Of the four fragrances in the new limited edition Floral Curiosities collection at Anthropologie (all of them created by niche perfume line Ineke), Poet's Jasmine was the one that most sparked my interest. No surprise there — I love jasmine. There are times that I wish jasmine would replace oud as the new "big" thing in niche, and then, of course, there are times that I don't. If I ever get sick of jasmine, I might as well go find a new hobby.
Quite predictably, it was also my favorite of the four after I smelled them; in fact, I spent so little time with the others that I ought not to say anything, but I will just mention that I was intrigued with the wine-y Scarlet Larkspur as well, and anybody who shares my troubled feelings about melon might best stay away from Angel's Trumpet. The official description of Poet's Jasmine is right on target, so I'll repeat it here:
Citrus and Herbal. A fragrance inspired by Poet’s Jasmine tea, replete with slices of citrus fruit. Added points of interest include star anise, rosemary, absinthe, frankincense, cardamom, hinoki wood and guaiac wood.
That's it exactly: this is a bright, summer-y jasmine with a juicy citrus opening, something along the lines of L'Artisan's wonderful Thé Pour Un Été, or the Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint. It's slightly more floral (and less crisp) than either of those, but only slightly. The heart is a soft, sheer jasmine-focused mixed floral, more clean than not, with light fruity undertones. As advertised, it has an herbal cast, but it's quite subtle and well-blended — none of the listed herb or spice notes really stand out on their own. In keeping with the summer-y feel, the dry down is paler than you might expect, but it isn't at all bland, and it warms up nicely (and maintains the fruity undertones) on skin in the later stages.
A man who would wear either of the other two fragrances I mentioned (the L'Artisan or the Jo Malone) would probably wear this one too.
It's a very wearable and enjoyable fragrance. If it came in a (much) smaller size I'd probably buy it. If you need your jasmine cleaner than this, you might like Guerlain's Jasminora.1 If you want more jasmine than this, but you'd like to stick with the summer + citrus theme, try Aftelier Candide. And of course there are many, many more: try a quick run through the jasmine tag if you haven't yet found your perfect jasmine.
Ineke + Anthropologie Poet's Jasmine is exclusive to Anthropologie, and is available in 75 ml Eau de Parfum, $68. The lasting power is fine.
Coming tomorrow: a review of Acqua di Parma Gelsomino Nobile.
1. And in the comments to the Jasminora review, I asked people to mention their favorite summer jasmine fragrances, so you can find more suggestions there.
I’m wearing Jasmin Full for the first time today. Oh my! Do you have this one, Robin? It’s a powerhouse!!!
Didn’t care for Jasminora. Too clean. Might like this one, though. Looking forward to trying it. So happy you reviewed it! My favorite jasmine is Kilian’s Love and Tears.
Just looked up your review on the Montale, and see you liked L’Orientaliste. Never tried this line, so now am curious!!
Everyone else loves Jasmin Full but me! Maybe there’s something in there that I can’t smell?
I wore Love & Tears yesterday (from a sample). I’d always found it quite animalic before, but yesterday it smelled completely fresh, like a more expensive version of Beyond Paradise. Perhaps summer brought out the freshness in it? It’s a lovely jasmine.
I think of it as clean, but often I find something clean and other people say it’s indolic — so I figure my threshold is high
My ‘skankmeter’ is completely off , I think..lol. I didn’t even find Cepes and Tuberose dirty- just warm and lovely. Love and Tears is the cleanest jasmine that I love (I thought it was very clean and fresh and pretty)..I really need to try Candide. Jasmine is one note I love more in perfume than even in flower form.
Aftelier Candide is on my wish list as well. I agree that indoles can be tricky, but that’s half the fun of sampling, isn’t it?
I didn’t like Jasminora at all, the opening was promising but then just very bland.
And I still love EL’s JWM, it’s just perfectly pretty when I don’t want to think too hard about what to wear.
This one sounds intriguing also, so on the wish list it goes! Thanks for the great review. Happy Friday!
Fuddy Duddy, I like the Estee Lauder too, they did a nice job. And guessing they’re done with that series now since we haven’t seen any new ones — too bad.
