Hiya Posse, If you’ve been reading for a while you’ll know that my husband Jin has become a bit of a perfumista himself. He has a collection of interesting things, mostly a few years old, that he has fallen in love with over time. This month I’m going to share four of his faves. Starting with one of his first major purchases was 154 Cologne by Jo Malone. This year it turns 25! Yep, released back in 2001. So while Estée Lauder had bought it (1999) but before Jo Malone herself left the building (2006). I can’t even remember how he came across it. Maybe it was a sample I passed to him or on a perfume sniffing adventure. Maybe someone else wearing it spurred him. We’ll never know now. It’s one of the fragrances I really like him wearing. Calmly confident.
154 Cologne by Jo Malone 2001
Jo Malone London gives these featured accords:
Top: Mandarin
Heart: English Lavender
Base: Vetiver
The opening is very mandarin for about ten seconds, then it becomes much more citrus melange. The lavender comes through clearly and has an extra herbaceous edge like stripping leaves off a branch and crushing them. It’s very pretty and not like a clean, clear lavender CHANEL Jersey style. In my mind I’m saying more nuanced, but that’s such an unfair assessment. Then I’m aware of the grassy, slightly petrolic, greenery of vetiver and some unnamed dry sweetness. The citrus is still quietly huffing away but it’s become part of the whole fragrance.
A masculine leaning unisex that wears very comfortably. It won’t go beast mode on you if you add an extra spritz, it also won’t outlast your workday. There will be traces of not quite laundry musks with a tingle of something green-ish but you won’t be noticeable fragrant unless you’re being intimate.
Strangely, the last time Perfume Posse wrote about Jo Malone was in 2018! Tom did a post on Wild Bluebell. A month before Ann wrote about Star Magnolia, then radio silence.
I’ve not really explored the Jo Malone oeuvre because my skin seems to eat them before I’ve done a circuit of the department store. Do you have favourites?
Portia xx
Ginger Biscuit is lovely and long lasting and I remember spritzing the Wood Sage and Sea Salt at the counter once. While more fleeting it was nice and I wouldn’t mind a 10 ml of it! Sampled the Velvet Rose & Oud and it’s a nice balanced scent for the ‘little bit of oud is fine’ person. Trying the Jasmine Sambac and Marigold now, so good…..I foresee a bottle in the future! Sweet Lime and Cedar sounds interesting too.
AH! Jasmine Sambac and Marigold seems to be this weeks clear winner JenniferS. I’m going to find it next city visit.
Portia xx
Adding in late – I have Blue Agava & Cacao, but have mixed feelings about it.
I think we all have a few “mixed feelings” in our collections SpringPansy. Do you ever wear it?
Portia xx
Yes, but rarely. Is it enough to keep in my collection? Maybe it should go to a more devoted fan? These are the questions I ask myself!
The eternal conundrum of the perfumista.
I have quite a few & have thunked a few over the years.
BlackBerry & Bay is gorgeous if you like sour berry scents. Oud isn’t my thing but I own & love Velvet Rose & Oud. Love Ginger Biscuit & Orange Bitters, layered they smell like Xmas. I keep my eye on their Archive range, I NEED both Jasmine & White Mint and Blue Agave & Cacao whilst they are still in production but I’m still boycotting ELC owned companies
Hey Alityke,
I had a bath oil of Blue Agave & Cacao and loved it to the very last drop.
Seeing a LOT of love for Velvet Rose & Oud and Ginger Biscuit today. I’m going to check the oud out, though there are so many here it would never get the gong.
Portia xx
JM had a nice Neroli thing I really liked – and when I blended it with Wood Sage and Sea Salt, I liked it even more. I also got the Star Magnolia before it was discontinued, which is likewise very nice.
OOOH! What was the Star Magnolia like MaggieCat? Any correlation to the Malle or Grandifloras?
Portia xx
Turns out I have more JM than I’d remembered. Like other folks here I find many of their scents quite fleeting. Someone mentioned they’re often designed to be layered, which seems a little Bath & Body Work considering how much JM costs.
