Review: L'Occitane Neroli and Orchidee

The latest addition to L'Occitane en Provence La Collection de Grasse line:
Neroli and Orchidee.

Wearing an orange-based body scent for me, or any citrus-based perfume for that matter, is quite tricky as some of these can leave you smelling like car freshener (Shaldan, anyone?) or household cleaning product (enter lemon-scented Pledge or Lysol). One of my favorite orange-centered perfumes, which I now have an empty bottle of, is Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Mandarine-Basilic. Beautifully housed in an intricate gold bottle, it combines orange blossoms, mandarine oranges and the magic ingredient (for me, anyways) basil, which tempers the acidity of the fruit. It is a lovely fragrance which evolves nicely in warm weather, being fresh, sweet, tart and green, with an addictive soft dry down.

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Mandarine-Basilic was lovely to the last drop!

Enter one of L’Occitane’s most recent addition to their La Collection de Grasse line: Neroli and Orchidee, a floral number, combining Mediterranean neroli (a.k.a. bitter orange blossom) and exotic Madagascar orchid. I loved this perfume on first whiff, testing it on my wrist a couple of weeks ago at Rustan’s. That day, I kept sniffing my wrist all afternoon while walking in the mall, and into the night (like a crazy person)! Finally, two days ago, I managed to get myself one of the last two bottles left on display at the L’Occitane section in Rustan’s Shangri-la. Oh, the restraint from keeping me from buying both bottles was quite admirable, if I may say so myself, haha.

L'Occitane Neroli and Orchidee. 

Though marketed as a floral fragrance, to my nose, it is a juicy, fresh floral scent with a splash of orange, and creamy musky notes as you reach its base. The orange is so subtle but blends so wonderfully with the floral notes. No smelling of car freshener or Lysol with this one! Too, it works great in this hot and humid weather I am in now. And although it is "fruity floral" or better yet, floral with a touch of fruit -- to me, it still manages to smell sophisticated, and I can see this being used from day to night. Also, the bottle is beautiful, and the spray delivers a substantial dose of fragrance (Don't you hate it when perfume sprays squirt out fragrance?!). Longevity is fair at about four hours after initial spritz, after which I had to reapply. 

I am so in love with this scent and shall be dousing myself with it on especially hot days – which conflicts me as I don’t want to run out. *Suddenly regretting not buying that last bottle* D'oh! 

(Don't mind me, that's junkie-speak right there.)

My Jo Malone Story

Oh, Jo Malone, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

This is quite a lengthy one. You might want to fix yourself a cup of coffee or tea first. :)

Here goes…

I was introduced to the Jo Malone brand about fifteen years ago by none other than the “queen of talk” herself, Oprah Winfrey, while watching her now defunct daytime show (And on a side note, while her show had its run, it was my guilty pleasure to watch it everday since I was in high school). She kept saying how she preferred not to wear fragrance but gushed on how she loved and enjoyed the Jo Malone Grapefruit body oil. Oooh, I thought, then this must be good! Alas the United Kingdom is in the other side of the pond, and I practically had no access to the brand in Manila, not to mention that I was a but a college student without a peso to my name.

From time to time I would encounter Jo Malone fragrances in fashion magazines (okay sometimes it would show up on “O” the Oprah magazine, in some form or another as one of Oprah’s favorite things on her “O” List, tempting me further –- Damn you, Oprah.), and sometimes on TV and the internet. Beauty editors and various celebrities alike would regard it as a "must have" and say things as "I am never without it!" -- these made my Jo Malone itch "itch" some more. But once again, apart from the fact that this brand back then was not available in my country, the hefty price tag also kept me away from these beauties.

