Jessica McClintock

I have always wanted to experience this vintage 1988 white floral perfume. I bought it blindly from my local Walgreens, which sells a lot of quality fragrances both vintage and modern. I had heard that this perfume was for brides during their wedding day to wear with their wedding dress; owing to the fact that Jessica McClintock designs bridal wear. So I was expecting either a powdery white floral or soapy white floral but nothing special. How wrong I was. This is truly special. Let me tell you how absolutely enchanted and amazed I was with this fragrance. The opening/first spray: a fresh, bright, sunny burst of aldehydes (not listed) with a solar halo; like an angel's visitation. It has a citrus start with the lemon and bergamot at the top. The ylang-ylang, not usually a top note, gives this scent a charmingly angelic radiance, a soft glow. It basically starts off 'yellow floral' not white floral, because of the citruses and especially that lemon and combined with the ylang. Then it goes into the heart which is all white: the signature lilies of the valley, the jasmine, and white roses. Lily of the valley is front and center. It's been favorably compared to the lily of the valley recreated chemically in Christian Dior's masterpiece Diorissimo. It has also been compared to the lily of the valley in Coty's Muguet des Bois. One might also want to add that it has that lily of the valley 'heart' in such beloved scents as Penhaligon's Lily of the Valley and Frederic Malle's En Passant (which oddly enough does not have a listed note of lily of the valley but ends up smelling like it). For me, this is an epic, huge lily of the valley. If you overspray it, yes it will be headache inducing and a nasal attack. It is a white flower bomb which if you spray too much on yourself or in the air, is powerful. I like heavy perfumes but even I had to apply with a light and minimal touch. One spray or two at most is enough and in a part of your body which you feel will be sensed and enjoyed the most - the neck with the ends of your hair picking up the scent, the front of the bosom, or the wrist to smell from time to time. Sillage is amazing. Longevity too. The white rose in this perfume is like the green stems having been cut and put into your nose and peeled open. It has a distinct green herbal aroma which is both green and spicy. The green note is the basil and the spiciness comes from the currant notes of cassia and black currant. Oddly enough, these currant notes do not really begin to kick until the dry down despite the notes being placed at the top. By the time of the dry down, the whole thing has been like having come down from a white cloud and you smell a subdued musk. I don't smell the woodsy notes. This perfume is not as forest-green or nature-green as 1970's perfumes. For an 80's perfume, it is more a dreamy, romantic, 'fantasy' green and white floral. It does a fantastic job of evoking a bride in a white wedding gown, holding a bouquet of lilies of the valley i.e. think Julie Andrews as Maria von Trapp in the big cathedral wedding scene in the Sound of Music, or Princess Diana marrying Charles on her wedding day or Kate Middleton in her white gown marrying Prince William. It has a royal wedding type of air, which has an old time old fashioned glamour and femininity. There is also something much older like 19th century Victorian going on. It creates images in my head and I can see white linen or lace, tablecloths, veils, white plantation manor houses (like Tara in Gone With the Wind) and Southern belles in white dresses and holding parasols with gloved hands. It is all fantasy and romanticism. The original TV ad for this fragrance perfectly captures the scent in a visual. It depicted a mother as a bride in her wedding gown and her small child daughter in her own formal white dress. There was a sweet soft music playing and the whole thing had a very old timey loveliness to it, but like a dream, nothing substantial; like a dream of romance and motherhood. It's for the uber feminine woman who dreams of her wedding day and starting a family. Indeed like the brand Jessica McClintock which is a retail brand for wedding gowns this is a perfume for brides in their wedding gowns. There is nothing unisex about this perfume. It is womanly. The lily of the valley is so enormous that it lingers and lingers until it gets into that musk dry down (which then also turns into currant) and then vanishes after several hours. It is meant to be enjoyed in the spring and summer months. This perfume is formal and classy, very clean and soapy, but soapy like expensive milled soap or lovingly made hand made soap not drugstore cheap soap. The soapiness gives it a clean pristine air but even as such it is a Floral with a big F on it. You have to love white florals to appreciate this fragrance. The lily of the valley, the jasmine, the white rose, in a gorgeous blend. Again this is an atom bomb so just spray with caution. Wear it to your wedding, wear it to Easter Sunday service. It is a perfume not meant to be worn casually or every day but only for a very special occasion. I have the 1.7 ounce size and so I will be using it sparingly so it can last me a long time and I will wear it on my wedding day one day, or if I choose a different perfume for that day, this perfume is really quite good as air freshner in the house, the living room, the bedroom, to scent over sheets or pillows. It has the same kind of power as room spray. I don't have to have Diorissimo in my collection. I have this and it's just as good as any classic white floral fragrance (my top favorite still being Chanel 22). I can't get over how beautiful this fragrance is. And the best part is this luxury perfume which smells expensive is fortunately NOT expensive and can be bought online for an affordable price or at a drugstore like CVS or Walgreens. But make no mistake. A cheap perfume it certainly is NOT. This a masterpiece in it's own class.

