Jo Malone's Herb Garden
Jo Malone London are bringing out these special Limited Edition mini collections every year now, and this year it’s all about the herb garden. As the brand are involved in their own charity gardens around the UK, so it’s no surprise they’ve headed down the horticultural route with these scents.
There are five scents in the collection, each of them an interesting, and intriguing, blend of herbs and florals. Some of them work, others I’m not so sure about.
Sorrel & Thyme is a zesty lemon scent with bigarade and petitigrain on the top, mixed with the herbaceous heart of sorrel, lemon thyme and rosemary. It also has notes of geranium leaves, earthy moss and more citrus. It’s very fresh, and I like this one a lot
Wild Strawberry & Parsley has tangy tomato leaves, ripe blackcurrant, wild strawberries, violet, and that parsley. This one is quite odd. I’m not the biggest strawberry fan, and whilst this isn;t synthetic, it doesn’t cut it with me. You can smell the parsley, it’s just hard to identify it as such, but there is an earthiness about the scent.
Nasturtium & Clover is an interesting one. What on earth does clover smell like? Well, it’s cut with peppery rocket here, with a bit of lemon thrown in. Nasturtium and jasmine at the heart make it very floral, and vetiver at the dry down gives it a lovely scent.
Carrot Blossom & Fennel is one for the hardcore Jo Malone fans, I think. I’m not loving this, and it’s not really to do with the carrot, which isnt really that noticeable. Neither, sadly is the fennel, as both are usurped by a very powdery rich floral thanks to rose and orange water, and iris. I’m not loving this one.
Finally, and my favourite, Lavender & Coriander. I am a coriander addict, and lavender is one of my favourite scents, so go figure! You don’t really smell the coriander here, it’s just something different to a scent that is refreshingingly lavender. There’s earthy sage in there too, with tonka bean, adding a sweetness. It’s very moreish, this one.
I love the idea behind this collection, and the campaign images are lovely – the brand has gone down the ‘Advanced Style’ route, with an Iris Apfel look-a-like!
Jo Malone London The Herb Garden Collection, £44 each (30ml), available from March, at Jo Malone locations, and jomalone.co.uk