Jo Malone recently launched Mimosa & Cardamom, a new fragrance for women. It was developed by perfumer Marie Salamagne and its notes include honey, mimosa, heliotrope, rose, cardamom, sandalwood and tonka bean. Its tagline is "A new bohemia awaits."
This list of notes made my mouth water, so to speak — lots of my favorites in there! And the visuals for Mimosa & Cardamom are fantastic, with that wavy-haired brunette model in Eastern-inspired wear, looking like some kind of contemporary Matisse odalisque as she lounges amongst decorative porcelain and big bunches of mimosa blooms. So, how is the fragrance? Well, it does feel like a Jo Malone, which could be either praise or a warning, depending on your point of view.
Mimosa & Cardamom does indeed open with mimosa, honeyed and slightly powdery, sweet but bright. The cardamom also makes an early appearance, as a surprisingly sweaty note lurking just beneath the yellow mimosa puffs. It actually reminds me more of cumin than cardamom — but just as I'm trying to decide what I think about this odorous note, which feels like an unexpected guest at the typical Jo Malone tea party, it fades away.
I'd be happy just to have a mimosa soliflore, but on my skin the mimosa also fades somewhat and is almost overtaken by a mix of soapy-clean white floral notes with soft hints of sandalwood. The far dry down is a very quiet vanilla. The first time I tested this fragrance, I was vaguely reminded of Jo Malone Vintage Gardenia, and then I realized that it's been discontinued (when? I missed that!). Is Mimosa & Cardamom some sort of replacement for Vintage Gardenia in the Jo Malone catalogue? It seems to check off most of the same boxes.
If I'm really in the mood to wear a mimosa perfume, I'll probably choose Von Euserdorff Classic Mimosa for daytime or Caron Farnesiana for evening; both are deeper and more complex than Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom. (Once again, I'd like to recommend Erin's post about mimosa fragrances.) This is a mimosa fragrance in the same way that Jo Malone's Silk Blossom was a silk blossom fragrance or Wild Bluebell is a bluebell fragrance — it starts with a certain inspiration but gradually ends up somewhere else. If you happen to like that "somewhere else," of course, you're in luck.
Jo Malone Mimosa & Cardamom is available as 30 ml ($65) and 100 ml ($125) Cologne. For purchasing information, see the listing for Jo Malone under Perfume Houses.
Hi Robin, i’m not usually a JM fan, the only ones i own are French lime blossom, and a 30ml bottle of Red roses which my sister gave to me. I really liked mimosa & cardomom, the only other mimosa i know is FM un fleur de cassie, which is of course much plusher & more complex. I really like the easy and pretty nature of M & c, i can see myself reaching for it a lot. When i next go to London i’m going to treat myself to a 30ml bottle of this one.
Hi, Mayfly — I’m happy it works for you! I really like French Lime Blossom and Red Roses. Do you ever layer them, like Jo Malone suggests? I bet those two would be nice together.
I am in alignment with you, Jessica. I was so excited about JM Mimosa & Cardamom and while it has a beautiful start, it vanishes quickly and pretty much doesn’t even have a lingering end on me. Perhaps I don’t know what cardamom smells like but I only smell a delicate airy mimosa at the start, and I really wish this beginning part was much more robust and lasted at least 3 hrs. C’mon Perfume Industry, I need at least 3 hours from a scent (and would rather longer but that’s minimal).
It’s very pretty and fleeting for a few minutes….and poof.
Most JMs don’t last long, it’s true! Nectarine Blossom is a total joke on me, in terms of longevity! I had better luck with this one than with some others, though.
I love JM Vintage Gardenia and wear it quite frequently, but it did not smell like Mimosa & Cardamom to me. In fact, I did not care for it at all. I think it was probably the cardamom that did me in, but not sure.
BTW Jessica – The last bottle of JM Vintage Gardenia I bought was about 3-4 years ago and it was discontinued shortly after that. I use it sparingly as I like it that much and wish it hadn’t gone away : (
I had no idea Vintage Gardenia had been discontinued! What a shame. I’ve considered the best JMs to be Vintage Gardenia (and thought that was among their biggest sellers), Pom Noir, French Lime Blossom and Vanille & Anise and Red Roses. Nutmeg & Ginger is also good and Blackberry & Bay as well as Black Vetyver Cafe. JM has had some nice scents over the years. So much better than most of the dreck that is churned out which is somehow uber-popular.
OH, and Orange Blossom…I forget to mention JMs OB which is beautiful
I like a lot of those, too — Pom Noir, French Lime Blossom, Red Roses, Nutmeg & Ginger, Blackberry & Bay, Sea Salt & Wood Sage. I love the Orange Blossom shower gel.
And — I hate to break it to you — but Black Vetyver Cafe has been discontinued, too. I learned all this when I visited a JM boutique last week.
You went to the boutique in London? So jealous!
Oh, no — one of the boutiques in NYC. Still very nice, though! It was the one on Madison Ave. The young woman who assisted me was very gracious.
I layer a lot of my JM fragrances. Vintage Gardenia is really good with the Orange Blossom lotion. I like the Blackberry and Bay with the Orange Blossom or Nectarine Blossom lotion too. There are several that make good combinations.
I am so behind the times! hah.
Ohh, good call about the cumin! I couldn’t put my finger on it but I totally did think there was something giving the floral a bit more bite–very much that cumin effect. And for me it’s definitely a plus, because it meant it wasn’t too sweet (my concern with mimosa generally) or too tame (my feeling on many JMs), but can easily imagine others feeling differently.
Thank you for solving that mystery!!
I tried it a few times, and I swear — I keep catching that “body-odor”-like spice note under the mimosa! and it definitely wasn’t actually my own body.
