When I read the press release for a new fragrance, I can't help but imagine how it will smell. I know that the list of notes and the promotional copy need to be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. All the same, I have fun guessing what the actual experience of the fragrance will be. This week I tried two new-ish scents and neither of them was quite what I'd expected.
First: Gia, the newest fragrance from Tocca, "expresses passion and is given flight by notes of feminine power and purity" in its composition of Turkish rose, pink peppercorn, tangerine, amber and sandalwood. When Gia was first announced, its press release mentioned the artist Georgia O'Keeffe as its inspiration. As I said then, I've spent many years reading and thinking about O'Keeffe and about perfume, and I don't see the connection. O'Keeffe was not known to wear fragrance (on the contrary!) and she's not particularly associated with roses.
Setting aside that dubious O'Keeffe shout-out (as Tocca seems to have done for its website), I approached Gia expecting a mainstream fruity-rose fragrance. Is it? Not quite. It starts off as a fabulously fake red rose fragrance, with hints of strawberry and vanilla, à la Lush Rose Jam. I'm actually happy that it's more full-bodied and less citrusy than I'd predicted.
Then something odd happens: I keep picking up a marine "sea air" note weaving in and out of Gia's roses. It's almost as though some perfumer, suddenly fearing that their creation needed to be "more fresh" or "less perfume-y," hastily added some Calone late in the fragrance's development. Fortunately, this effect dies out after an hour or so. Gia's dry down is a perfume-y rose with a cushy vanilla and amber base. This fragrance happens to cost a lot less than Bond no. 9 West Side or Sana Jardin Tiger By Her Side, so if you're looking for a "fleurmand" rose and you can wait out an indecisive marine note, Gia might be worth a try. Like Tocca Maya, it's not groundbreaking but it's fun.
Second: Jo Malone has re-launched Poppy & Barley, formerly part of the limited edition English Fields collection, as an addition to its permanent line. Now repackaged with Jo Malone's signature bottle and label design, Poppy & Barley features additional notes of blackcurrant, rose, violet and bran to evoke "iconic, vibrant poppies [d]ancing in colour across England’s meadows."
I didn't have a chance to try Poppy & Barley when the English Fields quintet was launched; it was sold out by the time I visited my local Jo Malone counter. (I did like Oat & Cornflowers, although it smelled suspiciously familiar.) Poppy & Barley is nowhere near as "vibrant" and floral-forward as its description and visuals suggest. Its blackcurrant is muted rather than tart or tangy, like dried fruit instead of fresh berries. If there's any violet in the fragrance, this is where it's blended in. I'm noticing a soft but distinctive vetiver note as well; overall, Poppy & Barley is earthier and woodier than I anticipated.
Poppy & Barley's dry down isn't floral at all: it's a creamy-nutty sandalwood that evokes grain (or grain-derived foods) and it's surprisingly long-lasting for a Jo Malone cologne. It's also more shared-gender than I would have guessed. I liked catching calming whiffs of it on my wrists and cuffs throughout the afternoon. Poppy & Barley isn't as substantial as, say, Parfumere Generale Praliné de Santal but, again, it's more affordable and easier to find. Could this be one of my new favorites from Jo Malone? Another surprise!
Tocca Gia is available as 50 ($76) ml Eau de Parfum. Jo Malone Poppy & Barley is available as 30 ($70) and 100 ($140) ml Cologne; a matching Body & Hand Wash ($42) is also available.
Intrigued to hear that Poppy & Barley’s promised barley note is actually noticeable! I LOVE cereal notes in a perfume. Thank you for putting it on my radar, Jessica! 🙂
The English Fields limited edition collection seemed promising — and it vanished from shelves so quickly! I’m glad they’ve reintroduced this one for the “permanent collection.” There isn’t anything else like it in the regular JM line-up.
I am going to be honest, I have not tried or warmed up to Jo Malone.
Someone gave me a sample of Blackberry and Bay years ago and it was just meh.
My friend had me sniff some of her favorites a few weekends ago and I walked away unimpressed.
She looked at me like there was something wrong with me for being so ambivalent..
I have also been pretty ambivalent–with a recent exception–JM’s Orange Blossom. It is an easy breezy scent that makes me happy. When you are walking down the street and pass an orange tree in full bloom on a hot day? That’s JM OM. (Speaking of OM!)
