I don’t know what it is about me, but every time I am randomly given a sample in store, it is always a “jasmine” perfume. What about my physical appearance says I want to smell like jasmine? With this one, the Jo Malone rep spent a good 40 seconds searching through a basket for what she said was “the perfect perfume for you”. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it but this has been at least the 15th time this has happened to me at a department store.
Spritz. Oh, no. This opens up terribly. This is such an odd thing to compare this fragrance to but do you remember sheets of scratch n’ sniff stickers? This is what it smells like. It’s a mix of citrus, mint, strawberry, dill weed and flowers with adhesive and paper. It’s a hodgepodge of everything synthetic. The final result is a book of scratch n’ sniff stickers. And I mean, this isn’t terrible if you are looking for something grade school nostalgic. Real talk – scratch and sniff stickers were one of the best things of childhood. Some things sound nostalgic and great in adulthood. Then you find yourself at a 30-something friend’s house eating Count Chocula at 3:30 am in the morning because it seemed like a comforting, awesome thing to do at the time. Plus, you’re in awe that your friend has a box of this stuff around. AND you remember crying to your grandma to buy you a box of this stuff every week when you were 6 years old. She never bought it for you because she wanted you to be miserable…one time you had it a your cousin’s house. It was tasty with scandal! Anyway, half a bowl later, you realize that chocolate, sugar and milk doesn’t settle well with a gut full of gin and tonics and what other alcoholic beverage you consumed over the past few hours. This is how Jasmine and Mint makes me feel. Nostalgia quickly turns to regret. Eventually it turns into a soft, squeaky clean jasmine floral soap. I mean if it brings to mind cheap-o novelty items, it’s difficult for me to not to think of this as cheap-o fragrance. I think of it as a much cheaper fragrance than its price tag based on my past associations. It’s like some chef trying to sell you a General-Mills cereal as something luxurious and novel.
I realize that I don’t make friends when I make statements like what I’m about to make, it’s never a personal attack. But, I think White Jasmine & Mint is garbage. I hate the way it smells on my skin so much that I should file a restraining order on it. I don’t want it near me anymore. Never again. As always, mileage will vary. Something about this composition just rubs me the wrong way.
Hey, do I look like a person that wants to smell like jasmine? Or do I look like a person that wants to smell like stickers? Your answer is appreciated.
Notes listed include jasmine, lily, orange blossom and wild mint. Launch date 2007.
Give White Jasmine & Mint a try if you like a cooling, squeaky clean floral. I guess it could be a good choice for summer or sweaty weather. I don’t know. I’m trying to be nice here.
Projection and longevity are average for a “cologne”. I get about 2-3 hours wear from it.
White Jasmine and Mint comes in 2 sizes with prices ranging from $60-$110 at Nordstrom.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – A vintage book of scratch and sniff stickers. A synthetic mix of ctirus, mint, berries, dill, nondescript flowers and glue. I think I’ve made myself clear about how I feel about this one.
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Oh gosh, I recently tried this one too. Agree with your review. The opening is HORRID. HORRID. The jasmine stage is fine, nothing to write home about, clean and dull. But the synthetic mint/dill stage is vomitrocious.
Thank you for commenting. I started to think after publishing that maybe I was being a baby. BUT, it’s that crazy opening with the dill and weird citrus. I can’t stand that stage. I *can* see how someone could like this but man, if if you don’t, it’s a long, bumpy and uncomfortable ride.
I think the jasmine stage is nice enough but if I want a nice clean jasmine I can get much better and not have to deal with a horrible opening.
breathesgelatin recently posted..5 quick impressions of lesser-known Thierry Muglers
Exactly. A clean jasmine is not difficult to find.
It smells quite nice on my skin but disappears within 45 minutes which makes it not worthy a game of searching or buying it abroad.
Lucas recently posted..Restful tides, Van Cleef & Arpels Bois d’Iris
Is it “cool” jasmine on your skin? It’s been described to me like that.
45 minutes is crazy “longevity”. It’s not exactly a cheap perfume even in the US when you consider you can buy a Chanel, GUerlain or Caron for that price.
I want to say that I haven’t given up on the line because all I have tried are the florals. I hear that some of the woodsy ones last on the skin.
Snort! I enjoy White Jasmine & Mint but your review just made me laugh. Now I am picturing eating revenge Chocula (TAKE THAT GRANDMA!) and vomiting up whatever gin I mix it with. Horrifying.
In other news, however, apparently you need a “No Jasmine” button for shopping.
unseencenser recently posted..Tripping with perfume
Grandma was and is always right. I’ve learned this the hard way.
I know. I mean, I like jasmine but I find this so odd. I told a local friend about this and she didn’t believe me. We went shopping one day and I kept getting jasmine samples and they kept giving her citrus stuff samples. I think we’re being perfume profiled.
I really like the body cream but hate the cologne. It sounds like I suffer from the same affliction with sales associates. They always grab something that is not my taste. I think they see someone wearing bright lipstick and a tailored dress and assume I want girly or über-feminine fragrances.
BTW, I am loving your videos.
Interesting. I can see this working, I was thinking maybe in their candle. I mean jasmine and mint does sound like a really good idea. – In my mind thought, Jo Malone London is a bath and body line. I tend to prefer their body stuff over their perfumes which all disappear in an instant.
I think you’re right. I think they’re like “look! red lipstick, find a floral!”
Thanks for watching! I really appreciate it.
You’re always funny, but this was hysterical! Every aspect of it, but particularly the part about taking a nostalgia trip with Count Chocula at 3:30 am, with some gin-and-tonics already under your belt.
I recently tried Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey cologne, which I thought would be quite light and cheerful – and when it first went on the skin, it did smell like nectarines in a wonderful way. And then the scent kept building in some awful way that smelled like an oud version of honey. It really threw me – I not only wasn’t expecting it, but it just got on my nerves. After two attempts, thinking I might have hallucinated it the first time, I threw the sample away.
Wow, throwing out a sample, that’s serious for us fumeheads! I really think that the line (keep in mind, I haven’t tried many perfumes from them) is more about bath, body and home fragrance. It seems that these blends do better in anything other than an alcohol base. Or at least this is what I’ve observed from the perfumes that I’ve tried. They smell better in a body oil or butter. They fall to pieces in alcohol and well, frankly, get on my nerves.
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