Hi Friends! Here is another chapter to my "Fragrance Story" and it is all about Jo Malone. Also, you will find my review of Jo Malone London's ("Jo Malone") "Tropical Cherimoya" from the latest "Hot Blossoms" collection.
A story of a feminine florist - brief history about Jo Malone
Jo Malone (a UK perfumer born in November 1963) first started in the Beauty industry as a florist and beautician. Frangratica notes that Jo Malone began giving her clients a bath oil (“Nutmeg and Ginger Bath oil”) as a thank-you gift which became quite the sort after product. Thus, Jo Malone’s fragrance business blossomed from that humble but fabulous bath oil. “Jo Malone”, the business, was born on 1991.
Jo Malone opened her first flag ship store in the UK in 1994. Products included fragrances; skin care; and home scents. Jo Malone’s candles are also quite popular. Click here to go to Jo Malone’s website
The most interesting thing is that Jo Malone was one of the first advocates for layering fragrances. I believe that is possibly where most of her fragrances are offered as colognes. Colognes are typically lighter in terms of the quantity of the raw perfume formula, and I think they lend themselves to being layered. Also, Jo Malone Fragrances typically only have one, two or three key notes.
The Jo Malone brand became rapidly successful and Jo Malone sold her business to Estée Lauder Companies (“ELCCo” ) in 1999. That is a pretty good success story, as Jo Malone only started in 1991. Jo Malone served as both chairwoman and creative director till 2006. ELCCo continues to grow the Jo Malone brand. “Lime Basil and Mandarin” was one of the first popular Fragrances created by Jo Malone.
In 2011, Jo Malone launched a new brand “Jo Loves” in the UK.
Jo Malone (the brand) has released 110 fragrances (source).
Source:
If you have ever been in a Jo Malone boutique or shopped at a Jo Malone counter, it is quite the experience. I remember selecting my first fragrance with the assistance of the highly professional fragrance adviser. Once selected, my first fragrance “Nectarine Blossom & Honey” was, with great flourish and style, ceremoniously packed in to that signature Jo Malone cream and black box and tied with a black ribbon. I still remember the scene which plays on in my head, of the Jo Malone fragrance expert, pulling the black tissue from the massive roll with grandeur and misting them down with Fragrances; and the final flourish of tying the black ribbon on the box. It was also very cool that she gave me several samples of other Jo Malone colognes. An experience I would recommend.
I think Jo Malone’s astronomical rise to fame and fortune is attributable not only to the lovely unisex scents that appeal to most people; simple yet elegant packaging; (except for Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez in their book “Perfumes, the A-Z guide”, in which I could not find a single positive comment about Jo Malone); and great customer service which makes the experience of buying a Fragrance very luxurious. The price point is also very reasonable.
Jo Malone’s fragrances are generally unisex - colognes made for women and men.
Jo Malone is also famous for her candles (this reminds me of another perfumer who I will talk about in another chapter).
Most coveted fragrances are the ones that come in special edition bottles such as the “Hot Blossoms” collection which I will be reviewing in this chapter, or the very pretty “Star Magnolia” of 2017.
Some of the most popular colognes from Jo Malone; include:
Nutmeg & Ginger (1990) - created solely by Jo Malone herself; generally categorised as belonging to the “Woody Spicy” category
Lime Basil & Mandarin (1999) - generally categorised as belonging to the “Citrus Aromatic” category. This fragrance was also created solely by Jo Malone.
Basil & Neroli (2016) - belonging to the “Floral Green” category. This particular fragrance has reached cult status (this was the first fragrance to use the basil accord as a main ingredient and continues to be a common note in Jo Malone fragrances since this particular one was launched). This fragrance was created by Anne Flipo (click here to read more about her). This fragrance seems to be the most commonly suggested one by Jo Malone’s fragrance experts, as it makes a good base for layering with other Jo Malone scents.
The use of the basil accord is interesting to me as I smell it as a savoury note.
There is one Jo Malone boutique within walking distance of my home located in Woollarah.
Review of the Hot Blossoms Collection
“Tropical Cherimoya” was created by Jo Malone’s creative director Céline Roux and perfumer Sophie Labbe (the duo also created the collection “English Fields”). Céline Roux was inspired by the flowers and fruits she saw in Brazil.
The "Hot Blossoms" collection includes the Fragrance “Tropical Cherimoya” in 30ml & 100ml. It also includes a body mist “Cattleya Flower Body Mist” (the first body mist ever produced by Jo Malone).
I was gifted the 30 ml and 100 ml versions of the “Tropical Cherimoya” by ELC Australia.
My overall first impressions of “Tropical Cherimoya” is that I smell and “see” watermelons. Yes, that is right. My mind is overwhelmed by just watermelons. Perhaps this might be affected by the visual images I saw of the bottled before I tested it (see my Chapter: “Method” where I briefly discuss how visual images impact can impact your olfactory perception of Fragrances).
This Fragrance is apparently the first fruit themed cologne released by Jo Malone (a quick google search came up with this result).
The key notes are (per press release):
Green Cherimoya fruit
Juicy pear
Passion flower
Brazilian copahu resin and Tonka bean
The “drydown” is immaculate. For a Fragrance that is a cologne, I was pleasantly surprised by the intensity of the “drydown”. I typically leave my testing blotter in a well ventilated room for at least 48 hours. I left my testing blotter for “Tropical Cherimoya” for around 56 hours.
This Fragrance is generally accepted as being one that belongs to “Floral Fruity” or “Fruity Sweet” group of Fragrances.
It is clearly a very sweet scent, not nauseating sweet. To me, I found sweet blossoms; sweet fruits; bergamot oil and that tonka bean scent (which is something that I would describe as being similar to “vanilla”). It is a fairly neutral scent. Not too warm, not too cool. It sits on the skin quite well and for a cologne and for me, it has a fairly good lasting time - approximately 4-5 hours against the standard benchmark of 2-3 hours.
I felt that the scent could have been improved with a touch of spice to balance out the sweet notes. That is just my current personal preference, at the time of writing this chapter.
There seems to be something musky included in this Fragrance. I’m not too sure. I’m also not too sure that it would appeal to those of the masculine sex. It is a bit too sweet I think.
I admit I had to “google” what “Green Cherimoya” is. My search revealed that Mark Twain once dubbed them “the most delicious fruit known to men” and the fact that I have eaten this fruit before and knew it only as “custard apples”. My recollection of it is that it is a bit mushy in consistency and has a tart sweet taste. It is not a “juicy” fruit.
I also had to google what “Brazilian copahu resin” is. It is derived from the Copahu Tree that is native to Brazil. Very interestingly, it known to assist with stress and inflammation when applied as a topical form. In oil form, it is meant to be good for oily skin and deeply moisturising.
To read more about this miraculous oil, please click on the links below.
Jo Malone’s “Tropical Cherimoya” received the following ratings from perfume enthusiasts around the World:
Fragrantica - 3.58 out of 5
Parfumo Community - 7.3 out of 10
Jo Malone website: 5 out of 5
If you prefer spicier scents that are not too sweet, then I do not think it is for you. The bottle sure is pretty and I was curious to understand why the 30ml has a different bottle top (orange) to the 100ml with a pink bottle top.
I hope you found this helpful! Drop me an email (makeupmanic88@gmail.com) or DM me on my Instagram (@teacupofmakeup) and let me know if there are any fragrances you would like me to review. I hope you found this review useful. Yours Truly with Lots of Love, TeacupOfMakeup. 待会见! 可爱的小茶杯!
