Perfume Review: Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey

Jo Malone first created Nectarine Blossom & Honey twenty years ago, however the scent was set aside and forgotten, until, according to Malone herself, “two distinct moments acted as a sensory reminder- a taste of peach sorbet whilst I was dining in a New York restaurant and the scent of fresh nectarines at a London fruit and flower market.” Jo Malone has recently resigned from the post of the creative director of her company, and I can’t help but perceive this scent as a kind of a “swan song” on her part. To me, Nectarine Blossom & Honey perfectly showcases the features that make her fragrances so very attractive and so very ‘Malone”. It was Chandler Burr who once titled Malone a Queen of Light; even the darkest of her scents still have a wonderfully transparent, weightless quality. Other perfumes may be compared to heavy, opaque fabrics like velvet or suede, hers are the finest of silks, the most transparent of gossamers. This light touch is perhaps most evident and most magical in Nectarine Blossom & Honey, a scent that seemed to have been destined to be excessively fruity and sweet. Instead, this is another translucent, sheer, gauze-like fragrance. Nectarine Blossom & Honey may have been inspired by peach sorbet, but there is nothing foody in this fragrance. It is undeniably delicious, with peaches and nectarines being juicy, fresh, and mouthwatering, and yes, perhaps there is a certain gourmand aspect here, but that gourmand quality is of the most abstract kind. In the same way one might salivate looking at an exquisite painting of the fruits, done by a Chinese artist. Every detail is distinct and yet the stroke of the master’s brush is so light, so delicate, it makes the objects hauntingly illusory. “The dewy green notes” promised by the official description are indeed quite evident here; one smells not just peaches and nectarines but the leaves and branches as well. These green notes, along with the vetiver in the drydown, balance the fruitiness beautifully. The scent becomes drier and even somewhat earthy as the scent develops, but it never loses the delectable accord of peaches and honeyed citrus fruits. The fragrance does not quite have the tenacity of Jo Malone’s most long-lasting scent, Pomegranate Noir, but it does last at least seven-eight hours on my skin. Nectarine Blossom & Honey is now my favorite Jo Malone scent and one of the most favorite citrusy-fruity florals. Nectarine Blossom & Honey is available at JoMalone.com, Gloss.com, Neiman Marcus, $50.00 for 30ml, $90.00 for 100ml. *The painting is from orientaloutpost.com. *Tomorrow- Songes by Annick Goutal.