White Jasmine & Mint is the new addition to the Jo Malone collection of fragrances. It is described as having been inspired by "the tranquil moment in an English garden when the sun emerges, the dew gently lifts and the blossoms are at their most fragrant", and for once an official description is so close to the image a scent evokes in my mind that I am actually hard pressed to think of any other visuals and poetic comparisons to add.Jasmine here smells neither indolic and sensual nor delicate and soapy, which are the two extreme direction jasmine scents tend to follow on my skin. This is an aromatic jasmine, crisp and verdant. At first, the herbs (wild mint and peppermint) and the spices (cardamom and coriander) seem to dominate the composition, imbuing it with the most enjoyable pungency, coloring it into the deepest of greens. Slowly, jasmine starts to gain strength, aided by the whole plethora of other flowers, among which orange blossom and rose seem to be the strongest. Jasmine IS the star of the scent, but so are mint and spices; and flowers and woods, although not nearly as prominet, are very apparent. Therefore, although I would certainly call White Jasmine & Mint a jasmine scent, I would not call it a soliflore. The base of the scent is still very much green due to the presence of vetiver and mate, and its slightly smoky, earthy greenness feels like a very logical and very enjoyable conclusion of the scent that is wild, rustic and windswept.
White Jasmine & Mint will be available at Jo Malone stores, including the online shop, at Bergdrof Goodman and Neiman Marcus starting from October 1 and will cost $50.00 for 30ml and $95.00 for 100ml.
Image courtesy of Jo Malone.
Not really a Jo Malone fan, but I've liked the last two (the ones since poor JM left, I guess. Maybe she was dragging down her own line.)
ReplyDeletethis sounds absolutely great and now I'm even more eager to try it ;)! what so you think about its lasting power and sillage? I find most of JM scents very poor in durability (e.g. Orange Blossom), however those who stick are quite vile on my skin (Pomegranate Noir). who knows if I'd have more luck with Jasmine and Mint?
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteMaybe you'd like this one too then. I do find it done very much in the "spirit" of Jo Malone though.
Tina,
ReplyDeleteSillage is very hard to judge, one would have to ask others, how far they can smell one :-) But the lasting power of this one is very good.
Like Erin, I have never been a JM fan. Well, I do like Vetiver de Java, but of course it disappears in 15 secs. And this doesn't really sound like my sort of thing. But it does sound lovely, so I will definitely give it a sniff next time I'm in NM.
ReplyDeleteI think JM's bath and body products are better than her scents which in the main I don't find interesting enough to buy. I like my jasmine dirty so from the sounds of it I shall probably sniff and pass on this one - thanks for the review, Marina!
ReplyDeleteNot a big JM fan either, & this jasmine sounds a bit too prim for me (I'm w donanicola on the dirty jasmine.) And green. Don't usually like green. I'll probably sniff sometime when I pass a JM counter just cuz it is jasmine, tho. Thanks for the review :)
ReplyDeleteWas really surprised by how fresh & crisp this one was...the opening notes on paper didn't remind me of either mint or jasmine. Will have to try it on skin...
ReplyDeleteJudith,
ReplyDeleteWould love to hear what you think of this one. I have a feeling it might be released at a wrong time of the year.
Nicola,
ReplyDeleteI am a Malone fan, I "click" with most of her scents, so I wans't surprised that I liked this one too :-)
Divalano,
ReplyDeleteI just realised what vibe I am getting from this one...Chanel Cristalle vibe...in a way.
R,
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a crisp one. That's why I feel that maybe it should have been released in summer.
Hmmmm.... sounds delicious, despite the fact that I am very nervous about mint as a skin scent. I'm on a "green with spices" kick.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to try this one..
ReplyDeleteLinda,
ReplyDeleteThis is not an agressive mint here. I am actually not a fan of mint in perfume myself.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI think you might like it. At least "theoreticallY', if not actually for yourself to wear.
It's definitely a summery scent...
ReplyDeleteLee,
ReplyDeleteDid you like it?
I wanted to love it, I really did! However, on me it ended up smelling of something reminiscent of wheatgrass and wintergreen! Totally strange, but I am glad that others are having success with it. I love the JM French Lime Blossom and JM Tuberose, combined they smell like honey on my skin. I've always loved this line, although I can't stand the fact that you HAVE to take the packaging with every purchase. For gifts definitely, but otherwise I just end up throwing it away and it is too beautiful for that!
ReplyDeleteI tried this a few weeks ago and must say I'm with Beth on this one. Mate (accent on the e) is listed as a note and I got that (maybe its Beth's wheatgrass?) plus coriander in the beginning, and then more and more mint as things went along. The jasmine I could smell was great but I didn't enjoy it together with the mint, alas. Willing to try it again though... The SA's were all excited about it when I was at Neiman's, they'd just had their demo earlier in the day and were keeping their single tester bottle under lock and key!
ReplyDeleteWhen I tried this,it didnt seem to make much of an impression on me-the only thing I remember of this scent is its freshness.But then I smelt this on my way out of neiman's so I will definitely retry..(I have a soft corner for JM scents since hers were one of the first 'niche' fragrances I tried..:))
ReplyDeleteBeth,
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about the packaging. I throw out the bottles with no problem whatsoever, but I can't part with JM boxes :-)
Sweetlife,
ReplyDeleteMate and mint and all the greenness is what I actually liked here :-) Jasmines are dime a dozen...well, not really, but you know what I mean :-) This one is sort of different.
I did actually - though it isn't really me. I'm one of those people who thinks JM is woefully underrated because of tenacity issues...
ReplyDeleteLavanya,
ReplyDeleteIt was one of my first "niche" ones too :-)
Lee,
ReplyDeleteThose who have problems with JM scents' tenacity, should try wearing and then washing off Pomegranate Noir. Nuclear staying power, that one! :-)
I think I will like this one, I just hope it's not TOO minty, just green. I love green notes with florals, probably one of my top two or three combinatons. I do like JM but I can see why some of the fragrances in the line might be a bit strange for some people to wear, such as Blue Agave & Cacao - I find it oddly pleasing but I would not buy it. I hope this one is more wearable.
ReplyDeleteDonna,
ReplyDeleteI suppose this one is kind of strange too, but if you like green florals, you probably would like it.
I completely agree with Tina. When I visited my first Jo Malone store a year ago, I fell in love with Honeysuckle & Jasmine, and bought a large bottle. Unfortunately, this scent has ZERO staying power, and is gone within a half hour of spraying it on, even if I put a lot on. It's really too bad since I loved the scent dearly, but I can't justify spending the money on something that evaporates so quickly.
ReplyDelete