After breakfast at Dominique Ansel, my mom and I decided to spend the day exploring Soho. We found ourselves at Bloomingdale's Soho, and instead of perusing the many, many make-up lines (I know, shocker), I immediately beelined to the Jo Malone counter. I've been curious about Jo Malone's fragrances for a long time and on a trip to Holt Renfrew last month with Mary, I was finally able to smell their different colognes. I had narrowed my favourites down to about five, but resisted buying anything at the time because the retail price is higher in Toronto (as well as 13% sales tax) and I knew I'd be going to New York, which has a slightly lower retail price (and only 8% sales tax). After more smelling and talking about the different fragrances with the wonderful beauty advisor working at the Jo Malone counter, I ended up getting:
Iris & Lady Moore Cologne (100 ml)
The Iris & Lady Moore Cologne is from Jo Malone's London Blooms Collection and is limited edition. Jo Malone describes it as: "A mingling between spicy-fresh, common-or-garden geranium and noble iris, powdery and poised. Brought together on dry-grass base of vetiver." I just need to point out that I would never have picked this scent based on the description. It's just not what I'd typically be drawn to. But when I smelled it in person and sprayed it on my skin, it just smelled amazing. It's floral, yes, but it manages to have a freshness and a hint of citrusy sweetness on my skin. Some florals tend to give me a headache, but this one doesn't. It dries down to a really soft feminine powdery note that is somehow never cloying. And I really don't get the spicy aspect of it on my skin. It's just the perfect scent for me for Spring and Summer.
Wild Bluebell Cologne (30 ml)
I knew I would get the Wild Bluebell Cologne after I smelled it with Mary last month. This is a fragrance where both the description and the actual scent appealed to me. Jo Malone describes it as: "Deliciously dewy, this cologne drenches the skin with the delicate scent of bluebells. Luminous with lush persimmon, lily of the valley, and eglantine." There is a sweetness to it, but also a really light, buoyant freshness to it that just smells so clean and crisp. It reminds me of a cool breeze on a warm day, or taking a dip in a pool when it's humid outside; in a word, refreshing.
English Pear & Freesia and Pomegranate Noir Cologne (9 ml each) in a leather case as a gift with purchase and three samples: Nectarine Blossom & Honey, White Jasmine & Mint, and Wild Bluebell
I love that at Jo Malone, they treat wearing fragrance as an art, layering them in different ways to create an entirely new scent and mixing different scents to alter your mood. And in a world where anyone who's anyone has a perfume and so many of them smell alike, I'm amazed that every single one of Jo Malone's colognes smells completely unique, both on a blotter and on your skin. Yes, they are pricey — the 100 ml bottles go for $110 USD ($125 CAD) and the 30 ml bottles go for $55 USD ($75 CAD) — but the right one will smell so gorgeous on you, like it was created just for you. And that's hard to resist.
Bloomingdale's Soho
504 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
(212) 729-5900
Jo Malone
330 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10014
(212) 242-1454
EEKKK!!! You got it! Great choice!! And the bottle alone is so worth the price tag; well almost.
ReplyDeleteHaha, the bottle is gorgeous, for realsies. The girl at the counter was like, "Well, I have two of them left, so you better snatch one up if you love it!" And I was like, "SOLD!" It's so easy to sell shit to me. :P
DeleteMy mom actually helped me decide on these two at the end, because I was also contemplating the Orange Blossom and the English Pear & Freesia... and the Nectarine Blossom & Honey... But she said these two smelled the best on me, and neither of them made her feel sick, lol. The saleslady was super nice, though, and gave me a really nice gift with purchase and samples of the ones I wanted to try most. :)
Definitely need to try out the samples to see which one I'll want next... ;)
I went sniffing at Jo Malone before things went south but didn't really like anything except for the one with oud in it. What I really wanted was their limited edition tea scents from a couple of years back. Glad you finally snagged yourself a bottle though!
ReplyDeleteI think we have really different tastes when it comes to fragrance, though, 'cause I don't like anything woodsy or spicy in general... I'm all over the fresh, citrusy, light florals... and sometimes fruity with a touch of sweetness... Jo Malone just came out with a Plum Blossom scent that sounds amazing, and it wasn't available yet when I was in NYC. :( I may have to stop by Holt's to check it out... As if I had any more money to spend on perfume...
DeleteI thought I would like more of the citrus scents from Jo Malone, like Grapefruit or Verbenas of Provence, but both of them ended up smelling like dish detergent or cleaning products. I feel like many Jo Malone scents are meant for mixing, though.