Chantilly lace... oh baby, that's a-what I like That cap really is everything. It fits what Jessica McClintock is all about for me. This is dainty, traditional, darling, wholesome and classic. Old-school, yes, in the best way possible. Because of other reviews here, I sought out the vintage, “Made Especially for Jessica McClintock” version. You guys were right! This version is stunning. I am delighted that it’s underrated because it was so readily available and cheap on EBay. I don’t know what the reformulated version smells like and I don’t want to. JM is a warm, soapy hug. It’s green and fresh laying amongst a bed of subtle florals. Hubba hubba zing zing, baby, she's got everything. Now that I think about it, this is the perfect signature for Rose Nylund. I love it a little more for that reason. She would have enjoyed the beautiful simplicity of it. Dorothy, a N°5 queen, couldn’t appreciate this. She would roll her eyes at it much like she does with Rose herself. Sophia wouldn’t give a shit enough to fuss with perfume. She already knows the art of commanding a room. Plus, it would clash with her signature scent of Bengay. Blanche wouldn’t own this but would sneak a few spritzes from Rose’s bottle on occasion right before entertaining a Texas Tea gent. JM contains the blueprint of all I hope for when I buy any fragrance and yet within its magic, it tragically conjures a migraine! I don’t know whether this is on account of the LOTV or the fact that it’s an older bottle. I have both older bottles and fragrances loaded with LOTV in them, some that I like a lot less I might mention. Without fail though, JM is the only one in my collection that has brought about an allergic reaction and done me dirty. I guess I am the oddball here because nobody else has spoken about this happening to them. Always within twenty-five minutes into wear time, my sinuses start aching and my eyes begin to water a little bit. But you know what? It’s so phenomenal that I am happy to pop a Benadryl and an aspirin beforehand. I love this perfume that much. It just renders me unable to claim it as a signature and wear it on a consistent basis. I guess I am a masochist because I know some of you would have happily chucked your bottle and not even have given it a second thought. I just can’t. There’s something special here that I can’t find anywhere else. Not even in her fair sister, Diorissimo. Longevity is above average but sillage is quiet. Overall, maybe an 8.5/10. Okay, 9. It would be a 9.5 if not for the reaction. Definitely give this a try if you love your soapy fragrances the way I do. She’s a lady. Respect her. Treasure her. And in my case, be patient with her. Edit: Okaaaay. So, I am eating my words. I ended up caving and bought a newer formulation from 2019. I knew I wasn’t going to be amazed but I had to try it anyway. It’s nice... same notes but just underwhelmingly diluted. Not even skin scent territory. It’s like scented body lotion now even after 12 sprays. No migraine but no original glory either. It’s no big loss because it was really affordable. I have had bad allergies lately so maybe my senses are off. Maybe this needs time to settle. Maybe it’s just not as good as the original juice. I will keep hope alive and try later. Edit 2: So, my new bottle has macerated and it IS a little better, a little truer to the original formulation. It’s definitely less nuanced but overall, not bad. I just couldn’t take the blinding migraines that accompanied my old bottle anymore and I am happy enough with the newer version.

