Jo Malone
Jo Malone
78 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The coffee arrives first—bitter, slightly smoky, distinctly roasted rather than brewed—immediately met by dark chocolate that leans savoury rather than sweet. These two notes collide with surprising intensity, the chocolate cutting the coffee's acidity whilst the coffee prevents the chocolate from settling into dessert sweetness.
The coriander emerges as the coffee's intensity softens, its peppery, subtly herbal character creating a bridge between the gourmand opening and the woody base notes. The fragrance gains architectural shape here, revealing structure rather than relying on the opening's bold declarations.
Vetiver and temple incense dominate, the chocolate and coffee fading into a warm, resinous hum that sits close to the skin. What remains is earthy and contemplative—less fragrance, more a lingering impression of smoke and woody spice.
Black Vetyver Café is a fragrance that smells like someone's lit a cigarette in a patisserie at closing time. The coffee and dark chocolate announce themselves with immediate indulgence—not the sweet, milky chocolate of mass-market fragrances, but something austere and almost bitter, as though the cacao's been roasted until it borders on charred. This gourmand foundation (76% of the accord signature) never tips into dessert territory; instead, it grounds itself in something altogether more worldly and contemplative.
The coriander in the heart performs the crucial role of intermediary, its spicy, slightly citric character preventing the fragrance from becoming a monotone brown study. It introduces a whisper of sophistication to what could otherwise read as a gourmand cliché, threading through the woody vetiver base with purpose. That vetiver isn't the clean, grassy iteration favoured by Creed and their imitators—this is something earthier, rougher, partnered with temple incense that adds a resinous, almost smoky quality (52% resinous, 64% smoky in the accord breakdown).
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3.6/5 (76)