Jess

Wow! I really LOVE this one! I don't understand the previous comments regarding sweetness and heaviness because I don't find it sweet or heavy. It is miles less sweet and heavy than the majority of the floral fragrances I've encountered in my search for a new signature scent. I wish there were a sweetness scale that we scored fragrances on. If the sweetest I ever smelled is a 10, then this one is a 2. Bear in mind that I generally only endeavor to smell floral fragrance types. This fragrance is a completely inoffensive type that stays close to the skin and has little projection. It only lasts on my skin for two hours, but lasts longer on clothing. The opening is a powdery hyacinth which is not at all loud or screechy, and it's mellowed by the other notes. The most interesting part of this fragrance is the fact that the wood note complements the flowers so perfectly. It is a completely amazing wood scent that smells just like my husband's shop when he is building furniture. I just love the smell of freshly cut fine woods! Recently, he made a chest with walnut wood and I'm sure that's the note that I smell in this fragrance! Hyacinth has a reputation for being an overbearing flower when it comes to scent but this hyacinth is an exception because the emphasis is on hyacinth's earthy side rather than on it's sweetness. I grow hyacinths in my garden every year and this fragrance has enough realistic hyacinth fragrance to be recognizable but not enough to be like the real flower. Now, a real, live hyacinth blossom in front of one's nose...the delft blue to purple hued type...my goodness, that kind of flower scent would be overbearing. I'm so sad that this is a discontinued fragrance! It's still available on eBay, though.

On a site like this, I'm sure we can agree that much of our love for fragrance is emotional in nature, and sometimes has nothing to do with the fragrance itself, but rather with the memories and feelings that a scent evokes. I admit that my love for Jess by Jessica McClintock is primarily a feeling of nostalgia. I have not smelled this in over 20 years. My mom gave me a small sample bottle of it when I was 14, while she kept a full bottle for herself. My dad (who has now passed away) was named Jess, so we thought it was sweet for both of us to wear a fragrance with his name. It evokes memories of evenings spent with my parents, watching favorite movies and laughing together. They are bittersweet memories, as I was very close with my parents and miss those times so much. I just ordered a partially-used bottle of this on eBay, and am so excited to receive it. I hope that it still smells the way it does in my memory from that summer of '96. Update: Hallelujah, it DOES smell like it did way back in '96 - I am awash in a flood of very pleasant memories. And as a bonus, my husband (who hates at least 80% of my many fragrances) brushed past me a few minutes ago and said, "You smell so good! Like being at the beach." Without telling him the notes in anything, I have observed that the only fragrances he compliments are the ones that are pure or almost pure florals.

The mini bottle is just about as pretty as the full size; I've loved it forever as it is a mellow floral and lightly sweet, not as much lily of the valley, more of a hyacinth in the garden. Some woodiness, to balance the sweetness, like a walk in the woods in Spring. I have the splash and just a couple of drops LAST! It doesn't project all that much after the top notes, just settles down nicely. Quite feminine and gentle, lasts 4-5 hours and is almost a skin scent at the last. Lovely, like that Spring walk.

I remember buying this in in the late 90's!!! It was such a delightful scent. The lily of the valley is such a nice smell... It is very floral for the spring and summer. I am going to try to find a bottle on EBAY because that is how much I loved it. It was a very heavenly smell. One of the best! Very light and clean. One of the best in my opinion and I looooooved the tiny bottle ♥

This one was a major favorite of mine in the mid 90's!!!!!!!! On me it was a sweet honeysuckle-ish scent mixed with Hyacinth & orange blossoms!! Could be a little strong if you over sprayed on on you but omg it was a wonderful spring scent! It had excellent staying power. I went through a few bottles of this but I kept my 1st bottle of its just because its so pretty!!!!

Just a note to add to what other people have said, but: The sillage lasts for DAYS. I think this is a very good thing in a discontinued scent, that HTF 1.7 oz bottle is going to last a very long time.

Love this scent. One of my faves. Just got a friend a bottle for xmas as she loved what I was wearing. Just beautiful to wear.

Modern Jess is now in our database and has its own page; I do believe it is a relaunch of the original Jess.

This is a pretty back in time classy scent. Ylang ylang, jasmine and soft musk. Slightly complex, kind of reminds me of Joy by Patou. However this is lighter. For a lady like gals that love flowers. It blends nicely with other perfumes too for layering. Since I find this dissappears on me and wears close to skin, warms up and poof. I couldn't smell it after 3hours , but I have been asked what I was wearing. So I think it envelops you like warm golden white solar florals and hangs around like a soft veil.

