Just in time for autumn, Jo Malone has launched its English Oak collection. Both fragrances in this collection, English Oak & Hazelnut and English Oak & Redcurrant, were developed by perfumer Yann Vasnier and will join the brand's permanent line. English Oak & Redcurrant features notes of redcurrant, pink pepper, mandarin, rose and roasted oak; English Oak & Hazelnut is a composition of green hazelnut, cedar, vetiver, amber and roasted oak.
Even before I had a chance to smell this fragrance duo, I was captivated by the promotional imagery, with its sepia-tinted images of androgynous models perched in enormous oak trees. When I noticed the animated fairies that appear in some of the images, I thought I recognized a source in English photography of the early 1900s. (I've written about this parallel elsewhere.) All in all, pretty hard for me to resist, so off I went to a department store with a Jo Malone boutique to sample both scents.
English Oak & Redcurrant is described as "[t]he forest at dawn. The juicy bite of redcurrant. The zest of green mandarin. The freshness of rose softened with white musk. Enveloped in roasted oak." Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to that sensory evocation for me. I like the tart red currant in the intro, paired with the oak (more greenish young wood than "roasted") and light nutty note, but that combination is too quickly replaced by lots of ripened apple and softly musky ambrette without much of a supporting base. And, in a way that's all too typical for Jo Malone, English Oak & Redcurrant fades from my skin in an hour or two, maximum.
English Oak & Hazelnut, stepping deeper into the forest, is "[a]n enchanted walk. The crunch of green hazelnut. The spice of elemi. The earthy woodiness of vetiver cooled by emerald moss carpets. On a warming base of roasted oak." It's less gourmand than it sounds, and it does last much longer on skin than English Oak & Redcurrant. On the other hand, it seems to skip too quickly into a base of dry vetiver and wood — yes, definitely oak rather than sandalwood or cedar, and it's sharp and a touch smoky in an way that interests me, but it feels a bit blunt. It may also come across as too masculine for many Jo Malone customers.
After feeling slightly disappointed in both fragrances, I wondered: what would happen if I layered them? I don't usually pay much attention to Jo Malone's suggestions for "combining" perfumes (even though this brand pioneered that concept), but in this case, the Redcurrant and the Hazelnut fit together nicely and end up smelling like a total, well-rounded fragrance. The red fruits and ambrette (and the subtle rose) mesh smoothly with the rooty notes and the nutty woods, and the whole thing feels more balanced and even "glows" a bit. If you've ever explored the Liquides Imaginaires or Frapin lines but wished you could find something sheerer and more casual, you might want to try this mix from Jo Malone. (Of course, you'll end up buying two bottles to get the desired effect.)
All in all, English Oak & Redcurrant and English Oak & Hazelnut didn't cast quite the spell over me that I'd anticipated, but who knows, you may have better luck with them as separate scents. On the other hand, the visuals are still some of my favorites of 2017.
Jo Malone English Oak & Redcurrant and English Oak & Hazelnut are both available in 30 ($65) and 100 ($135) ml Cologne. English Oak & Redcurrant is also available in matching shower gel, body cream, and a candle. For purchasing information, see the listing for Jo Malone under Perfume Houses.
Thanks for the review – this is one of the few times that I’ve been able to comment on something new! I tried both of these last weekend. I agree that that the Redcurrant is very fleeting – I sprayed it on as I went into the store, and by the time I’d looked at the shoe department, it was gone. I liked the Hazelnut, but it’s a bit similar to things I already have.
So fleeting! I wish it had more “body” and more staying power. I’ve wished that about other Malones, of course… Sea Salt & Wood Sage… Nectarine Blossom & Honey…
Hi Jessica, Newbie here. I am struggling between blackberry & bay and peony &suede as my third Jo Malon (have red roses and pomegranate noir). Which do you find to have better longevity and more interesting pairing result with the 2 I have? Thanks!!Z
Cool review, Jessica. I have tried them both and was a bit disappointed. I guess I was expecting the perfume equivalent of kicking through leaves and the woody-nuttiness of acorns, and maybe even a touch of sweet creaminess of hazlenuts ( a bit foody). I was surprised by the sharpness of the perfumes and also the paleness. I didn’t try layering them but it sounds like I should have. I have been reading The Hidden Life of Trees recently and oaks are incredible . It’s worth reading.
That does sound fascinating!
Apparently there’s a living oak in England that is 1000 years old. Wow!
I would have liked a little more creamy gourmand nuttiness in the Hazelnut, too… and a little more earth in the Redcurrant.