I moved houses exactly a week ago and it has been an overwhelming experience. The sight of the boxes still remaining to be unpacked really gets to me, but I haven’t slept well in ages and I am beyond exhausted, which is why I couldn’t summon enough energy to get out. The other morning though, I decided to go for a walk. Right before putting on my shoes, I spritzed some Jessica McClintock on me. I’d tried this one the day before and wasn’t quite sure about it. I found the opening a bit harsh - maybe I don’t like the basil - and the progression of it didn’t feel smooth to me either. It felt almost too realistic- like I had torn a leaf into pieces and now the green bitterness lingered on my fingers. But that morning, as I watched the sea - we live right across the beach park - and listened to the racket of birds and looked at the greenery all around me, I realised that I couldn’t have thought of a better scent to accompany me that day. Jessica McClintock has been described as a spring scent - perfect for a spring bride - and now I totally get it. I don’t find the opening as harsh, in fact quite the contrary, I find the bitterness almost refreshing, like it has the ability to cut through the heat and humidity. It smells very realistic, and I get the Lily of the valley, leaves and stem and all, but I also get a warm almost uplifting vibe from it. It brings the colour white to mind. Morning dew and spring rain. Lush green. Crickets and cuckoos. A white sheer veil of beauty that wraps me in its gossamer embrace. I am in love. It does last quite a long time, and despite the fact that I was sweating quite profusely, the scent lingered on my skin. When I came back home, it was almost like I had brought the outdoors inside - like I had spent time lying down on the grass, making daisy chains and sniffing lilies, and I came back with petals and leaves still clinging to my hair. This perfume is not available where I live, so I am grateful for the second hand bottle kept in perfect condition that I scored, but I am already looking for a back up. That’s how much I love it.

I tried this scent when I was at kohls about a month or so ago, suffering from the February doldrums, searching for spring. There were two scents that I kept going back to and while at the time I ended up buying the other one (Il Bacio) this one wouldn't let me forget it. So I stopped in the other day to try it again and see what it was that kept me coming back. After trying it again (and no others) the too soapy first impression wasn't there. At first I got that zingy blast if lemon, quickly followed by cool dewy green spring morning and then the floral began to shine through. A lovely combination of Lily of the valley, rose and jasmine. To me the fragrance is genuine, not synthetic at all! I feel like I dove into a giant pile of flower petals rolled around a bit and emerged drenched in their scent! The price for a 1.7 oz at kohls was a little much ($54) and decided I would try to find it at a better price elsewhere. I found it and a matching lotion (3.4 oz EDP) online for $25 so I purchased it and waited with great anticipation for it to arrive. Got it yesterday and have been reveling in it ever since! The silage is moderate to heavy but that doesn't last too long. The longevity is 2-3 hrs, but since I got such a great deal I don't mind reapplying. Also, this is one that is good for all ages, my daughter fell in love with it too and has decided she must have her own bottle (I'm 46, she's 26). It's evolution, lemony green, followed by Lily/Rose flower petals, by hour 2 the Jasmine blooms and lingers seductively. This scent is not cloying, fruity or vanilla based as many are. It's spring, delightful, new and full of the promise of rebirth.

Allow me a moment of your time to discuss what I have discovered in Jessica McClintock. You should know that when first sprayed, this resembles beastly things like bug spray and turpentine. It is loud, and it is frightening. There may even be an impulsivity to race for a sink and wash whatever just happened off your arm. If you can, please pause, for these claws do recede quickly, and the essence left on skin is just lovely! Breezes gently waft various facets throughout the day, and the wearer is rewarded with extreme longevity. Sillage also presents in the very same way. Miraculous Lily of the Valley, rose and jasmine, catch waves and maintain the heart with paramount femininity. Almost a smoky "wood" and light musky notes ground the base. Its seems the top notes are the most divisive, with loud lemon, ylang ylang, and basil, and the wearer has to determine here, if those notes are an acceptable level of aggression. There are some similarities to Curve for women, but not enough to state they are interchangeable; just an option if you enjoy the perfume, but dislike the volume. There is sweetness here, but manages to behave in a very natural way. So, to summarize, this is a darling, fresh floral. Please allow fifteen minutes before attempting to enjoy or analyze this screamer. Your wait will be rewarded with a dazzlingly clean, floral composition, made optimistic with fresh verdant flare. And despite what Mae West might have said, more is not always better when anointing oneself with a powerhouse of this caliber. Remember only you can prevent dousing.