London Calling: The Jo Malone Archive & Blossom Girls Collection

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Over the past year or so I’ve gotten my paws on a quite a few Jo Malone colognes, and it very quickly skyrocketed to being one of my favorite fragrance brands – and by far my most-purchased! Seriously – I talked a bit about the ones I have & combining suggestions here. I’m in love with the understated but sophisticated scents, so it will come as a surprise to exactly no one that the Jo Malone flagship store on Regent Street was an absolute must-visit when Joseph & I went to London a few weeks ago. I had three main goals for going in there: to see if they might still have the Rare Teas miniature collection, check out the archive scents, and find the Sakura Cherry Blossom cologne.

The first one was a bust – they had the Rare Teas miniatures on a display, but apparently not available for purchase (per the SA I asked about it). Weird. I was able to get sample vials of the Rare Teas fragrances from The Perfumed Court a few months ago, since there’s nowhere to try them near my house. I like them all, but didn’t fall in love with any of them so much that I felt the need to buy a full 75ml of it. So, I skipped that (though if they ever bring the mini collection back in the US, it’s totally gonna be mine).

The fragrance archive was a whole other story! The Regent Street store has brought back quite a few favorites that are discontinued elsewhere. Since I was already dancing on the very edge of my shopping budget for the trip I decided to limit myself to just one, and I spent waaaaay too much time smelling them all and deciding which one to take home. The scents in the archive are:

• Silk Blossom
• Honeysuckle & Jasmine
• Assam & Grapefruit
• Vintage Gardenia
• Vanilla & Anise
• Peony & Moss
• White Lilac & Rhubarb
• Iris & Lady Moore
• Ginger Biscuit
• Sweet Lemon
• Elderflower & Gooseberry
• Birch & Black Pepper
• Black Vetyver Café

After much deliberation, and some input from Joseph, I settled on Ginger Biscuit. I normally gravitate toward fresh, woody or citrusy scents, so this one – a sweet mix of vanilla, hazelnut & ginger – is a bit of a departure for me. It’s definitely a fall/winter fragrance in my mind so I haven’t been wearing it much lately, but it’s such a cozy scent that I’m almost looking forward to the fall. I think it will also layer really well to help transition other scents into the cooler seasons. Silk Blossom and Honeysuckle & Jasmine were also on my short list (and a little more typical of my usual tastes), so of course I’m already kicking myself a bit for not getting one of those. Is it too soon to go back?

Blossom Girls

Check out these pretty Blossom Girls that just joined the #JoMalone crowd on my perfume tray! 💗(gifted) Nashi Blossom is a gorgeous blend of pear with soft florals and white musk, perfect for spring. Plum Blossom also has a white musk base, but with a burst of plum that makes it more tart and crisp. My next mission: track down Sakura Blossom when I visit the @jomalonelondon flagship next week to see if she’s as lovely as her friends 🌸 #brilliantblossoms #perfumetray #perfumecollection #cologne #scentsofspring #fragrancecollection #fragrancelover #scentoftheday #instafragrance #luxuryfragrance #lipsticklatitude #sharethelex #beautycommunity #beautybits

A post shared by nikki | beauty & travel blog (@lipsticklatitude) on Apr 12, 2018 at 3:52pm PDT

Right before we left on vacation – I think it was literally the day before – I received a lovely package from the Jo Malone team with two of the fragrances with the limited edition Blossom Girls collection for this spring,  Nashi Blossom and Plum Blossom. Nashi is light and fruity, with notes of pear, rose and white musk. It’s perfect for spring, so I immediately made myself a little sample vial to take along with me on my trip. If you look at the notes for Plum Blossom, it seems like it would be similar – plums, plum blossom, and white musk – but it’s a little more tart and has a bit of woodiness to it.

Since I liked those two so much and I’m a bit of a completionist, I made up my mind to check out Sakura Cherry Blossom at the boutique. They didn’t have the Blossom Girls collection there, so I did something that could have been very foolish – I blind ordered it from Sephora. It was during their 15% off event, so I figured that was the best time to buy it anyway! Fortunately it worked out, and ended up being my favorite of the three. I’m a sucker for anything with bergamot, and the citrus keeps the cherry blossom, rose and violet from being cloyingly floral. Even better, the notes play well with other fragrances, so I can imagine endless layering combinations to use this in.

Now, if only they would bring back Star Magnolia, all would be right with the world. I loved it when I smelled it last year, but waited to long to get it. Are there any scents you missed and would love to get a second chance at?