Jasmins Marzipane

Autumn wind floral ★★★★★ Jasmins Marzipane was the last 5 star fragrance from Luca Turin's and Tania Sanchez's guide that I had left to sample. Their guide has been very valuable in navigating the endless sea of niche and for the most part I agree with their judgment. My best discoveries so far with their book have been Alaïa and Fate Woman, which are not only the best things I’ve ever laid my nose on but also both 5 star worthy according to the guide. Now, among the other five-star beasts like Korrigan, Club Design or MEM, Jasmins Marzipane is deceptively simple and easy to get along with. After some investigation, wearing and sampling, I must admit Luca and Tania are right once again – JM is indeed a stunning perfume. To create an abstract floral this believable must be a mountainous task. Gabrielle tried it but failed miserably and ended up cold and shrill, Alien was a lesson in radiance and an exploration in feminine woody-ambers but lacked in emotional depth and elegance. I even sampled Pure Poison simultaneously and compared to Jasmins Marzipane it screamed like a banshee. The usual dilemma I encounter with white florals is that they’re either too natural indolic (Lush Lust) or too chemical (any Michael Kors abomination) to the point it’s impossible to avoid reference to sun lotions or cheap massage oils. In the middle of these two extremes, Jasmins Marzipane cuts through with surgical precision and sits perfectly between familiar naturalness and radiance of aromachemicals. The floral section feels natural, fresh and slightly sour even, but it is anchored by a generous dose of synthetic cashmeran that lends a spicy woody-amber character and provides most of the sillage just as it did in Ropion’s Alien aswell. JM avoids all shrillness, distortion or unnecessary loudness and fills the air with such understated elegance that it’s impossible to find anything dislikeable about it. A powerful, long-lasting white floral that smells balanced, luxurious, airy and beautiful from first spray to the last hours of the drydown? Surprisingly rare breed if you ask me. To top it all, JM avoids all usual cheap feminine vanilla or berry syrup clichés and smells confidently womanly with just enough sweetness from the tiny, tiny dose of almonds. I wore it to work and got three compliments on that single day. Show this to anyone who claims to hate white florals and prove them wrong. For fragrance aficionados, sample Jasmins Marzipane with other abstract white florals and witness its superior beauty which rivals even the legends of Pleasures and J’Adore. Soundtrack: Matthew Halsall - Cherry Blossom

Still one of the best jasmine perfume! It’s not the strongest, but it smells so natural and beautiful, almost like a jasmine flower would in real life. A stunning white floral, signature worthy for jasmine flower fans. My bottle has about three years now (1 gold plate on the bottle), so I don’t have one of the bottles from the original formulation, but my Jasmine Marzipan is an airy, crisp, nutty, powdery, soapy, creamy, mildly sweet, jasmine centred juice. The jasmine in here is not indolic or heady, it’s a clean, candied, bright jasmine. Such a feminine and pretty perfume, the ideal one to wear during spring and summer months! Besides jasmine flowers, all I get from the notes listed are the almonds, vanilla and some cashmeran, creating a more complex juice, with some substance and contrast against the jasmine. The dry down smells almost like a creamy custard, so it has a slight gourmand feel. The combination of these notes creates a luscious and velvety concoction that is truly delightful. Effortlessly stunning, wedding day perfume potential, expensive smell, compliment getter! I feel in love with Jasmine Marzipan as soon as I smelled it and I slightly preferred it over Roses Berberanza. Tested both in the same day and went next day and purchased a bottle of this, couldn’t take my mind off it, smells so alluring and sensual. It’s still one of my absolute favourite jasmine perfumes in my collection, so I don’t regret choosing Jasmine Marzipan over Roses Berberanza, even though Roses Berberanza is now discontinued and I can’t buy it anymore... Lasts around six hours on my skin with minimal projection. My husband adores this every time I wear it...

I only ordered this because of its amazing review in The Guide (I happen to agree with the 5 star reviews about 90% of the time), and I actually wasn't very excited about it, I admit I find jasmine to be one of the less exciting "big flowers" of perfumery, but good reviews kept trickling in, including @Hedward's, whose taste I trust, So I finally bought it. After 10 mins of having Jasmins Marzipane on my arm, I came to the following realization: Either every other jasmine scent I've smelled was badly made/ of poor quality, or Jasmins Marzipane is somehow not REALLY a jasmine-led scent, but rather a kind of recreation of jasmine achieved with a variety of unknown notes. (The second option is not denying there's jasmine in here, there certainly is). I honestly don't know. My second theory isn't so far fetched, perfumers often admit to (boast about?) creating rose scents with no actual rose, for example. I guess what makes Jasmins Marzipane special for me is that for the first time I can detect and enjoy all the natural notes supposedly found in jasmine, where before I would just get hit over the head with "jasmine" and that was that. I sniff this and am met with a lively procession of lemon, strawberry, concord grape, nectarine, banana, peach pits... This jasmine isnt cheap and sultry, its composed and alert and intelligent. The woody base is also no joke, the perfectly bitter almond/wood accord is perfection. Longevity is excellent, sillage excellent 10/10, this is THE final word on jasmine, and in the top 5 best ever woody florals ever.

Amongst the market of popular floral and gourmand fragrances out today, the name "Jasmins Marzipane" probably does not evoke anything remotely unique or interesting—and indeed, this is a gorgeous jasmine bomb with confectionary accents of almond nougat. However, master perfumer Dominique Ropion manages to bring to vision a fragrance that is richly textured and gorgeous—the devil is in the details, so to speak. The jasmine bouquet is composed of both sambac and grandiflorum genuses, blended together as an abstract jasmine in such a way that it smells like neither. The former is a tea-like white floral while the latter is indolic and narcotic; this mutant is honeyed, lush, but never veers too far in either direction. The nutty marzipan accord has a realistic whipped egg white texture in its slight sulphuric creaminess, which works with the cashmeran-sandalwood to add necessary dryness to the composition. Many are complaining about longevity and sillage post-reformulation, and I can only speak about my experience with the current version. I will say that it still has pretty strong performance and lasts all day on me. 3 sprays was enough to fill an entire enclosed office space eliciting an allergic reaction to a colleague, following a stern email from a supervisor (oops!)—at the same time, it has garnered me compliments. So, make of that what you will.

Jasmins Marzipane is aptly named - it is a sweet, almond-enhanced jasmine scent. It is extremely well-blended, made with high-quality ingredients and featuring a nice, clean jasmine note throughout. Dominique Ropion is a perfumer I particularly admire, and this is up there with his best creations. He seems to specialise in breathing new life into sweet white florals, and here is a prime example. JM opens with clean jasmine from initial spray, initially slightly fresh, almost green-tinged, but it gets increasingly sweet as it develops. The vanilla is smooth, restrained and dry, not the syrupy vanillin that seems to be added liberally to every designer release these days. The almond adds a slightly gourmand edge, rounding out the vanilla-sweetened jasmine beautifully. The jasmine outlasts the almond-vanilla accord, unusually for such notes. It remains clean, becoming increasingly powdery as it develops. A slight woodiness is present in the base, serving to showcase the jasmine. As it fades, it becomes a musky skin scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate. An excellent sweet jasmine scent, JM places the flower centre stage. High-quality and utterly elegant, this is subtle, feminine glamour in a bottle. An transeasonal scent, ideal for everyday use if money allows. For jasmine lovers. 4.5/5.