Jo Malone London Launch Basil and Neroli Fragrance

I was lucky enough to be invited along to the launch of Jo Malone London Basil and Neroli fragrance earlier this year,  and I'm very glad I did go, because this little bottle of sunshine hasn't left my handbag since.  I'm a huge fan of Lime, Basil and Mandarin, the brands "signature" fragrance and I was delighted when I discovered that Jo Malone London were back using basil in a key perfume launch. It's an interesting scent that doesn't pop up often, which is a shame.

I've spoken of my love of orange blossom before, and whilst Basil and Neroli lacks that hot, soapy, barbershop note that I love in other fragrances so much,  Basil and Neroli is a fine, fine, simple yet beautiful and classy fragrance.  Neroli is a greener scent than orange blossom, less overtly floral, and with overtones more of citrus and leaves than flowers, it is altogether less "sharp" than a regular citrus accord. When amped up with the leafy green basil - completely recognisable, though lacking some of "real life" basil's somewhat aniseed-y notes - Basil & Neroli is a great, light, unisex fragrance that's suitable for all occasions.

It's bright and zesty on first spray, citrus-fizzy without being too sharp or lemony, and light without being too insubstantial, or simply disappearing. It smells of sunshine and grass and happy memories, and has a genuine presence without being overwhelming overwhelming at all.  It's not sweet, and marries the savoury nature of basil really well to the citrussy neroli, then dries down to pleasant white laundry musks  on the skin.  It's in a light, cologne-style, but with hints of foodiness (I was wondering about an orange-basil salad dressing after encountering it, but the fragrance itself isn't foody at all), and would suit a crisp white shirt (on a wearer of any sex/gender, frankly), as well as a white t-short kind of an outfit.

It's a perfect example of the things that Jo Malone London do well, actually.  A very simple fragrance that still manages to give an air of sophistication, and smells really good without being too challenging on the nose.  It's a difficult trick to pull off, smelling both good and accessible, without being boring, or bringing up the dread word "inoffensive".  Yes, you won't scare the horses wearing this one, but you will love wearing it.  I do.

Available now, and costing from £42 for a 30ml bottle, it layers well with Blackberry and Bay, and Wood Salt and Sage from the same range.  It'll make someone a great Christmas present.

The Fine Print: PR samples


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LipsNSpritz of the Week March 06 2016

 This week was an incredibly busy one - I'm an accountant by day, and I'm currently preparing for year end, plus preparing to move house, at the same time, because I am an idiot), so LipsNspritz took an accidental back seat this week.  That said, I did manage to wear some lovely ones:

Monday was a Jo Malone London Vetiver Cologne day.  My (recovering!) parosmia still makes some perfume ingredients tricky for me, anything with a heavy vetiver or patchouli base still smells burned to my nose, and it's troublesome, because the only thing I can smell is whatever causes the reaction in that case, and nothing else in a formulation.  Jo Malone Vetiver is the very opposite of heavy vetiver, however, being a light and fresh, and citrussy take on what can be both smokey and grapefruity.  I enjoyed wearing this a great deal, and it may become my "go to" vetiver, whilst other vetiver-based fragrances remain waiting for my nose to recover more.  I wore it with Sephora Kiss Me balm in Soda Pop.

On Tuesday I wore Estee Lauder Amber Mystique, which is a woody amber, with clouds of oud in the base.  Someone in the office commented that I smelled "very Arabic", which I thought was hilarious, and very true.  I love Amber Mystique, but it appears to be discontinued now, which is a shame. I wore it with Sephora Kiss Me balm in Cherry.

Speaking of cherry, I finally managed to track down a hard-to-find bottle of Mary Greenwell Cherry, and I'm very glad that I had.  The demise of Mary's eponymous (and excellent) perfume range pains me greatly, but I'm happy that I finally have a full set of the fragrances now.  I've featured Plum before - indeed, it was very nearly my wedding fragrance - and Lemon and Fire will obviously feature in the weeks upcoming, but Cherry is quite a literal fragrance in comparison to the sophisticated and rather retro Plum, in that you can definitely pick out the fruit that inspired it.  It rather reminded me of a stick of Juicy Fruit at first, but I soon got over that.  It's sour cherry and blackberry leaves at the top, with licorice and vanilla in the base.  Fun, sunny and cheerful.  Such a shame its gone. Worn with Provocateur Lacquer balm from Revlon, because, what else?

