Jo Malone Eau De Toilette {Part 1}

Sebelumnya mohon maaf kalau post review parfum kali ini pakai bahasa Inggris, karena sejujurnya ini saya hanya copy paste dari beauty blog saya : Two Thousand Things. Dan karena post nya lumayan panjang jadi saya malas translate ulang hihihii... Maafkan yahh...

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Probably the most hyped-up fragrance for the past few years, the Jo Malone colognes are everywhere. You see them raved about in blogs and magazines and even youtube videos. People hunted them and some even swore by them, making a cult line behind the exclusive cologne brand.

Quintessentially British, Jo Malone is a fragrance house known for elegantly simple scents with unexpected ingredients and a unique twist. With an understated style, defined by an unconventional sense of sophistication and inspired by modern British culture, Jo Malone is curating collections between world-renowned master perfumers and London's leading creative talent.

As we know, their colognes and perfumes are expensive. They are considered high ends and "exclusive" brand in the world of colognes and fragrances. So being a budgeted blogger I of course couldn't go and buy them all 😅

So what's a girl to do when she wants to try out some Jo Malone fragrance but they're too expensive ?
A girl go and purchase the samples first, LOL.

Don't get me wrong, even their samples are expensive (here in Indonesia). You could get free samples from Jo Malone stores in other countries but not here. We don't have Jo Malone official counter and their samples are worth IDR 80,000 - 100,000 on the market here.

Yes, the small teeny tiny tube of samples that you get for free from the Jo Malone store, we can only get them here by buying them from specific sellers. Other seller offer a share-tube, meaning she opens a bottle of Jo Malone original perfume and then she decant the juice into small spray containers and re-sell them again at a price. So that's why you'll see different containers on my photos here in this post. Some of them I bought in their original free sample vials, and a few of them I bought in shared-containers (decants) so I can have a little bit more product.

I will try to break down each of the scents that I got and hopefully this would help you determine which scent you would probably like and would prefer to get (because they're expensive so you don't want to buy them blindly, right?). These are sample sizes but they all are original Jo Malone colognes. 

PS: I don't have all of the Jo Malone scent variants (because there are so many of them) but I'll try to collect them and will add another post if I purchase new ones in the future :)

PSS: Perfumes and colognes work differently on different people, so please bear in mind that the reviews below are based on my own body chemistry. Now, let's start!

Wood Sage & Sea Salt

“An uplifting unisex fragrance that features a top note of ambrette seeds, heart note of sea salt, and the woody earthiness of sage as the base note. The scent is inspired by breaking waves, sea salt spray, and the mineral scent of rugged cliffs.”

When I sniffed it off the vial it smells like a smokey incense-like aroma with a sharp salty tone that almost like smelling salt in the air. And actually that’s the exact things I smelled when I wore it on my skin. A little bit breezy / beach-y scent, a little bit incense-like, overall a unique combination that's hard to explain. This might make a very unique scent that will left people around you wonder what scent it is, because it is very unique and totally not a generic perfume scent. 

If you love being “unique” with your scent you might want to try this one. This is actually my favorite Jo Malone scent from this batch. Sadly, although I would love to wear this scent and keeps people wondering, the scent didn't seem to go well with my body chemistry. This has low sillage on me, I couldn't even smell it on myself just a few hours after wearing it. I could add another layer after a few hours to bring up the scent again but I don't want to use too much of the sample because it's expensive. So yeah, that's just too bad... People wouldn't probably notice it on me because the scent-throw is just too weak on my skin. Also, the longevity was only moderate. It stays for about 5-6 hours but it only stays close to the skin so no one can smell it :(

English Pear Freesia

“Inspired by a walk in an orchard and captures the luscious scent of just-ripe pears, cooled by the autumn air, ready to twist free from the tree. With freshness of sweet pears, wrapped in a bouquet of white freesias, on a subtle background of scrambling wild roses and skin-warming amber, patchouli and woods”

My first impression from the first spritz is a rather blunt scent with a little bit of tart. Followed by white floral notes with a hint of fruitiness. Like a soft scent of vintage floral with a touch of baby powder fragrance. This one works out fine with my body chemistry. I can still smell hints of it on myself even after several hours of applying. On my body it has medium scent-throw because other people can smell it on me within very close range. To my nose it smells very sweet, with a heavy floral scent, a little bit fruity, and with a hint of crisp freshness to it.

English Pear Frisia is one of the popular scent of Jo Malone. Overall such a lovely scent, very girly and feminine fragrance, reminds me of an imaginary walk inside a lush botanical garden in the morning, with dews and sunshine all around. I like it (although not my first choice) mostly because this has the strongest sillage / scent throw on me, plus this also has the strongest longevity on my body out of all the Jo Malone vials I’ve tried in this batch.

