There are perfumers who reprimand me for pigeonholing them as I write about them. I try to offer a weak defense that it means there is a perfume you’ve done which is memorable to me. It is good-natured conversation, but I admit there is truth to the perfumers’ assertion; I do associate certain perfumers with certain styles. Which of course doubles down when I learn they are working on a new release in that style. Which was why I greeted the press release for the new Jo Malone English Fields collection with some excitement. Perfumer Mathilde Bijaoui has made some of my favorite gourmand perfumes and she was going to be responsible for all five.
Celine Roux
Creative Director Celine Roux has really taken to working with specific perfumers over a series of releases. In 2017 Yann Vasnier was the collaborator on seven new fragrances. Mme Bijaoui jumped the gun a bit as she provided the Holiday 2017 release, Green Almond & Redcurrant. I mentioned in that review that Mme Roux seemed to be interested in featuring a different palette of ingredients along with working with perfumers who are adept at that style. Mme Bijaoui shows that Mme Roux’s instincts are right on as she produces a fantastic collection featuring grains as a focal point.
Mathilde Bijaoui
I just received my sample set of all five recently so I have initial impressions of all of them but there was one which grabbed me right away; Oat & Cornflower. I think I’ll probably do another post summarizing the other four English Fields perfumes another day because I think they are all interesting. Oat & Cornflower is the most interesting.
We’ve all probably eaten our share of oatmeal. You almost must add something to it to make it less bland. Mme Bijaoui does the same thing except she also makes sure the creamy graininess of the oat does not get lost throughout.
What greets you in the first moments is an ethereal use of hedione to provide a lilt of floral quality as the slightly musty dry oats come in underneath. Over minutes the oats become creamier as if they have been warmed in boiling water. Mme Bijaoui takes hazelnut and in using that makes it seem like it is when I add some nuts to my breakfast bowl of oatmeal. There is a nutty quality to oats; the hazelnut picks that thread out and examines it. The depth is provided by the base accord of benzoin gently supported by tobacco and vetiver. It turns into a stick to your bones gourmand.
Oat & Cornflower has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
This exploration of grains is so well done in Mme Bijaoui’s hands that it is the first set of perfume this year which has really captured my attention fully. I encourage you to start with Oat & Cornflower then find out which one appeals to you.
Disclosure: This review based on a sample provided by Nordstrom.
–Mark Behnke