While I like Oat & Cornflower and Orange Marmalade I’m glad I only splashed out for 10 ml bottles of them. Oh, I’ve just layered the two of then, and I’ll see how long they last, and mesh. Also have the larger bottles of Velvet Rose and Oud and Ginger Biscuit, which are longer lasting. Pretty sure dark bottle = longer lasting
Please let us know how the layering works for you. You may be right on the dark bottles! Thanks.
It seemed that Oat & Cornflower smothered the marmalade…
That is funny!!!
Velvet Rose and Oud is on the list of those I want to try.
Ginger Biscuit! It’s so good AnnieA BUT I have many beloved Xmas type scents and it would never get the spritz. Add in that we are usually in 100f°+. Mostly that stuff only gets the spritz at night.
Portia x
When Jo Malone was purchased it moved to right next to the Wilshire Blvd main entrance to Neiman-Marcus, which was probably when I last wrote about them. I like their stuff a lot. But I think certain houses just suit certain people and Jo Malone is just not me. SL is more me (Or the “me” I see in my head)
I think you have the right of it Tom. Serge Lutens is definitely your groove.
Portia xx
Ha! I wrote about JM Jasmine Sambac and Marigold last summer but it was in a multi-fragrance post and somehow my tag doesn’t make it surface. That one I bought a FB of and have in rotation this summer. I’ll probably be walking by CosBar later and will stop in for a sniff of 154, they have a bunch of JM. I liked some of the early ones (White Jasmine and Mint springs to mind, also great in summer.)
WordPress has kinks March. Sorry I didn’t give you the shout out.
There’s a Gingerbread Cookie one that I like too.
Portia xx
I like the Jasmine Sambac and Marigold, also. Many jasmines are “too much” for my preference but this one is perfect.
Quite a few lovers of it here this week SpringPansy.
This sounds like a nice concoction of notes, Portia. Something that’s wearable all year round but not the same as every other person. I don’t have any Jo Malones, but I did sniff a nice fig one within the last year.
Hey DinaC,
It is. Very wearable.
OOOH! Fig. I do love figgy frags.
Portia xx
I have a few that I like. Sweet Lime and Cedar is one I wear in summer, Lavendar and Amber I wear year round, and Nutmeg and Ginger I wear Fall and Winter. My daughter has a Rose Oud body cream that smells amazing. These are from a few years ago.
Nutmeg and Ginger sounds so good Jillks, does it have a traditional Xmassy vibe?
Portia x
Hi, Portia. It would if you layered it over frankinsence.
Ohhhh!
I know what you mean about some Jo Malones not having much lasting power. I make brief notes on the perfumes I try, most of my notes about Jo Malone perfumes refer to them being nice, but too quick to fade away. I see that the note I made on Green Wheat and Meadowsweet (it’s a lovely name) is “Vanished too fast to form a view”!
The Jasmin Sambac and Marigold is a “cologne intense” and it does last, at least on me.
Hey there Gaynor,
Yeah, I think some of our skins eat it up. I also have a friend on whom perfumes last really well and she adores the Jo Malones.
Portia xx
I love the idea of Jo Malone stuff but it doesn’t work terribly well on me. I do mean to sample the marigold one in any case.
I love the idea of you writing about Jin’s perfume choices. Looking forward to all the stories.
Heya Cinnamon,
Marigold is such a good perfume note. Maybe I’ll go check it out too. Is it new?
Portia xx
You forgot about March writing about Jasmine Sambac & Marigold last summer. I recently, happily, got a bottle. I also have 10ml of Wood Sage and Sea Salt – very nice. I should have explored Jo Malone before now. I’m curious to read what other scents of hers get love here.
LOLOL I just left that in a comment — for whatever reason, it’s not showing up under Malone. Like you I’m now reading these to see what I might give another sniff to.
🙂
There was one you LOVED! and had me try at… Double Take(?) – is that possible? Anyway I remember really enjoying it.. and then POOF! it was gone before I had a chance to turn around!
AH! Well, I’ve been wrong before. It will definitely happen again too.
I did a Jo Malone search and it didn’t come up.
Portia xx