Peony & Blush Suede

"The essence of charm. Peonies in voluptuous bloom, exquisitely fragile. Flirtatious with the juicy bite of red apple and the opulence of jasmine, rose and gillyflower. Mingling with the sensuality of soft, blush suede. Luxurious and seductive."

To my nose it is a sweet soft floral scent, like a bouquet of soft flower petals on your hands. Quite delicate and subtle yet feminine and girly. This is also one of Jo Malone’s best sellers and I can see why most girls and women would love this scent. The peony notes is so lovely. It has that feminine aura with a girly touch. If I should put it in words it would be : very ladylike, elegant, girly, classy. Overall, a very feminine scent. Not particularly my first choice because I personally don’t really like a girly girl scent, but this would smell wonderful and lovely on a very feminine girl. If you like classy lady scent or feminine floral, then this might be for you :)

Does it work with my body chemistry? Well the scent mellowed down after 3-4 hours but I can still smell a faint scent on my wrist after a half day. Not the strongest one I’ve tried from Jo Malone but on me it leaves a nice trail of powdery scent behind.

Orange Blossom

“A shimmering garden oasis. Clementine flower sparkles over a heart of orange blossom and water lily, with warm undertones of orris and balsamic vetiver. Pure delight.”

This too is one of the popular Jo Malone scent. It has a bright and cheery notes with an invigorating mood to it. I don’t really know what orange blossoms smells like but to my nose this reminds me more of jasmine than oranges, Lol. It’s like jasmine buds to my nose.. 

This one doesn't last long on me. The scent fades away within 2-3 hours and I almost couldn't smell it on myself afterwards, so I'm guessing other people near me wouldn't smell it off me either. So overall it is a weak scent on me, and I personally don't really like the scent too. It's just too "bright and cheery" for me. 

I like cheerful notes but this one is too much on my nose. Other people might like this but for me it's just too "bright" / too "cheerful" / too "fresh" / too "floral", like an overblown summer days - which I'm not really fond of. But if you're still young and cheerful, or if you're girly and likes something fresh and floral, then this is the one for you. 

Wild Bluebell

“Vibrant sapphire blooms in a shaded woodland. The delicate sweetness of dewy bluebells suffused with lily of the valley and eglantine, and a luscious twist of persimmon. Mesmerising.”

This one has the most mellow and most subdued scent of all of the Jo Malone variants I’ve tried in this batch. A very soft scent that I can’t even smell it on me unless I sprayed on deliberately. At least that was my first thought on this cologne. My nose almost can’t picked up the scent when it’s first sprayed but after just a few minutes the second layer of notes came through, giving a waft of a delicate white floral fragrance tinted with just a tad of fruity notes to it. It’s a very soft and delicate scent that’s perfect for a very romantic girl at heart, or very feminine ladies who doesn’t like their perfumes to be overpowering. At first this was the one I liked the least because I had a hard time sniffing it, but as I used it day by day I grew to like this fragrance. Sometimes you just want to smell soft, like you’re not wearing any fragrance, like it’s just your natural body scent that would smell as lovely as well as captivating to those near you ;)

As for the sillage & longevity, I can still smell it on my wrist after several hours but I don’t think the sillage is that strong. For the first few hours it has moderate scent-throw but after that it dries down pretty quickly and just left a faint trail on my wrist.

Blackberry & Bay

“Childhood memories of blackberry picking...A burst of deep, tart blackberry juice, blending with the freshness of just-gathered bay and brambly woods. Vibrant and verdant”.

This is not a common scent for perfumes and definitely not for everyone, BUT if you like scents that differentiates you from others OR if you prefer fragrances with a little bit of edge then you might try this one. To me this is definitely high on my list. At first spray I cringed a little bit because I’m not used to this kind of scent for a fragrance. But after a while and after the second time I wore it I started to appreciate the uniqueness of the scent. To my nose this smells salty and crisp but with a hint of spice or musky undertone in it. I also hinted a little bit of fruit tartiness lying underneath. Many people say this smells like blackberry as the name suggests, but i never went "blackberry-picking" so i dont really know what blackberry smells like. Anyway this might not be your typical fragrance, as I told you this might surprised you at first spray, but within time I fell in love with this scent more and more.

