When Jo Malone launched English Pear & Freesia two summers ago the press release talked about the scent of a cool autumn afternoon, an English orchard in the beautiful countryside. Before any of us gets carried away imagining English Pear & Freesia as the fragrant embodiment of the Middletons' new country home on its 14 acres of land and walled garden, I have to warn you there's very little of that in this perfume. There's not much pear there, either, which is mostly fine with me.
English Pear & Freesia (Jo Malone's naming conventions become confusing now that there are so many of them) smells like a bubbly cocktail. It's fizzy, tart, infused with some abstract fruity aromas and is kind of fun in a girls-night-out way. I confess that on the rare occasions I consume alcohol this is exactly what I drink and enjoy: put champagne and fruit juice in a pretty glass and I'll be tipsy and happy within minutes. The only problem is that I'd rather not smell like I just bathed in Prosseco.
Jo Malone's English Pear & Freesia is a grownup take on a fruity-floral, as it's not too sweet and doesn't dry down into a puddle of cheap vanilla. I get it, I really do, but the light acidity and the slightly carbonated wine note are too assertive on my skin, and between that and a bland white musk there's very little left for me to enjoy. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd really prefer to smell some real pear and freesia notes somewhere in there, as I get none from this perfume.
Jo Malone- English Pear & Freesia ($55, 1oz) is available from Jo Malone boutiques and select department stores (Saks, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, etc.). The sample for this review came from one of these stores, though I can't recall which one. Photo by Cheri Loughlin.
Don't you love how their naming conventions often have nothing to do with the actual scent of the fragrance - You've got to love marketing!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I am not one for sweet fragrances (a la anything Escada or overly sugar-y) but you've done a great description of this fragrance and despite it not being 'Pear' or 'Freesia', I think it sounds like a perfect summer scent!
PS- I do love Prosecco so maybe this is influencing my opinion as well! ;-)
I love to wear scent that speaks of the season so I was disappointed when I first sampled Pear & Freesia. I was thinking of something redolent of an orchard's bounty (Orange Blossom, Nectarine Blossom & Honey) and experienced, instead, a fun and delightfully girlish clubbing fragrance which would be fine if it were not for the fact that I'm in my late sixties. Not to be deterred, I bought it for my twenty-something nice who adores it. Your description of it couldn't be better: Prosecco and a girls night out :-)
ReplyDeleteAnother fine example of how a brand developed from a singular creative vision loses its way in the hands of corporate ownership. Whether you liked the original Jo Malone fragrances or not, they were distinctive and not driven by marketing or demographics. I can't wait until the fabulous real Jo figures out how to bring her new UK-only fragrance line, Jo Loves, to the US for us longtime fans.
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