I continue to extol the creative direction of Celine Roux at Jo Malone because her tenure has seen the first part of her title return to one of the original niche brands. One of the things which has seemingly been a part of this is Mme Roux’s habit of working with a single perfumer for five or six releases. Over the last two years it was Mathilde Bijaoui and Yann Vasnier. Her current partner in perfume is Sophie Labbe. The holiday 2018 release is their third collaboration; White Moss & Snowdrop.
Celine Roux
If there is one release every year that I look forward to it is the Holiday release from Jo Malone. I realize I own almost all of them. The brand has excelled at releasing a festive style of perfume just in time for the season. The two releases from this summer from Mmes Roux and Labbe, Tropical Cherimoya and Catlleya Flower Mist, were tropical floral styles ideal for the summer. White Moss & Snowdrop is a winter floral wrapped in green garland shot through with sparkles of light.
Sophie Labbe
The perfume opens with the lemon tinted zest of cardamom over orange and petitgrain. As an admirer of cardamom heavy top accords this is top of my list. Mme Labbe uses the cardamom as a chill breeze over the citrus elements. The fruit and the tart never take the lead. They are there as a way of enhancing the inherent citrus in the cardamom. The balance achieved here is beautifully realized. Neroli rises out of this. it is the greener neroli which has been appearing a lot this year in perfume. The chilly effect is provided by the titular snow drop although this remains more neroli than snowdrop on my skin. This is the kind of connective note which captures the transition from top notes to base notes. Those base notes are surrounding a key note of white moss. I wanted to determine if this white moss was the same ingredient used in Estee Lauder Private Collection Jasmine White Moss. After many days of comparison my answer is I’m not sure. I also think the comparison maybe overshadows what is here. The moss note in White Moss & Snowdrop has that pillowy green effect of moss but continues the slight chill carried on from the top and heart. Mme Labbe uses a bit of tonka and amber to leaven the white moss a bit but this is where things come to an end.
White Moss & Snowdrop has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
The overall effect from this perfume is that of green holly garland wrapped in white lights on the fireplace mantel. It is an ideal Holiday style of perfume. So much so I felt like my sample of White Moss & Snowdrop was like an early present under my tree.
Disclosure: this review was based on a sample provided by Nordstrom.
–Mark Behnke