I love this fragrance when it is first sprayed on and I love the intense smell of Hyacinth, but when it dies down it becomes too powdery (at least on me). o.k. I'm going to revise my statement. I sprayed the fragrance for a second time and I guess that was the charm. I finally got the fragrance to hang around and sustain it's original "first spray" smell. It also lasted longer. So now I will have to either spray and wait or apply it heavily.

The smell is ephemeral & quite pretty in a normal girl way, but the tiny ormolu bottle, the cursive font on the box & overall concept somehow turn this into a dainty long-haired girl who loves classic things, wears Gunne Saxe dresses & kerchiefs on her head. Jess. Baby oil & guest soap, Hallmark cards, beautiful girl smell which must be the flowers. “Consider the lilies of the field.” I gave my bottle to my friend who loves tiny things.

Jess opens with big, lovely florals. Very similar to Jessica McClintock, Jess has a lot of lily of the valley which gives both frags a nice vintage vibe. Jess doesn't have the persistence and sillage of JMC. Jess ends a bit soapy, a little sweet. It's a very feminine fragrance, suitable for work because of its lack of sillage. I like Jess a lot. Maybe layering it with JMC will improve sillage? It's worth a try.

i get orange and hyacinth. the orange is a bitter orange on me. underneath it i get the woody notes. overall i think its a pretty nice fragrance, though a bit too floral for me. like it needs some something more. a nice springtime fragrance. fine for office as well. i imagine a woman in jeans and a blouse. its a good everyday fragrance that is no hassle.

Don't waste more than $40-60 on this.. It smells like a mid-end commercial fragrance; the notes are not realistic at all (instead very perfumy) and definitely not worth hundreds of dollars

Very sweet on me (a bit too much), less lily-of-the-valley than the original. Pleasant.

Nice fragrance! I smell peach and vanilla in it as well.

hyacinth, lily, honeysuckle; doesn't last

I sampled this years ago but never posted a review. Hyacinth and lily of the valley are my 2 most favorite notes and I was certain I'd LOVE this, but man, was I crushed. It wasn't perfume - it was bathroom cleaner with a sickly gaseous plastic vibe. Absolutely awful. I find Jessica McClintock fragrances very synthetic and plastic-y anyway and so in hindsight I don't know why Jess would have been any different.

I recently purchased a bottle named Modern Jess by Jessica McClintock. The bottle is square like the lily of the valley JM fragrance with the lace top. but the bottle and the box is creamy colored, instead of white. I don't know if this 'Modern' Jess is a new rendition, a new formulation, a flanker or a different bottle of the original Jess. I could not find reviews for this Modern Jess bottle. One of the side of the box lists the following notes: Top notes: Italian Bergamot, Ylang Ylang, Violet leaves Heart: Jasmin Sambac, Rose, Hyacinth, Tuberose Base: Vanilla, Peach, Sandalwood To my nose, the fragrance is quite close to the original Jess, pictured above, which I still have and preserve in a very dark closet. This Modern Jess is heavily sweet and creamy, very close to what others have described as heavy Hyacinth and therefore very close to the original Jess. There's a heavy dose of Jasmin. I can also smell but not as strong tuberose. It does settle to a heavy vanilla as well. It is not for day use. Don't overspray this one. It is strong. I don't smell any violet leaves on top or lily of the valley in the dry down in the new version. That lily of the valley in the original Jess allowed it to stick around longer than the modern version. I enjoy this but not for everyday, which is what I feel for the original Jess. If you cannot find the original, this would be a close one second. This is also similar to Laura Ashley No. 1.

A beautiful floral fragrance of lily of the valley hyacinth and orange blossom. In my opinion Jessica McClintock has done such a wonderful job of creating memorable and very well made floral perfumes. All of them evoke a more elegant and glamorous, uncomplicated life for a woman. Today women have it harder in so many ways. Perfumes are one way to cope with challenges and trials in our lives. This is a calming spring time smell of flowers over woods. I can smell the hyacinth and the orange blossom first. The lily of the valley seems to appear at the end right before the dry down with the woodsy notes. The scent is linear so all of it comes to you at once and not in stages. It's a beautiful romantic perfume. I have received many compliments on it. It sells for a very high price on Amazon.com although I bought mine for a bargain price 2 years ago from a friend. You might still find it on ebay but if you really want it you have to pay between 100 to 150 bucks or more which I think is reasonable. It's really worth it. A very enchanting fragrance.