This have moderate-to-low sillage on me but this one pretty much stayed on my skin for a little while. I can still smell it on my wrist and clothes after many hours but I don’t think other people can smell it off me unless they get really close to me. So eventhough this one doesn’t have the strongest sillage but I like when I can smell a swift of my cologne on myself even after a few hours. This is also one of my favorite scent from Jo Malone because it is so unique and definitely would get you noticed. Plus I like it when I don’t smell like everybody else ;)

Pomegranate Noir

"The sensuality of a daring red dress. Ruby-rich juices of pomegranate, raspberry and plum are spiked with pink pepper and laced with Casablanca lily and spicy woods. Dark and enigmatic."

At first spritz it smells like cloves and something exotic and spicy like a hot spice which I can't pronounce. There's also a distinguished balsamic notes in it. Very mysterious, dark, and deep scent, yet has that minty smokey tone to it. This is one fragrance that you cannot describe in words because it has a complicated scent. Not your usual fragrance but if you're like me you might feel weird about the scent when you tried it the first time, but after a secondwear it kinda grows on you. I myself like perfumes with slightly dark / mysterious feel to it. And this one gave me that with a kick ;)

The woodsy notes comes in the middle, just a few minutes after the top notes slightly subsides. I think this one is more a unisex perfume (Jo Malone fragrances are meant for unisex) and this one is likely to be worn by men because it's more towards masculine scent. But if you're like me who likes woodsy mens cologne then I'd say go for this. This is overall the most spicy and crisp scent (as well as unique scent) from the Jo Malone that I've tried from this batch.

The sillage is good too on me. When hubby entered the room he can smell the scent immediately. It can also be smelled by those sitting next to me, so I'd say this has moderate-good sillage. The longevity is also moderate. It lasted several hours on me and I can still smell the fragrance still lingering on my wrist several hours later after the initial fragrance subsides. 

So after listing here about each of the Jo Malone vials I've tried so far, I finally have a personal conclusion :

- I mostly wanted to purchase the Wood Sage & Sea Salt as it is my most favorite scent from this batch, but sadly it has low scent-throws on me and rather stays close to the skin.

- My second choice would be Blackberry & Bay because I love that scent too, but this one also has rather low sillage and longevity on me too.

- The one that has the strongest scent-throw on me is English Pear & Freesia, but it's not my number one favorite scent although it is a very nice scent indeed.

- I also like Pomegranate Noir as it is such a different scent and it also has moderate scent-throws on me, but it smells a bit too masculine and I don't want to compete with my husband in terms of scents ;p

- Wild Bluebell also has medium scent-throws and medium longevity on me, but the scent is too soft and too feminine which is also not my first choice.

Sooo????

(I'm still confused, LOL).

I might try them out again a few times until I'm sure which ones to get. So far, I might consider either Blackberry & Bay, English Pear & Freesia, Wild Bluebell, or Wood Sage & Sea Salt (although this one has low sillage and only moderate longevity on me but I'm willing to give it another try).

I will also do another post about combining and layering these Jo Malone colognes as they are also known to be very versatile and you can mix and layered them to create a bespoke scent. I have tried a couple of combination with all the vials that I have here and I will show you my favorite combination in the next Perfume post. So stay subscribed ! (^_^)

Meanwhile, what's your favorite Jo Malone scent?

XoXo,

Serge Lutens Nuit De Cellophane

Serge Lutens Nuit De Cellophane edp

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Nose | Perfumer : Serge Lutens

NOTES :

Mandarin Orange, Jasmine, Osmanthus, Green Notes, Fruity Notes, Lily, Carnation

Honey, Woody Notes, Almond, Musk 

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My first Serge Lutens!

Serge Lutens ini termasuk salah satu parfum niche yang pertama saya coba. Tau Serge Lutens pun karena awalnya keseringan baca-baca website tentang parfum. Jadi untuk yang belum tahu, Serge Lutens ini nama orang lho ya. Beliau adalah seorang multi-talented artist yang karirnya meliputi fashion design, perfume design, hair styling, photography, dan juga film-making. Sebelumnya beliau pernah ber-kolaborasi dengan Shiseido dan dari situ lah namanya mulai dikenal orang. Serge Lutens ini adalah salah satu "niche perfume house" yang cukup punya nama di dunia per-parfum-an. Jadi kalau kalian lagi penasaran sama parfum niche alias parfum yang bukan "designer parfum" maka kalau lagi browsing kalian pasti akan menemukan nama Serge Lutens ini ;)

Saya sendiri selalu senang coba-coba parfum niche, karena biasanya wanginya nggak terlalu pasaran dan kadang walaupun wanginya "simple" tapi tetep ada unsur complexity-nya. That's why niche perfumes selalu di-appreciate lebih tinggi daripada designer perfume. Because they don't cater to mass-market seperti layaknya designer brands. Niche perfume pangsa pasarnya itu lebih khusus lagi, jadi biasanya yang tau tentang parfum-parfum niche ini hanya mereka yang memang perfume-enthusiast. Dan karena nggak banyak yang tau itulah makanya parfum niche cenderung lebih ekslusif dibanding designer perfumes yang banyak dijumpai di pasaran. Dan karena itu pula harga parfum niche lebih mahal dari parfum designer brand *cry cry* ..

