From the first time I went to the beach and my mother covered me in Coppertone the scent of these products has appealed to me. Fragrances have been built around the popular sunscreens since the earliest days of modern perfumery. If there is a secret to their appeal is it reminds me of a day playing in the ocean. Even now a trip to the beach is accompanied by the smell of sunscreen. By Rosie Jane Madie is the latest to take me there.
Rosie Jane Johnston
By Rosie Jane is the eco-friendly line overseen by Rosie Jane Johnston. Over the last couple of years she has broadened her distribution to make her fragrances more widely available. Ms. Johnston is growing a rapidly expanding category of independent perfumers who are designing within the transparent style. This is the current trend which makes it smart to make perfume to cater to it. What sets Ms. Johnston apart is while her perfumes are opaque and simple, they remain interesting. The recent releases have found this balance.
Madie is named for Ms. Johnston’s daughter Matilda. She is described as “a carefree headstrong beach bunny”. The perfume named after her is what I imagine Madie smells like as she heads out the door to the beach.
There have been a lot of perfumes I’ve received in the first part of this year which have started with this ozonic salty accord. I don’t know what has caused it to become so popular, but this is where Madie begins. The heart of the fragrance is that sunscreen duo of jasmine and coconut. It is lifted in an expansive way by that top accord. It gives a lightness of effect that real sunscreen usually does not. It is what makes Madie different from other sunscreen inspired fragrances. Some vanilla and white musks complete things.
Madie has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.
If you are not fond of sunscreen style perfumes Madie is so light it might be worth revisiting the genre. It is one of the rare examples of where I have found the transparency to be a large reason why I liked it. Ms. Johnston continues to impress with what she is doing. Madie is another step along the way.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample supplied by Sephora.
–Mark Behnke
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