Nice review Jessica. I tried both and I like the Redcurrant, crisp and zesty, but in a matter of an hour it was gone. I did not like Hazelnut at all. Too masculine for my taste. I am glad that neither made it to my shopping list.
I was surprised how conventionally masculine the Hazelnut is. I’m not sure what the average Jo Malone customer will think — I’m assuming most are female??
I was so put off by the SA literally hogging the bottle and not allowing me to spray it on myself in SFA in NYC as well as her refusal to give me a sample that honestly, I think it clouded my judgment…so my sampling of these two was “meh”…money saved.
That is soooooo irritating, when SAs don’t allow proper sampling! The only way I’ll ever invest in a spendy perfume is after extensive sampling first! No sample = no scent = no commission for SA!
SFA can be really high-pressure. I think the flagship location, specifically, gets so many tourists that they want to make immediate sales? But I’m local, so I can always go back….
I did my sampling at SFA in NYC, too… but they didn’t have sample vials at that point (?)… so I ended up cadging them elsewhere…Bloomie’s!
Actually, my SFA experience was sort of “eh” all around, that night… maybe I just had bad timing, maybe not.
Yikes! What a jerk. My local Nordstrom has nice folk in the perfume department. The Jo Malone testers are on a table for anyone to try.
Jessica, it’s good that you persisted. How did you layer them, in this case?
Let’s hope JM does a Redcurrant & Hazelnut someday so that one doesn’t have to buy two bottles, neither of which sounds very useful on its own.
I asked the SA in Bloomie’s whether they could be layered and she said, “Oh yes they’re meant to be layered!” which, who knows, but it worked. Glad I tried it.
I sprayed the Hazelnut, then the Redcurrant…definitely more appealing (to me, anyway) as a combo!
Thanks for the review. I might give Redcurrant a sniff the next time I brave the mall (((shudder))).
The male model in the photo looks like a cross between Björn Gustafsson (People of Earth) and Julian Sands. That’s a good thing
Ah, Julian Sands!! I think this male model is pretty darn cute, too.
I’m with you Jessica on enjoying to look at the graphic part of this new English Oak duet.
Not sure if any of these 2 fragrances spoke to me. I haven’t found a single Jo Malone fragrance that I would truly enjoy. They just poof away within 1 hour. JM recently joined Douglas portfolio of brands in Poland so if these two appear in stores at some point I might give them a try.
Douglas!! I used to shop at a Douglas in Philadelphia. I loved it.
There are a few JMs that I really do enjoy, but the brief staying power always stops me from buying a full bottle. The body products are great…I’d almost rather do my spending on those.
I tried both of these and found them underwhelming as well. Now I will try layering the samples I got. But I still won’t buy them because who wants to spend that kind of money on a half-baked scent that requires you buy two bottles?
That’s what I think, too. I really wanted to love the Redcurrant…and I do love it for a few minutes, but then it gets so “pale” (as someone else commented above) and disappears.
I’m someone who is wholly susceptible to fairie imagery (it’s why I bought the original Lolita Lempicka, which sent me down the perfumed rabbit hole), so I tried these right away, but found them much the same as you did. I was surprised to get an appreciable amount of rose in the redcurrant one (a good thing for me – total rose ho here), since rose is so often listed without really being there…but it was too short-lived on me, and the base was underwhelming.
The other was pleasant enough, but smelled like straight up “banker cologne” on me (no knock on bankers – I’ve known and loved them), but…just not me.
I was completely pulled in by the original LL imagery too — but I ended up loving the fragrance, and I still own and wear a bottle of it!
Hah, yes, the Hazelnut is much more manly than the ad or the description suggests. I’m sure the Redcurrant will sell better.
Following your review, I tried them in a store today. The SA was recommending the redcurrant and I can see why that one may be more appealing, but there was something in the hazelnut that intrigued me, so I got a 9ml mini of it. Maybe I’ll find a free sample of the redcurrant later on to experiment with layering.
There was a time many years ago that my collection contained quite a lot of Jo Malone fragrances (along with the body products to match). However, I gravitated to other niche lines and it has been years since I have even sampled any.
The English Oak& Hazelnut was #1 on my 76 year old mom’s holiday list, the only fragrance she wanted. A petite and lively woman, she loves dry woody scents, but does not usually care for masculines. One of her all time favorites was the original 1960’s Zen by Shiseido, with its deep sandalwood and dark cedar. The Jo Malone arrived under the tree for her, she adores it, and it smells ever so much better on her than it did in store (or on me).