cade

Some more first impressions of perfume samples, including a first from Jo Malone:

Gucci memoire d'une odeur
I was thinking in my head that the opening has some similarities with my beloved Hana-no-hatsu, but before I could even finish that thought, the scent turned super plastic-y, wahhh D: Plastic like play doh, which I’ve gotten the same impression from other scents before, so it must be some common enough note that I’m wrongly associating but nevertheless super unpleasant to me. I still get whiffs of the sweet-ish floral opening (what I think osmanthus smells like), but it inevitably turns play doh-y at the end of the same breath. Based on this fragrance’s very long description on Fragrantica, I’m going to guess what I think is osmanthus is actually the “indian coral jasmine print”, and what I perceive as play doh is bitter almond? I’m not sure whether I don’t perceive the chamomile or just don’t recognize it. As it develops, the play doh note becomes less and less prominent, but the rest of the scent stays the same. I don’t get a mineral impression at all. Overall feeling pretty meh about this.

Jo Malone wild bluebells
Sweet, watery, floral. It may sound like something I don’t like, or at least care for, but this is really hard not to like. It’s very approachable, inviting, sweet as in the character trait. I don’t imagine a young girl wearing this, but rather a grown women that retains her jubilant childish character. The kind that hosts garden parties, or perhaps the cuter side of mori-kei. It also smells pretty similar to other…scents, which is slightly ironic because I fail to name any specifics. Maybe it’s the mix of the transparent floral (oh boy do I understand what transparent means now) and the fresh / greener note? Also the dose of white musks in the base is quite common. Christine Nigel is the nose behind this, and although Jean-Claude Ellena is known for his water-colour style at Hermes, and watercolour-y is exactly how I would describe this scent. This doesn’t change much at all throughout the 4-5 hours that it lasted on my skin. Overall will be using up the sample, but not interested enough in a full bottle. Jo Malone is also quite expensive for a cologne concentration -_-

Jo Malone black cedarwood
I was not expecting a creamy yet fresh floral opening, it is quite nice. I somehow also get a slight incense impression, perhaps from a woody and powdery feeling? It reminds me a little bit of Amouage Fate Women without all of the spices. Actually, upon comparison, this is more woody. The wood gains more prominence as time goes on. I have a hard time believing this is the black cedar wood & juniper scent, since every review points to the spices and yet I detect absolutely none. But there's no other fragrance in the brand's offering that has black cedar in its name...time to visit a counter and try a tester out. I do actually like this enough to contemplate a full bottle, but only at the discounters.