Everyone should own one light and easy orange blossom fragrance, right?! I do like JM’s Orange Blossom shower gel a lot.
I first started trying Jo Malone when it was a new arrival at Bergdorf Goodman…long, long ago. At one point I owned a jar of the Lime Basil Mandarin Body Creme and loved it. I never cared for Red Roses, surprisingly…and there are a few that I like, like Wood Sage & Sea Salt but have never gotten around to buying. Some of the fragrance I’ve really liked over the years were limited editions that came and went too fast!
I have tried a few of Tocca’s line up. The only ones I enjoyed were Florence and Giulietta, everything else left me unimpressed.
Most of them haven’t clicked for me. I like Isabel, as a very reasonably priced tea rose fragrance.
I gave Gia to my mom, she enjoys it. I was not excited by the Poppy & Barley. The last JM release I liked was Honey & Crocus. Very hit or miss (mostly miss) house for me.
Same…there are ones I enjoy but don’t buy because of the poor staying quality, and ones I just don’t like because they’re not my taste and/or they don’t live up to their promise. I was into Pomegranate Noir for a while…
I tried Gia once, but don’t really remember what I thought. I’m going to try it again. Thanks for the review!
It doesn’t fit its description — but it works nicely as a simple-ish rose-and-vanilla scent!
A long long time ago Tocca had a perfume called “Touch” which I absolutely adored and wore for years. Then they took it off the market and since then, I haven’t really cared for any Tocca perfume. They all smell kinda the same to me and they aren’t really that interesting 😉
I’m they same as many of you write about the JM line. There is some interesting ones and it’s usually the limited editions that is gone in a second. This one you review here, Jessica, sounds like I should try it out 🙂
I have used the orange blossom shower gel on and off for years and it’s really lovely…funny how I don’t really care for the red roses as well..I mean it’s fine but not something I want to buy a full bottle of.
My favorite Tocca is the discontinued Brigitte with it’s spices, papaya and pannetone note.
I have a 9 ml travel spray of Poppy & Barley …I need to test it. Orange Blossom was my first Jo Malone which I bought because Barbara Herman told me she loved it and sent me a photo where I spied her full bottle ( also blind bought Rush because of her). I loved Orange Blossom and wore it until I drained it. There are many Jo Malone bottles Chez Marzipan as we are definitely fans of the brand.
Barbara has good taste!
I think I missed Brigitte, darn. Just like Jo Malone, Tocca often tempts me more with its body products than with its actual fragrances…
I tried Poppy& Barley yesterday and was disappointed. The blackcurrant dominated the fragrance for at least half its life in my skin, after which I got a vague, nutty drydown. It may be that my scent-brain is extra sensetive to blackcurrant because for a couple of hours it was all I could smell. It wasn’t unpleasant but it was as if the warm-up act just wouldn’t vacate the stage.
My general experience of Jo Malone is that the promised notes are front loaded, so that the buyer feels they have got what they expected for their money. After that, the dry downs are generic blurry accords that assume that the wearer has stopped paying attention.
The great classic is still Lime, Basil & Mandarin, which has always seemed more abstract than the usual JM effort. More than the sum of its parts, rather than less.
So strange — I didn’t get the black currant for long, and I like black currant, alas!
I agree — JMs often don’t live up to their promises after the first ten minutes, or else there’s no way to critique them after ten minutes, because they’re GONE.
Hm, I should give Poppy and Barley another shot.
What did the Oat and Cornflower remind you of? Mr. blue is a fan and has boggarted the rest of my decant.
It reminded me a lot of L’Artisan Bois Farine, but muted and not as long-lasting on the skin. 🙂
I remember Bois Farine being way more nutty (like peanuts almost), but it’s been ages and I could be mis-remembering.
I don’t see how this one, Poppy & Barley got past me. I recently purchased a JM fragrance and got this as a sample. As a big fan of the JM line, I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this one. I’m a fan of Nectarine Blossom and Honey and Honeysuckle and Davana to name a few. This one isn’t a part of their “fruity” line, but it is still clean. It has a unique smell and that’s what I like most. I guess I will be making another trip to the JM counter soon.