Melancholy Thistle

RAIN RAIN RAIN 100% agree with washudtoj’s comment. Absolutely magical, that (1) you don’t smell it at first (the start reminds me a little of oud & bergamot) but after a few minutes it turns into English hills and Scottish highlands on a grey, wet, melancholy day. There are definitely subtle hints of flowers. You can smell the humble specks of small flowers among wildly-grown, dewy grass. (2) !!!***smells more like RAIN / a flowery field during the RAIN, than any!! fragrance!! that I’ve smelled that claims to smell like rain or has the word “rain” in the name.*** (3) if I had to summarize it in one word: serene. It’s so quiet and calm, reminds me of a thought-provoking walk during the rain. Another point is that it’s very light and sits super close to the skin, that you can’t smell it when you’re a normal distance away from somebody or when other overpowering scents are present, but that’s the most suitable sillage level for this scent. It might feel different if it were strong and far-reaching. I was so sad I didn’t buy it right away when I smelled it in a mall for the first time in 2023. Smelled it again almost a year later and for some reason got so much more out of it. This is now my favourite in the Highlands collection followed by Wild Achillea.

I smelt this today out of curiosity, and I probably shouldn't have because now I have to find a reason to justify paying over $80 for a 30ml bottle of this. It smells like some random English or Scottish hill at daybreak, right after the rain. It's green, fresh, cool, invigorating, and ozonic. This is the scent I've been looking for and it doesn't even have the word 'rain' in it. Funny that fragrances that are named 'rain' don't usually smell like it whereas others that aren't can - on very few occasions - smell like that. I really feel bad for my wallet as this is not the price range I normally go for. *sigh* To make things worse, it just *has* to be a limited 2023 edition, too! If anyone can suggest a dupe of this at a cheaper price, I'd gladly appreciate it. PS. Reminds me strongly of Maison Martin Margiela Replica's When the Rain Stops. I think Melancholy Thistle is greener and smells more like rain, however.

I’ve been waiting for Fragrantica to add this for the last two weeks. I popped in Jo Malone when I saw they had released a new limited edition of Highland themed fragrances. I enjoyed them all in the shop but instantly gravitated to Melancholy Thistle as it sits in a range of smells I love, which are the herbal slightly bitter aromatics. Think Sisley Eau de Campagne or Gucci Memories. I wanted something fresh but subtle for the office, a summer scent for adults. Something that would be non linear but still simple and elegant. I found it here! The patchouli is right at the bottom, barely there, lingering close to the skin, instead the thistle and Ivy become the stars of the show, sharp at first then aromatic with a cologney freshness. Perfect. Love it.

At first it’s a generic barbershop/aftershave scent which is really meh. After a couple minutes the sourness, bitterness, sweetness and earthiness slowly develops and it starts to smell like plants, roots and mud but in a really delightful way. It doesn’t smell like rain but it smells like what I would assume wild plants smell like after being pulled out of the earth after a storm. I decided to pair it with Wild Bluebell and it’s one of the best fragrance decisions I made - the combination results in the most realistic addictive “meadow after rain” scent. I can’t get enough of it. The aquatic and floral tones of WB mixed with the earthy,bitter,green tones of MT is heaven on earth for someone who loves nature,rain and wildflowers.

This is the clear winner of the release for me. It's quite unique, and very "vintage"... but also fresh. It's distinctively masculine, but in a weird unisex way. It's a very clean, woody, green scent without being so literal and "dirty" which can happen fast. I've been wearing this daily since launch and it LASTS in a way that Jo Malone never does. (This entire collection lasts actually. I was pleasantly surprised.) It lasts even longer if you spray it over Wood Sage & Sea Salt... a combination that is PERFECT and that has about an arm's length sileage. I bought 3 bottles since it's limited edition, and that's like buying one full size. I really hope they turn this one into a core scent.