When I lived on the ground level of an old Victorian-style building just a few blocks away, with a hardwood floor and a (non-operaive) fireplace, one of the sample vials of Amber & Lavender fell on the floor and crashed one day without me noticing. I remember laying at bed at night and wondering how come I can smel the cologne of a guy passing by on the street. Living on the ground level that was actually possible just as much as being affected by skunks passing by!
When I woke up the next day to find out that this men’s cologne is still around I was a bit worried… It wasn’t until days later that I found the crashed vial of Amber & Lavender on the floor and had to have a good lough and called my boyfriend to let him know I am no longer worried about the stocker with the sexy cologne…
Amber & Lavender is not so much about amber or lavender as it is about Fougere, and not the most ambery Fougere at that. It’s herbal and clean, with a bold presence and a classical masculine appearance. The base is a tad animalic, even indolic, and a tad spicy. Apparently, this was Jo Malone’s creation for her husband, and I am not surprised. A good Fougere scent is the epitome of masculine scents, and what I associate most with my man.
If you follow some of Jo Malone suggestions for layering with Amber & Lavener, you’d be surprised how versatile this scent is. It is equally warm and fresh, and adds an interesting twist to some of her other scents. The notes that stand out most for me are lavender, sage, cloves, amber and oakmoss.
While most of the Jo Malone scents are very simplistic and leave me cold for the most part, Vintage Gardenia made me feel instantly at home. It reminded me of the smell in my best friend's childhood home. It is similar to a certain soap they used. Therefore, Vintage Gardenia to me smells both clean and warm. I find the combination of notes to be working fantastically well, although they are quite unusual. Cardamom is one of my favourite spice notes, and thankfully it is present here in abundance and adds depth and character to what could otherwise be an overly heady white floral (as in too many gardenia scents that I can possibly mention). After the initial heady notes of the sambac and cardmom subside, a creamy heart of tuberose emerges, gentle, soft and slightly resembles and petal-kissed skin. It’s a tuberose with no off-putting notes (nothing rubbery, green or too sweet, just sheer pleasure of soft perals). The base is warm and slightly bitter from the myrrh, which also balances the sweetness of the floral notes really well. Overall, the perfume smells to me like a combination of jasmine sambac, cardamom, tuberose and myrrh. Vintage Gardenia is not only one of the most original Jo Malone scent, and my personal favourite - it is also one of my most favourite gardenias!
I wish the miniature cologne collection included some Black Vetyver Café, but it didn’t. This is my second favourite from the Jo Malone line - right after Vintage Gardenia. Black Vetyver Cafe is exactly what it sounds: vetyver and coffee! The combination sounds strange, but it works magically well. It starts with black coffee note, and than dries down to a clean, woody vetyver. I can smell another woody element there, which makes it softer than just straight-up vetyver. I think it's sandalwood, but it could be the sequia note. I just wish the coffee note lasted longer and that the dry down was a tad sweeter, not all that woody. Compared with Vintage Gardenia, Black Vetyver Café is more intriguing, yetless balanced in my opinion. I am not a fan of layering, but it does smells better when layered with Vintage Gardenia, if you use a much lesser amount of the Black Vetyver Café. Any way you look at it – from a vetyver or a coffee angle - this is a unique scent and should not be missed.
When I lived on the ground level of an old Victorian-style building just a few blocks away, with a hardwood floor and a (non-operaive) fireplace, one of the sample vials of Amber & Lavender fell on the floor and crashed one day without me noticing. I remember laying at bed at night and wondering how come I can smel the cologne of a guy passing by on the street. Living on the ground level that was actually possible just as much as being affected by skunks passing by!