Jo Malone Collection⎜My Perfume Collection, Part #2

Watch my video on Youtube for the full "talk" :)

Left to right: Grapefruit, Earl Grey & Cucumber, Blackberry & Bay, Lemon Tart, Wild Bluebell

I have finally gotten around to filming and writing up this JO MALONE fragrance collection post. Whew! What took so long you say? (Or maybe you didn't care at all :)) Well, I had weeks and weeks of dilemma of whether I wanted and needed two more fragrances added to my already 3-some collection. I had samples of these two. Sprayed them until they were gone. Went to the Jo Malone counter several times to sniff and sniff. And finally, I caved. I purchased the Lemon Tart (Limited-Edition) and Grapefruit Cologne! 

The package finally came today, and so it was only until now that I could film and get on with this perfume collection series! I was so pleased to see that my first video on my Diptyque collection went so well. Sure, nothing compared to those major beauty gurus' counts, but still, enough to fill my belly! :) So, hoping y'all like my new video on just my Jo Malone fragrances, I am writing this on up! (Make sure to watch the video, it's easier than reading I'd think?) 

As a short, very short brief- Jo Malone is a British fragrance brand that has fragrances, body products, room sprays, candles, and the like. I first found out about Jo Malone when I started watching Tanya Burr's videos (she's my idol, FYI). They are major in the fragrance industry today and it hasn't been that long since they started selling at Bloomingdales and such! Anyway, due to their really elegant packaging, fresh and elegant scents, they have become very popular everywhere. Though Diptyque stands in a level of its own, I can see Jo Malone rising in popularity and fame over time (though, to me, it just won't be anything like Diptyque). 

So, as I say in my video, Jo Malone is a bit of a love-hate relationship for me. I fall for it all the time, even though none would satisfy as much as Diptyque does. Yet, something is very very alluring about them. However, I haven't found them to be exactly "whole" on its own. Jo Malone is very well-known for its "combining" system(?). Though each and every scent can stand on its own, they are marketed and told to be better if combined with their other scents. They have a whole chart on this if you go to their website!

This means that their fragrances aren't entirely dimensional. Some definitely are, but most I've experienced are more simple. For example, my first Jo Malone fragrance was Wild Bluebell.

Wild Bluebell is in the family of light florals, and indeed it is very fresh and light. It is not a complex scent at all. It legit smells like bluebells. There aren't that many notes to them, and so even though they are great for just spritzing all over and smelling delightful, feminine, floral, and fresh-- I'd recommend combining it with something more structured and "based". Unfortunately, all the other four fragrances I picked up seem NOT to match with my Wild Bluebell (since I wasn't going for any combining anyway), and so I just wear it on its own. It's great for days you want to smell like something, but you don't really want to be overpowered by that scent.

Blackberry & Bay cologne was next on my list. I was wanting something fruity and a bit exotic, not the tropical kind but the plain summer breezy water kind, and I found this. This is succulent blackberries mixed in with balmy woods and scent of the bay! It just sounds refreshing doesn't it? I would say this is more of a gender-neutral scent and guys would do just well with this scent just as women (not that any of these have to have any standard for such!). It's definitely fresh and fruity, but I wouldn't say it is "sweet" fruity. It's more of a really juicy blackberry without hints of some sweetness-- because you know, blackberries aren't actually that sweet in taste. It has this slight bitterness and tanginess? It has a bit of that, based with some bay wood scent. 

I bought the Blackberry & Bay cologne along with this elegant thing: Earl Grey & Cucumber. Holy moly! This is definitely as BRITISH as you can get with a fragrance, and it's exactly why I love it! I mean, come on... earl grey tea? Yes, I say, yes. I absolutely love anything British, and so this completely drew me in. It is the "creamiest" out of all the Jo Malone scents I have. There is a freshness of cucumber along with the beeswax, vanilla, and musk! It's definitely the most "complex" and "dimensional" out of all the ones I own. It is such a statement scent that I can legit, only wear it on days when I want to feel that extra bit polished, refined, sophisticated, mature, and well, lady-like :) I wear this on more formal days because it just seems appropriate for that situation! Also, on rainy-days? Oh boy, my hands just reach for this! Something is truly British here. Definitely though, not a girly, fruity, sweet scent at all. It is really mature so sometimes I fear I may even smell a bit too mature. But still, there are days when it fits just right with the occasion. And besides, I found it so intriguing with the scent of earl grey and cucumber combined!

The next two I am thrilled to write about. They are most recent purchases (the ones I've been waiting for to actually get this post up and going!) and ones that I can actually combine to get them to be a better more appealing scent to me. It is the Lemon Tart (cough cough LIMITED EDITION) and the Grapefruit cologne. I have seriously been eying the Lemon Tart for so long because the whole concept was just perfect, and the packaging? Goodness. And the description was quite captivating. When I first took a sniff at the counter, I thought: whoa, very sour and "tingly"... It was definitely fresh but it felt a bit too sour? 

Then, an one occasion, I received both the Lemon Tart and Grapefruit. I don't know what it was, but I thought, hey maybe these two could work together? So, I spritzed them together and layered them. And... oh my goodness, I ended up sniffing my wrist the whole day! Something made that combo so attractive! They are both citrus-y but somehow they complement each other so well!

The Lemon Tart has of course, citrus and also verbena, meringue and lemon thyme. It has this really addictive sharpness that I think is so needed in the humid summer. This will definitely awaken the senses and I just love it! The interesting thing is I've read some reviews and people say they were disappointed that it doesn't smell as sweet as "lemon tart" supposes. I have to agree. It has nothing of a pastry-like sweetness (but if it did, I'd hate it!). I actually love the sourness of it because it makes it that fresh. But that is not to say that there is absolutely no sweetness whatsoever. There is that sweet tart subtly detectable in-between the citrus notes. 

The Grapefruit is a really nice one as well. This again, like the Blackberry & Bay cologne has a pretty large male followers! Though it is a fruity scent, it is based with a lot of musky notes: vetiver, rosemary,  some spice, all circulated with the citrus notes! Lovely, but I can definitely detect the "masculinity" of it. 

And... that's the reason why I love to combine them. Grapefruit on its own seems a bit too "guy-smelling" for my like! It's so attractive, but on me, I feel like I'm wearing a guy's cologne! (I'd like it on a guy, and not so much by itself just on me!) So, when I pair it with the rather feminine citrus of the Lemon Tart, goodness... there is this explosion of fruits, musk, herbs, spice, sweetness, citrus, on and on... It's rather lovely! 

I don't know if these two are recommended in their "combining" chart, but regardless, I love pairing these two together!