Jo's Scent Notes: Jo Malone London Scented Mementoes Collection
There’s a real ‘vintage’ feel to fragrance at the moment. And I wanted to share a really charming collection with you from Jo Malone London which taps into that nostalgia, yet feels modern and fresh – not in the last fusty-dusty.
As a lifelong ‘junketeer’, never happier than when truffling for decorative treasures in secondhand stores, I love the back-story to these fragrances, which – as you can see – are anything but the usual Jo Malone design.
The creative driving force of Jo Malone London – a boundlessly imaginative woman called Céline Roux, who is their Global Head of Fragrance – explains, ‘We were inspired by the whole experience of antiquing. Whether you visit high-end shops or humble car boot sales, it’s always fascinating to be able to discover the different stories behind old objects.’
So, I’m charmed by these bottles, but equally, by some of the scents inside – four different fragrances, plus a Dawn Musk Home Candle, which is clean and woody, with soft musks – a bit soapy, a lot cosy. (Perfect for weather that’s still enduringly rubbish outside, frankly.)
I’m also charmed by the prices, incidentally – they’re just £58 for 30ml each, which is a long way from the silly-money prices being charged by many brands, frankly – extremely good value, for the quality.
And just what will you find inside? Here’s my upsum, having spritzed them all on skin. (NB There’s also an extremely reasonably priced ‘Discovery Set’ of 1.5ml samples of each of the four, priced £18 here.)
Ginger Beer Cologne – could be masculine, could be feminine; this has a tingle of fresh ginger (currently a trending ingredient), on firm base of woods – they mention ‘roasted oak’ – and with a whisper of cinnamon. It was inspired, so Céline says, by one of those old-fashioned glazed stoneware ginger beer bottles, which led her to imagine a gingery scent inside.
Passiflora Cologne – Passiflora is the Latin name for passion flower, and it was the vibrant colour of its petals which inspired this scent. (The bottle itself has an 80s vibe.) It’s an ‘ambery-floral’; there’s honeysuckle and also almondy tonka bean in there. It’s probably the ‘blowsiest’ and most feminine of the line-up – not for me, but as with all four Scented Mementoes, worth sniffing out at a Jo Malone London counter near you, if only as part of your scent-imental (sorry!) education.
Musk Memento Cologne – if you like your scents soapy and clean, with a ‘skin scent’ nuzzleability, this is your baby, with its notes of sparkling aldehydes, lavender (always associated with cleanliness), and snuggly musks. It’s decanted into a clear bottle that is a bit reminiscent of Estée Lauder’s Pleasures bottle, if you ask me.
Emerald Thyme Cologne – absolutely my favourite in the collection. This is really fresh and citrusy, but also very aromatic, with herbs a-go-go. That makes it sound a bit masculine (and a man could definitely wear this), but I love its gutsy, mossy greenness, which is a perfect echo of the gorgeous green glass bottle. It was ‘inspired by an apothecary bottle,’ says Céline. ‘Among a display of glassware in all shades and sizes, this deep green treasure stood out.’
Of course, looking for vintage bottles yourself is always a wonderful quest to lose yourself in. I’ve stumbled across them in markets from Florence to Brighton via the Chelsea Flea in New York City, but it has of course got much easier since the advent of eBay and Etsy. But it’s worth bearing in mind the following advice, once shared with me by perfume expert (and collector), Roja Dove.
‘If you buy in an antique shop,’ says Roja, ‘yes, you might find an occasional bargain – but equally, you might over-pay for something. If you find something irresistible, do a quick eBay search on your phone to see if it throws up a price for something similar. But in general, the best reason for buying any bottle is because you simply love it, and want it in your life.’ And he adds this further word of wisdom: ‘In general, remember you’re buying for the bottle – not for what’s inside. The only disappointment with buying vintage bottles is that unless they’ve been kept inside the box in the dark and away from heat, the fragrance inside will almost certainly have lost much, if not all, of its magic…’
Far less risky, I’d say, to find a new ‘vintage’ love in this treasure trove of a collection from Jo Malone London.
Ginger Beer Cologne/£58 for 30ml – buy here
Passiflora Cologne – /£58 for 30ml – buy here
Musk Memento Cologne/£58 for 30ml – buy here
Emerald Thyme Cologne/£58 for 30ml – buy here
