After my whirlwind tour of fragrances on vacation and suffering a little bit of a cold, I found it difficult to get back into the swing of sampling. I wore Safran Troublant all weekend--oh, that's a forever favorite--and I almost wore it again today. But I spotted this box on the shelf and thought, "Why not?" This scent is perfect for the season and the weather, after all, and a nice boost for a Monday. I bought Pomegranate Noir unsniffed, all because of Ina's review several months ago. Pom Noir is my first Jo Malone fragrance, and after trying this one, I'm ready to jump in and try some others, especially combining the scents as they recommend.Pomegranate Noir has notes of pomegranate, raspberry, plum, frankincense, and patchouli. If I hadn't been convinced by Ina's review, I never would have chosen this scent. I'm not one for anything overly fruity, and just reading the notes would have scared the pants right off me. But since wearing it a few times, I like to think of Pom Noir as the poor woman's Bois de Paradis. It shares the same dark fruit, although it's less mulled and more straight juice than Bois de Paradis. I also find the dry down is much spicier, without the rose and amber to soften the patchouli and frankincense, which are a bit more harsh (or maybe dry is the better word) than the woods. To be sure, it's less refined, but no less wonderful in its own way. If I had tried a sample of this, I would have deemed it bottle-worthy in a heartbeat, and now I'm anxious to try layering it with some of the other scents. One they recommend is the Vintage Gardenia, with notes of gardenia, tuberose, cardamom, sandalwood, incense and myrrh. I think the floral aspect of this would soften the juice somewhat, and I'm interested to see how these spices would mix. I'm also interested in the Orange Blossom body creme (orange blossom and water lily) for layering with either of these. I thought about Red Roses, but I'm afraid the lemon and spearmint would clash awfully with the dark juice. The Wild Fig & Cassis (fig, cassis, hyacinth, cedarwood--cedarwood is the siren's call for me) also intrigues me, as does the new one (which I also heard about through Aromascope--I swear, I have to quit reading Ina's reviews), Blue Agave and Cacao (which they did not have yet at the Jo Malone store I visited on vacation and is not yet listed on her official site).
If you've tried any Jo Malone scents, or have a favorite layering combo (Jo Malone or otherwise), I'd love to hear about it! I'll let you know when I try layering, although it may be awhile. Giving that pocketbook a rest!
*photo from Gloss.com