I’m so sorry Jessica, i addressed you as Robin!
Mimosa & cardomom has surprisingly good lasting power on me, happily, and my skin is dry and scent eating usually.
Scent is so fascinating in this respect, so un predictable!
I have been layering them recently, it does add depth and balances the sweetness of FLBlossom nicely.
Not to worry! and you’re right, scent really can be unpredictable and weirdly personal in that way.
I thought M&C was nice and that it might have had more presence than many of the other JMs I like… Tuberose & Angelica and Bergamot & Oud – for instance. But I actually prefer YSL Cinema (which is admittedly too quiet). M&C is lovely and golden but I think that cumin-effect you mention makes me a little ambivalent.
Some of the other JMs do have more presence — the Rosewater & Vanilla one that I reviewed a while back, and generally anything in the black bottle design!
Wow, YSL Cinema. I need to revisit that one…
I agree. The JM Cologne Intense line is magnificent!
Rosewater & Vanilla is strong, but too sweet for me. The two cologne intenses that I actually like seem less strong! In fact Red Roses is in the ordinary range and is probably the strongest in the arsenal!
This one didn’t really wow me either. It started off somewhat interesting, then just kind of faded away to indistinct florals.
I think we had similar experiences. I don’t dislike it, but there are other fragrances in the line that I’d recommend before this one…and other mimosas, as I mentioned above! (L’Artisan Parfumeur Mimosa Pour Moi is another one.)
I have never been a JM fan. I find the fragrances too fleeting for the price point.
I’ve passed on a few fragrances by various brands for that reason — if I can’t smell something on myself a half-hour after I’ve spritzed, I’m just not getting enough bang for my buck!
I like this a lot and I am the happy owner of a 30 mL bottle. I actually a lot of Jo Malones but don’t wear them enough. Nice review!
Yay! — also, how great are those 30 ml bottles? I think I need a 30 ml bottle of Sea Salt and Wood Sage…
Jessica, I wanted to love this one so much! Such a huge disappointment to me. This lasted about 30 minutes on me, if even that long. Most of my JM fragrances last all day; especially the ones created by Christine Nagel. I am looking forward to the day that Jo Loves is sold in the United States. JM’s Jo Loves line has a lot of nice ones.
Argh, I’m sorry! and I really want to try that Jo Loves line, too.
Me three on the Jo Loves line! I would even be happy if I could get samples without having to spend an arm and a leg on shipping.
Thanks for this review!
It’s interesting how individual chemistry works. My experience with this fragrance is that the mimosa is the star and stays that way throughout the progression. The cardamom which I was worried about before I tried it, adds a little oomph but thankfully is not too pervasive on my skin. The tonka bean and heliotrope add a creamy layer to this otherwise delicate, feminine and somewhat powdery composition. The rose note is also very light and almost rosewater-like.
All in all, this is a very lovely mimosa fragrance which is great for me because I often find that mimosa in perfumes can come off smelling cheap. Jo Malone did a good job in producing a quality mimosa-centric fragrance with some added notes to keep it from being too linear and uninteresting. For those who like mimosa in perfume, this is a safe bet IMO.
Their fragrances really are still a cut above the usual offerings (mainstream frags at Sephora, dept stores) — I like recommending this line to people who are getting more interested in fragrance! So strange, though, how everyone’s experiences are so divided on this one.
It’s amazing that some people are experiencing this fragrance as not much of a mimosa fragrance(such as the person who commented after my comment) because for me the mimosa is so pervasive. Perfume experiences are so different and so subjective. I guess that’s the beauty of it all.
And yes, Jo Malone is a great line for people just getting into perfumes. It’s also a great line for those of us who may be a little older (ahem) and experienced with perfume but want something reliable, safe, and for the most part, feminine and pretty. They do what they do well.
Cheers.
As well as perceiving smells differently, different skins seem to emphasize different notes – just to add to the confusion!
Indeed!
Ah! I’m certainly a little on the “older” side, myself. I certainly do enjoy my own JM fragrances –and I always own one or another Lime Basil Mandarin body product — and, without meaning to sound condescending to JM, I think they’re a good line to share. JM is good at explaining fragrance families, etc., and the fragrances tend to be wearable as well as really pleasant.
I agree.
Thank you so much for this review and I think you sum up how I feel about this rather well. That said I have bought a large bottle and seem to regularly reach for it in the morning as it seems right for sunny Autumn and allows me to spritz something else after when it has faded. While it isn’t that mimosa-y it is enjoyable if you take is as sort of related to mimosa and today it seems to be lasting longer as I also used the shower gel (which makes the bathroom smell sort of exotic). For pure mimosa though definitely Mimosa pour Moi or for something different Une Fleure de Cassie – I adore mimosa generally it is such a happy smell.
Mimosa really is a “happy” flower! I bet the shower gel is wonderful. I sniffed the candle, and I was very tempted to buy one for our home…
Thank you for the review. I tried M&C a few weeks ago and have been anxious to see what others thought of it. At first I thought it was the most interesting JM I’ve tried, then…the B.O. I just couldn’t get past it. In a weird way I’m happy everyone else noticed it too.
hah! I really don’t enjoy wearing sweaty cumin or saffron notes. I’m glad I’m not alone.
I really like this one. I’ve been testing out both Mimosa and Cardamom, and Nutmeg and Ginger, recommended as being longer-lasting Jo Malone colognes. On me, they are – I’ve been spraying one spritz from my testers of N&G on one wrist and M&C on the other, and I can detect the faint nutmeg notes 8+ hours later, while the M&C probably lasts about 6. That’s pretty decent for Jo Malone’s scents. The two really layer well together for those of us that enjoy spices in concert (I do.) I’m planning to return once my samples have been used up to buy a bottle of each.