Honey & Crocus

I blind bought this as a pre-loved item and I am so glad I did. I had wanted to try it at the Jo Malone store but it had long been sold out. If I did not blind buy this, I probably would not have purchased it. My initial impressions were bitter, dusty almond. There was a plasticky, old toy accord that I found very disturbing. And at times it just smelled a bit coconutty (which I did not like). It wasn’t an immediately dislike, I just didn’t find it easy to wear or very impressive. I retested it again (this time at night) but still could not like it. I took the risk and sprayed it on this morning. Headed straight to work after that. And oh my, it smelt beautiful. Almonds and milk and honey. Just like what the previous reviewers had experienced. Slightly sweet, but less sweet than Prada Candy. To me, Prada Candy is an 8/10 in terms of sweetness. And Salvatore Signorina is a 8.5/10. La Vie Est Belle is a solid 10/10. Honey & Crocus is a mild 6/10. I love this. Will definitely be wearing it more often. It has also made me feel more adventurous about trying other gourmands. I would definitely recommend it as a gateway gourmand for beginners. Edit: I have been wearing this for the past few days and am thoroughly enjoying it. The changes in humidity bring out certain accords, sometimes I get more milk, sometimes more honey, sometimes more almond. Now I am anxious because it is a limited edition. I am going to have to find a backup bottle soon. It might very well become my signature. Waiting for my gourmand samples to arrive and change my mind.

The only one that convinced me enough to buy it. It's almost entirely feminine, soft, pastel vibes which are not what I usually look for in a perfume. I'd describe this whole line as this but non more so than this one, the kind of scent a lady might were on a Sunday evening after having a long bath and sitting around the house in her dressing gown. In other words this is not a fragrance for a night on the town, or even a day, it's more a... pamper yourself and rub cocoa butter on your legs sort of vibe and before anyone points out that my comments are dated or sexist...maybe I like an evening of pampering and if I did, I'd wear this stuff. The opening is a cuddly hug of creamy almond milk and the lightest touch of lavender which just adds to the chilled out, cerebral vibes of this perfume. There's loads of sweetness in here but never once does it become cloying or tip over the edge into unpleasantness and this is a difficult feat to achieve. I have to attribute this to the honey in here but I wouldn't say it's what I expected and got far more of an accurate honey note from the Oat one. Saffron although not displaying it's usual earthy or pronounced smell could definitely be playing a role in here and making me love it even more. The facts are, this is a superb fragrance and it smells heavenly. Is it really a proper fragrance though because it resembles own brand label or drug store confection? Yes...yes it is. It's gourmand, it doesn't last and it's feminine as anything but I adore it.

I wanted to try this one after watching an Australian YouTuber do a review on her Jo Malone English Fields collection and had described the Honey & Crocus as a delicious, sweet, creamy milky scent. I went into David Jones in Bondi Junction where I was able to test this fragrance. It definitely has a strong scent of almond milk and the honey providing the sweet notes that isn’t sickly sweet. When the sales associate paired this with the Blackberry & Bay scent on the tester strip, it totally transformed this scent into something else! The floral notes came out and softened the sweeter, creamier notes. I’m so glad I bought this as my first gourmand fragrance and one that is more versatile and wearable that did not provide overwhelming sweetness that other gourmands do. Definitely able to layer this fragrance with other Jo Malone fragrances. The downside is that because this is a limited edition there is a risk that this may run out and stores are unable to restock it. Update: I just ordered 2 more bottles online cos this is so addictive! It’s my now go to scent to wear to bed as it has a calming and relaxing effect on me.

I have fallen for another discontinued, hard-to-find unicorn yet again. What a beauty! I can almost smell nutty, toasted rice that must be the almond. It’s powdery in a dense way- think vanillic Valentina Poudre powder instead of an airy L’Instant Magic powder. The honey doesn’t feel sticky and isn’t your typical floral nectar honey- it only serves as a complimentary note to the sweeten the almond powder. There’s also a prominent wheat or cereal note in here. Saffron is very gently radiating a spicy warmth in the background. Thankfully I don’t smell lavender at all. There is a milkiness to this, but it isn’t lactonic if that makes any sense. I’d compare it to a warm, honeyed almond milk poured over a bowl of oatmeal. I get the comparison to Bois Farine- this has a very similar style of dry, toasted almonds but has the addition of sweet honey that BF desperately lacks. This isn’t romantic scent, nor is it a sexy gourmand- it’s more so a snuggly sweater cozy type scent. If anybody is selling a bottle of this in the US, please send me a message! I’m totally swooning over this!

The very first perfume I'd call a gourmand wich I really like! I was looking for one since a year, but nothing appealed to me. (Except for "en passant", wich I find too weak). To me this one stands out, because it gives me a non-intrusive impression of biscuits and milk, and while being very authentic (wich most gourmands that I tried lack, in my opinion. i.e. Serge Lutens Jeux de Peu wich I find disgusting), it is not a sweet fragrance. At least not sweeter than needed. I'd catagorize the whole Signorina collection by Ferragamo as extremely sweet, this one is not at all like that. It is just right, like it is. No need to add anything, nothing that disturbs me. Like freshly baked and still warm oat cakes dipped into milk. I am very surprised but I love it. I had to give the scent time to convince me. It didn't impress me too much right away, but now it feels very comfortable to wear. Right now on my skin since 13 hours and I can still smell it clearly.