I had a long and tiring day day minuting boards and committees on Thursday (and if you're ever wondering why my instagram isn't full of pictures of beauty launches and cupcakes and home offices with puppies staring soulfully at the viewer, there's the reason right there - no one wants to see pictures of my day, believe me), and in full business-woman mode (did I mention I'm an accountant?)  I wore Estee Lauder Private Collection - the original -  because it's a classic "don't f*ck with me" fragrance, bitter and green and grown up, and I love it very much.  I paired it up with the also classic Tom Ford Pure Pink lipstick (long discontinued, and much mourned), and wore black leather to the office.  Hey, I was around in the eighties, it's totally cool now.

And, what've you been wearing?



The Fine Print: PR samples and purchases


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LipsNspritz 31.10.15

  
It was definitely a week of two halves, lipstick-wise at least! Bright reds, by Guerlain (Rouge Parade), Burberry (Military Red) and Art Deco (Dita Von Teese collection) were the order of the day, particularly on Wednesday, when I felt a real need for power dressing, which called for a hugely long-lasting red (as the Art Deco is), and when paired with Donna Karan Signature fragrance recalled boardroom meetings in the late 80s.  Minus the power-suits, of course ...  Oh, and you can do a lot worse than a bottle of Kim Kardashian to brighten up a doleful Monday morning, btw ...

I mellowed out enough to allow Autumn a look-in on Thursday and Friday, pairing berry-colours from Lipstick Queen (Bete Noire, sheer) and Makeup Forever (Artist Plexi-Gloss 406) with Jo Malone Blackberry and Bay (possibly the most autumnal fragrance I own), and Hermes Eau des Merveilles, which being neither fruity, nor flowery, nor spicy, nor fruity is as difficult to describe as it is easy to love (it's probably best described as a salty orange, without the orange.  Yes, yes, I know).  Then on Saturday I was seduced all over again by Burberry sending me their Christmas collection, which includes a new Military Red in beautiful gold packaging, and a sparkling bottle of My Burberry to boot.  So I wore those, because, why not?


The Fine Print: Mixture of PR samples and personal purchases.


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#LipsNspritz 25.10.15

 

I love instagram at the moment, and one of my favourite things I do on there is cataloguing my daily perfume and lipstick choices via the hashtag #LipsNspritz. Lipstick and perfume are really the final finishing touches to any outfit, and, whilst no one needs to know how boring my eyemakeup and dress-choices are every day (cardigans ROOL!), perfume and lipstick do add life and colour to this accountants day, every day.

Occasionally you need a Tom Ford day, and I'm entranced by the Sahara Noir bottle.  It's just so blingy and OTT.  But the fragrance inside is a good one, reminding me heavily of Serge Luten's Ambre Sultan, but drier and with a touch less spice.  I paired it with Tom Ford Cherry Lush, which is a wonderful cheerful cherry red. Far more after the jump...

 

 Cartier La Panthere is another stunning bottle, carved from the inside into an intaglio of a panther head, and the contents are sophisticated and really interesting.  Both waxy and leathery, and heavily floral with hints of gardenia once it dries down, it starts with muted fruit.  It's softer than this makes it sound, and I really like it.  I paired it with No7 lipstick in Soft Ruby, another of my pinky-red favourites.  This perfume really calls for a punchy shade of lip!

 Jo Malone London Wood Sage and Sea Salt.  I don't really know what to say about this one, as it was at the launch of this fragrance where I discovered that I had lost my sense of smell completely.  Being able to smell it now is a mixed blessing. It's a sea-salty-herbal fresh fragrance, with a hint of something else beneath that my damaged nose now can't put a name to.  I'm annoyed that I missed such an interesting fragrance from Jo Malone London!  I paired it with Tom Ford Scarlet Rouge, a bright and very, very warm red.

