When I first started dating my now-husband, I visited him in London for Christmas and he gave me a bottle of perfume. The 1 ounce bottle was elegantly wrapped in a pale yellow box with a sharp black ribbon tied around it and “Jo Malone London” written in a bold print. Before you even spritzed the perfume, you could smell the bright fruity scent on the tissue paper. When I sprayed it on my skin, I was enveloped in an incredibly unique scent that felt undeniably British. That was the beginning of my love affair with a brand that now smells and feels like every trip I’ve ever taken to the U.K.
The first scent in my still-growing collection was Pomegranate Noir. I loved it so much, I later bought the candle. As with all Jo Malone products, the perfume came in a classic glass bottle with the same pale yellow and black label — a taste of vintage dressing tables. The plummy, vibrant scent also felt classic yet deeply functional. It was as quintessentially British as a tailored, plaid coat.
Scent Tied To Memory
I wasn’t much of a perfume person, but for Jo Malone, I’d become one. I’d spritz it on my wrists or on my neck before exploring the colorful houses in Nottingham, visiting Spitalfields market, or being dazzled by the Christmas decorations at Covent Garden. Soon, the smells of the city became inextricably tied to the smells of my perfume until Jo Malone scents were London for me. I’d spray it on my wrists back in the states just before FaceTiming with my husband and it’d actually feel like I was back across the pond.
After that trip, I adopted a new tradition: buy Jo Malone products on my way home from London. Jo Malone is a bit expensive, but when I bought items in the London airport duty-free, I could save some money and justify the purchase. It also felt better to buy candles, perfumes, and body washes when in Heathrow than when shopping at department stores in the U.S.; browsing at Jo Malone was now part of the London experience for me, and heading home with a pale yellow bag with a black ribbon meant I was bringing back with me a slice of the city and the person I now loved, even if it was a while before I could see either.
My Ongoing Treat To Myself
There are a few reasons beyond the link to my memories that Jo Malone became the one store I’d indulge in at Heathrow. When it comes to buying scents, whether that be for perfumes, candles, lotion, or hand creams, Jo Malone makes it easy. Instead of sifting through endless shelves of various smells you layer on your body until you get a headache, buying perfume at Jo Malone is a stress-free, streamlined process. All perfumes come in the same signature glass bottle with scent samples you can quickly get a whiff of, no spraying required.
The manageable perfume and cologne collections also combine an array of scents commonly found in the U.K. or Europe, but in distinct combos you won’t see outside the brand. (Hello, Earl Grey and Cucumber or Mimosa and Cardamom). The result is a vast repertoire of citrus, floral, woody, fruity, and spicy scents that are actually very unisex. Case in point: my husband and I both spritzed on the Basil and Neroli cologne during my second trip to London after I caved and bought it in-store at Covent Garden. It smelled distinct yet suited for both of us.
Once you know your scent, you can pick it up as a candle or a room spray so you’ll never have to exist outside of a Jo Malone perfume cloud. Now that I’ve been spending more time at home, the candles have become my favorite products that Jo Malone sells. Though I was a bit nervous initially when stuffing a glass candle into an overhead bin for a seven hour flight, I’ve successfully made it home with a few — English Pear and Freesia being my favorite. The smell is a light combination of floral and citrus but brightens up a room just enough to make it seem like it smelled that good to begin with.
While I’ve had to settle for online orders without a trip to London in my near-future, Jo Malone still serves as a reminder of exploring one of my favorite cities. I can splash on the English Pear and Freesia body wash in the shower, close my eyes, and be walking across Tower Bridge. Every time I light a candle, I’m back at the Globe Theater or browsing through the Tate Modern. My husband, who now lives with me in the states, can have a reminder of home when he misses it. It’s not the same, but it’s powerfully close.
Main photo by Markus Mainka/Shutterstock.