Several years ago, when I finally started to work, I decided I deserved a little Jo Malone love. And so I indulged. I researched online, read perfume blogs and fragrance reviews on what Jo Malone would tickle my fancy. Lime Basil and Mandarin? Nutmeg and Ginger? Orange Blossom? Grapefruit? Then I happened upon a video review of Nectarine Blossom and Honey. Seemed like it was the one, then. I found a local reseller online and ordered the much raved about Nectarine Blossom and Honey. Pricey, yes, but heck I waited for more than a decade to own it! And well, what do you know, the cherry on top was that the package arrived on the morning of my birthday! It was like the world was telling me “Have a fan-freaking’tastic birthday!” while handing me my first Jo Malone cologne. I tore open the package, and carefully unboxed my new baby. Spritzed it a few times. Boom. I was in love! Nectarine Blossom and Honey is a fresh, peach-based scent with some green notes, with a lovely mild, sweet yet fresh dry down. I loved my first and then only bottle of Jo Malone cologne…until…

One afternoon four months later, while waiting for the Hubs to get home from work, Miss Nectarine Blossom and Honey sat with me on my bed while I was catching up on some TV. Because our mattress sat on a bedframe with springs, when I leaned over to my right, the mattress tilted as well --- and Miss NBAH fell to the floor. Yes.  As if in slow motion, I watched my precious baby fall on the floor and smash into smithereens. I. COULD. NOT. MOVE. Hell, my bedroom smelt fantastic, but my Jo Malone cologne was no more – nothing but shards of glass all over and Nectarine Blossom and Honey juice splattered on the floor. After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably just like five minutes) of me just staring at the floor at what was once my Miss NBAH, Hubs finally arrived. On opening the door he found me sitting on the bed with a horrified look, eyes wide open. Immediately he knew something was dead wrong. When our eyes met, and he saw the mess on the floor, he understood. And I kid you not, I lay on the bed in fetal position and cried my eyes out.  I was in-con-so-la-ble, absolutely GUTTED and Hubs did not know what to do to calm me down. That scene probably lasted about twenty minutes until the magic words were uttered, "Let's get you a new one". And then I started to calm down. In hindsight, that was one of the most hilarious experiences ever. Too funny just how “devastated” I felt at the time! 

Nectarine Blossom & Honey no. 2 :)

I have since acquired another bottle of Nectarine Blossom and Honey, and have also, with time started to build my Jo Malone collection. But never will I forget Miss NBAH. She will always be my first love.

My current Jo Malone collection :)

L to R: (30 ml. bottles) Vanilla & Anise, Redcurrant & Cream (LE), Peony & Blush Suede, Ginger Biscuit (LE), Blackberry & Bay, and Red Roses.

L to R: (100 ml. bottles) Top row: Dark Amber and Ginger Lily, Wild Bluebell,
Rose Water & Vanilla, Iris & Lady Moore (LE)
Bottom row: Grapefruit, Pomegranate Noir, Nectarine Blossom & Honey. 

What is your favorite Jo Malone cologne? 

Pilot Post: My Scent Addiction

I love perfumes. And by "love", I mean "love" like "addicted". 

I am by no means a perfume expert like Luca Turin or Tania Sanchez, nor do I consider myself a "nose".

In this blog I would like to share my love for perfumes and all things fragrant! Do not expect a thorough nitpicking of a certain fragrance, but do expect my two cents worth on such.

Now that we have the disclaimer out of the way, let's begin this olfactory journey, shall we?

I have an insane fragrance collection. I always tell my friends about perfumes that they "must absolutely try!" or "is to-die-for", and most of them come from my own personal collection.

I have xx ( "xx" read: an embarrassing number) bottles in my collection, and at present have four more on the way. Insane. Crazy. I know. 

I just love perfumes! The bottles, the notes, the actual spraying and dabbing on the pulse points --  all these are very ritual-ish for me. I always wear a fragrance everyday, whether I go out or stay in. Even before I go to bed, as I do love waking up to a subtle comforting scent. And during the rare days when I forget to wear perfume, I feel utterly naked and incomplete. I know I am not alone -- you probably came about this blog because you find yourself doing the same, right? No judgements here. You came to the right place.