Lavanya, even slightly indolic fragrances used to bother me, so I assume it’s all just a matter of getting used to it. Now I hardly notice.
I’m definitely looking forward to trying all in this line. I am hoping they are at my Anthropologie this week, as I am sniffing with a friend on Saturday.
My latest jasmine purchase was MPG Jasmin, a total bug-up-my-butt blind buy that I really like. It’s quite heady.
They were at my local Anthropologie last weekend, so would think you could find them at yours.
One hopes, since she lives in town!
I appreciate the many suggestions for jasmine. I think I like the note, since I like ELD’O Jasmin et Cigarette enough to want a bottle of it, but some others, like Dyptique Olene, are too “white flowers” (heady, tuberose-y, etc.) for me. Could it be the indoles you talk about in your review for Jasminora?
I don’t get a speck of indole in Jasminora! It’s so FRESH and clean. A bit harsh, too, IMO.
Yes, I should have been more specific, Robin wrote for Jasminora: “If you’ve been looking for a casual daytime jasmine without even a hint of indoles, this might just be the one for you.”
Victoria on Bois de Jasmin had an interesting post explaining indoles, but I’m still confused! I need more testing!
Bois de Jasmin has a great description of “indoles.” Robin, hope you don’t mind if I share the link? If so, please delete.
http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/_/2011/03/perfume-vocabulary-fragrance-notes-indole-indolic.html
Oh sorry – I am a dunce. You already mentioned this article. I’ll crawl back under my rock – ha!
Hahahaha! No, thanks for sharing it!
Yes, indoles can be part of what makes a jasmine (or other white floral) smell heady, but it can also just be the concentration/how they’ve used the materials. Olene is a VERY strong white floral, I don’t think finding Olene “too much” necessarily means that you don’t like jasmine.
Adding…or even that you don’t like indolic fragrances. What I find overwhelming in Olene, oddly, is the honeysuckle as much as anything. Mind you, I love Olene.
Thanks for the information! Well, it proves that what I need is more testing! I won’t complain!
That’s the fun part, it’s true!
I’m looking forward to trying these! I absolutely love Evenings Edged In Gold & Gilded Lily – I think they’re just gorgeous concoctions. You know, I still have a couple of scents in the Ineke sample box that I haven’t sniffed yet and I really should get on the ball!
As a general rule, I’d say Ineke’s style is not mine. I did love Field Notes From Paris, which seemed quite different (to me) than the others. I’d like to have a small bottle of that one too.
Hi Robin. I usually love Ineke’s perfumes and collect them for the scents and their beautiful bottles. However, I was so disappointed in this new collection. They were all way too fruity for me. I think the collection should have been called Fruity Curiosities!
They are fruity, it’s true, and I’d guess they’re designed (like the Le Labo + Anthropologie line) to appeal to a wider audience, although I don’t find the Ineke line “inaccessible” to begin with.
But I did not find the jasmine one *that* fruity though, did you? I mean, I wouldn’t have classified it as a fruity floral at all (not that I’m always right about fragrance families, mind you). There is something jammy in the dry down, it’s true, but I find it light & not overdone.
I’ll have to play with my sample of this again. I remember being totally overwhelmed by the fruit notes of all of them except the Larkspur..and I think because the winey topnotes overwhelmed the initial fruit. I liked the drydown of Larkspur a lot but not enough to wait out the whole process.
I need to try the Larkspur again. The AT was too much melon — I washed it off — and now I can’t remember the other.
Thank you so much Robin for this kind mention. I never can get enough of good jasmine!
Nor can I
I, too, love Field Notes from Paris and none of the other original Inekes. In terms of jasmine, I love Olene. Looking back through the jasmine tags, I am once again struck that, despite hoovering up hundreds of samples, there are still so many worthy perfumes that I have not tried, like SL A La Nuit, MH Jasmine Vert and L’AP The pour une Ete. A perfumista’s work/play is never done!
I am astonished sometimes at how many classics I still have not managed to try. Apparently, I will never catch up! Do try that SL, it’s brilliant.