Kembali kepada review parfum ini, jadi ini adalah parfum Serge Lutens yang pertama saya coba alias awal perkenalan saya pada Serge Lutens house. Karena parfum niche ini dulu sangat susah didapat di Indonesia maka saya nggak bisa pilih-pilih sesuka hati. Jadi basically "pokoknya yang ada aja" hehe.. Begitu liat ada sample Serge Lutens langsung saya beli karena belum tentu bisa nemu lagi di tempat lain. Nggak peduli yang varian apa, karena biasanya terbatas banget yang beredar di pasaran. Nah kebetulan waktu itu yang saya temukan ya si Nuit de Cellophane ini. 

And I fell in love with the first spray!! Oohhh.. akhirnya ku tau kenapa parfum niche itu "berbeda" 😝 This smells different and quirky but yet very gorgeous scent. Sewaktu mencium ini pada semprotan pertama, saya mendapati campuran aroma gourmand dan sweet candy yang berpadu jadi satu. Setelah saya pelajari notes-nya saya rasa yang saya cium itu adalah aroma campuran dari kacang almond, madu, dan bunga osmanthus. Saya langsung suka waktu pertama mencium aroma-nya. Sangat fun and flirty!

Di dalam wangi parfum tersebut juga ada aroma yang mengingatkan saya akan "plastik pembungkus sampul buku". Tau kan sampul plastik yang biasa buat bungkus buku baru? Nah saya langsung punya gambaran itu waktu mencium parfum ini. Eh nggak taunya maksud dari judul parfum ini  tuh memang ter-inspirasi dari "cellophane" alias plastik transparan. Lebih tepatnya sih ter-inspirasi dari plastik pembungkus buket bunga. Jadi mungkin itu yang saya cium dan kemudian saya interpretasikan dengan plastik sampul buku (kebetulan saya suka wangi buku atau wangi barang baru atau wangi toko hehe).

Anyway, keharuman sweet candy yang saya cium pertama tadi lumayan kencang pada awalnya, namun kemudian perlahan mulai berubah menjadi lebih lembut setelah kira-kira setengah jam kemudian. Berubah menjadi wangi yang lebih soft seperti velvety white florals yang menenangkan sekaligus memikat. Campuran wangi melati, anyelir, dan bunga lily yang sangat harum.

Beberapa orang menyebutkan kalau pada fase ini wanginya seperti shampoo, but honestly I don't remember any shampoo that smells like this hehe Menurut saya ini wanginya lebih kompleks dari sekedar wangi shampoo. Memang sih wanginya ada sedikit sentuhan "soapy" pada fase ini tapi menurut saya bukan seperti ketika kita mandi di bawah shower dan pakai sabun atau shampoo biasa, tapi lebih kepada wangi ketika kita berendam di bath tub penuh bunga :)

Oya, parfum ini punya "strong projection" pada awal mula saja. Wangi base notes nya baru muncul setelah beberapa jam kemudian. Wangi tebaran kelopak bunga yang lembut sekarang dibarengi dengan aroma musk yang creamy. Secara saya suka wangi musk maka saya awalnya mengharapkan wangi base notes yang lembut dan seperti menyelimuti dengan kehangatan. Tetapi kenyataannya wangi base notes pada Nuit De Cellophane ini cenderung "lemah", dan kombinasi musk dan woody tones di dalamnya tidak mampu membuat saya terasa seperti diselimuti oleh aroma yang indah dan hangat.

Untuk Sillage dan Projection, lumayan Strong pada 20 - 30 menit pertama, dan setelahnya memudar seiring pergantian aroma dari top notes ke middle notes. Setelah itu wangi-nya lebih menempel di kulit saja tanpa ada projection yang kuat.

Untuk ketahanan alias Longevity-nya lumayan Moderate lah. Setelah wanginya menempel di kulit maka akan tahan lebih lama. Saya masih bisa mencium jejak wangi-nya di pergelangan tangan saya setelah 6 - 7 jam kemudian.

Overall, Nuit De Cellophane is a soft velvety soapy white floral scent with sweet candy opening and creamy musk base that gets weaker by the end. But the first 4 - 5 hours was fantastic though !  (^__^)

XoXo,