipo in 1999, notes include linden blossom, lemon tree blossom, orange blossom, jasmine and tuberose. I tested it for several times and even though I couldn’t smell too much linden in it, I enjoyed the scent. And then I read Victoria’s (EauMG) review for La chasse aux Papillons and now I cannot help smelling in it tuberose to which I didn’t pay attention before. I do not like tuberose and now it haunts me in this perfume. I’ll try to test it again in a while but for now a sample in my scent library is all I need.

Linden Soap And Rusty

Unter den Linden by April Aromatics – created by Tanja Bochnig in 2012, notes include linden blossom, mimosa, frangipani, honey extract, bergamot and gardenia. I haven’t heard about this brand until I read Asali’s (All I am – a redhead) beautiful review for Unter den Linden. Asali was very generous and sent me a sample. I’m very grateful to her but I’m not sure if I’m glad that I’ve got to try it. It’s a very pretty perfume and I take back my original impression that Unter den Linden smelled like a more lemon-y version on one of my favorites Jo Malone’s French Lime Blossom. Unter den Linden is lighter, more refined and blended more seamlessly than French Lime Blossom (I still like the latter though). What makes me unhappy is the price: however beautiful, this perfume isn’t unique enough or using really expensive and rare ingredients to justify to me $7/ml price for EdP. But if it weren’t for that I’d love to add a bottle of Unter den Linden to my collection. I still might.

Honey Blossom by Aftelier Perfumes – created by Mandy Aftel in 2010, notes include linden blossom, orange blossom, ambergris and benzoin. It is not a linden perfume. For my nose it’s a very sweet honeyed floral bouquet, warm and soothing scent. I like smelling it from my wrist but I do not want to wear it as a perfume. It makes a perfect sleep scent for me though. So once my small parfum sample that I’ve got from Mandy via Natalie (Another Perfume Blog) – thank you both – is gone I’ll probably buy the next one. For a real review read Victoria’s (Bois de Jasmin) Aftelier Honey Blossom : Natural Fragrance Review.

Ma Plus Belle Histoire d’Amour by DSH Perfumes – created by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz in 2012 for the YSL Retrospective Collection, notes include bergamot, lemon, ozone, Bulgarian rose absolute, Dossinia orchid, French linden blossom (accord), honeysuckle, linden blossom absolute, lily of the valley, sambac jasmine, wisteria, ylang ylang, Australian sandalwood, civet, East Indian patchouli, musk and vanilla. This perfume got me by surprise: it was the last perfume in the collection and I didn’t expect it to be a linden scent. I like it. Will Ma Plus Belle Histoire d’Amour become a full bottle in my collection once I’m done with the sample sent to me by Dawn (thank you!)? I don’t know yet.

Linden Soap And Rusty

I still can’t say that I found the perfect linden perfume but I will suspend my search until I get a chance to smell a real blossoming linden tree to re-acquaint myself with the aroma of my youth. On my recent trip to Baltimore I saw those pre-bloom linden trees and almost cried – two more weeks and I could have smelled something I hadn’t smelled in 15 years. Maybe next year…

If you are looking for a linden-centric perfume definitely give a try to Unter den Linden and Ma Plus Belle Histoire d’Amour and judge for yourself. You might just fall in love.

.

# Address for Scentsations: 402 Ingalls Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, (831) 423-8900

.

Images: my own