Dark Amber & Ginger Lily

sweet alyssum, originally uploaded by powerbooktrance.

Dark Amber & Ginger Lily comes in a striking black glass bottle, which makes it stand out from the rest of the Jo Malone cologne collection, at least visually. But it is also very different in style. While I can’t say that Koh-Doh incense comes to mind when I smell it, it does have a similarly stylized, modernized Orientalism that characterizes another British niche line – Ormode Jayne.

Dark Amber & Ginger Lily opens with a the spicy-fresh notes of pink pepper and cardamom, reminding me simultaneously of Ormonde and Ta’if. The spicy sharpness is sheer and underneath it a woody-berry note that is the only moment when I sense some oudh. What comes next is mostly musk and a modest dosage of florals – primarily jasmine. The dry down is an almost powdery, perhaps even aldehydic musk reminiscent of opoponax, patchouli and woods combined.

Top notes: Black Cardamom, Pink Pepper, Ginger

Heart notes: Night Jasmine, Orchid, Water Lily, Rose

Base notes: Black Amber, White Pepperwood, Leather, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Kyara Incense