Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt

Escape the everyday along the windswept shore. Waves breaking white, the air fresh with sea salt and spray. Alive with the mineral scent of the rugged cliffs. Mingling with the woody earthiness of sage. Lively, spirited and totally joyful.

When I first read about Wood Sage and Sea Salt a month or so ago, I thought, oooh, how intriguing, I’d like to smell like that. So last Thursday when I was at Lane Crawford with my friend, about to go look at shoes, I was like, “No wait, we need to go to Jo Malone!” and there it was – Wood Sage and Sea Salt, sitting pretty on display.

I was pretty excited to see the release of Wood Sage and Sea Salt, and we spritzed it onto the little tester cards…

L - oh, hmm, that’s nice, *sniff sniff* ooh it’s really nice!

*more sniffing*

N - It’s so interesting, it smells really good.

L - Yeah, it seems really cosy, I really like it.

N - Okay, I really need this now.

L - Yes, let’s get it.

Sold!

Oh my goodness, this was a complete impulse buy!

Only did I realise when I got home that night that we didn’t even test out the fragrance on our skin! Hahahahaha #FAIL!

In our utter excitement, we completely forgot about the most important part, whether or not Wood Sage and Sea Salt was compatible with our own scent.

Anyway, enough with the anecdote, what does it actually smell like?

The scent of the English shore was captured by perfumer Christine Nagel, with the key notes being, ambrette seeds, sea salt and sage, as well as notes of plum, driftwood and musk.

Well, I’ve never been to the English coastline, but I would still say it’s pretty spot on. It really does evoke the kind of cold windy seacoast that is portrayed in literature and movies. When I wear it, I can envision myself sitting at the windowsill, curled up in a comfy knitted sweater with a big mug of tea, staring out of my little seaside cottage as little rain drops dance against the glass panes and the wind and waves chime in a Capella. (Wow, Sylvia Plath much?)

To my nose, Wood Sage and Sea Salt smells green, but not fresh grass green - a dried down sexy green. At first it’s kind of citrusy but then it gives way to the woody elements, and you definitely get a salty mineral scent. It’s mossy and musky and a little bit smokey. It’s quite round-bodied. The elements blend well together, yet stand out and hold their own.

I’ve seen it being compared to Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue and when I read that I scoffed. But now I understand why - it has the same easy effortless sexiness that Light Blue offers. Light Blue was never my cup of tea, I found it really boring. But Wood Sage and Sea Salt has more depth, it’s muskier, more mysterious.  

To be honest, I’m of the opinion that Jo Malone is overrated and majorly overpriced. I’ve always stopped by their counter and had a play around with the scents, and sure, they’re nice, but I’ve never been compelled to buy anything. But I really fell for Wood Sage and Sea Salt, it lived up to my expectations, and it was really really nice! It was different to anything I own. Jo Malone is all about scent combining and the sales adviser suggested pairing it with English Pear and Freesia. I liked this blend – it results with you smelling like very fine white wine ;) My only complaint is that being a cologne, the silage and staying power isn’t that great; on me it sticks around for three maybe four hours before fading into just a skin scent. I’ve only had it for a few days, so I can’t quite say it’s love yet, but I do really really like it! It’s still insufferably hot in Hong Kong, but once it cools down a bit, I know this is definitely what I’ll be reaching for all the time.