At a launch for a book written by a friend of mine (more about this later this week), I wore a fragrance I'd had a (tiny) hand in creating myself: Paradox by 4160 Tuesdays.  It's bright with violets and lemons, dark and earthy with orris and grounded by woods and musk.  I truly love it, and can't believe that something so lovely and unexpected came out of such a dark and horrible time of my life.  It's the only fragrance I'll be repeating whilst #LipsNspritz is ongoing, because sometimes, familiarity is what you need.  I paired it with the violet-plum of Becca Matte lipstick in Antoinette, because I'm good like that.

And finally this week, Lily and Spice by Penhaligons.  I'm so annoyed that they discontinued this, I can't even begin to tell you, as it's a stone-cold classic fragrance. An almost photo-realistic lily fragrance over a bed of warm and creamy spice (saffron and clove, apparently), it's a beautiful and glorious perfume for a chilly autumn day.  Such a shame it's impossible to get hold of now.  I was wearing a dress on Friday, and fancied a more ladylike lipstick than usual then, so went with Clarins Joli Rouge in Pink Berry, a creamy pink that doesn't scream LIPSTICK when you're wearing it.

What have you been wearing this week? 

The Fine Print: PR Samples and purchases


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Jo Malone Mimosa and Cardamom

As a result of losing my sense of smell last year, I'm attracted to smells that stimulate my trigeminal nerve as well as my olfactory one, and, from a perfume point of view, that means spicy fragrances are my friend, so when I heard about Jo Malone London Mimosa and Cardamom fragrance being launched recently, I was intrigued.

The last fragrance I really took to from Jo Malone London was the fruity-herbal Blackberry and Bay - all their releases from 2014 were released when I couldn't smell, so are a bit "lost" to me right now, but I fully intend to at least properly smell Wood Sage and Sea Salt if it kills me this year.  Mimosa and Cardamom is a slight departure for the brand, being slightly less lady-like and inoffensive than some of their releases in recent years - the "English Desserts" collection in particular turned my stomach somewhat I'm afraid, and it's all the better for it.

It starts with a puff of musky saffron and spicy cardamom before the tickly scent of mimosa kicks in.  Later, once the spices have dissipated slightly, it's a milky tonka and sandalwood, with just a hint of flowers in the background.  It makes an excellent house-scent, being warm, welcoming, and ... strangely lovable, without being over-sweet.

As a layering fragrance, it works astonishingly well over the Cologne Intense in Tuberose Angelica from the brand too, the clean bubblegum scent of Tuberose adds a depth and narcotic sexiness to the spicy green cardamom of Mimosa & Cardamom.

So nice to see - and smell! - a new direction from Jo Malone London.  As we turn into autumn, this is a perfectly-timed release from the brand, too, the spicy warmth makes a great addition to knitwear and tweedy jackets.  The candle version in particular is great for lighting on cooler autumn evenings.

The Fine Print: PR Sample

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Jo Malone London Osmanthus Blossom

The latest beautifully packaged fragrance from Jo Malone London is Osmanthus Blossom.  A delicate, fresh floral, this is gorgeously spring-like, with hints of apricot and cashmere wood in the base.

The bottle is etched, and comes with a coloured back panel too:

The scent is lovely and light, very simple and crisp, gently floral without being too granny-like.  It's easy to wear, and perfectly suitable for spring.  I've been wearing it layered over Jo Malone London Blackberry and Bay - which I always think of as a very autumn-like scent, and the pairing works really well.  The Osmanthus softens out the rather masculine bay, and the soapy-blackberry note sweeten up the floral tendencies of the Osmanthus.

In what is increasingly looking like an over-saturation of Jo Malone launches this year (I ignored the "English Desserts" collection of a month or two ago, as they were all, frankly, disgustingly over-sweet and very definitely aimed at a different market to myself) this is a fragrance I'm surprised to find myself writing about to be honest, but it's very definitely a "nice" scent, and will make a wonderful gift thanks to the fabulous packaging.

Osmanthus Blossom will cost £38 for 30ml, or £78 for 100ml when it's released in May.

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