Lime Basil & Mandarin Jo Malone 1991 Cologne

I was standing in line to get coffee not too long ago, caught a whiff of this scent and thought "Wow, that guy next to me smells good!." Then I realized the smell was coming from ME and the Lime Mandarine & Basil sample I was testing out. Suffice to say, this strikes me as more of a masculine scent, and a great one at that. It is a fresh scent, as you would expect from a citrus aromatic, but with an unexpected depth and complexity. Guys, you should try this one out.

Anyone who likes the idea of lemon trees touching the skin should hurry up to discover this fragrance, even if they might think it's just another citrus fruit on the market.

It was love at first sniff, with the super natural touch known from Jo Malone fragrances.

Lemon, orange, basil and vetiver are very natural and noticeable throughout its life. At the top it is super vibrant due to the citruses, and at the end it is more sober with the vetiver (but always bright).

Jo Malone manages to do everything with little and that's what I call chic minimalism!

It does not draw much attention, because although it lasts well on the skin, it has little projection. But being a fresh and natural perfume, we couldn't expect anything else (very English style).

Instead of the centre being lemon and grapefruit, Jo Malone put the emphasis on the lesser used note of lime and flipped the Eau de Cologne inside out.
The bergamot has dropped back, and coumarin and alpha ionone have been dosed right down - to add just a neutral background.

Because the formula is top weighted it gives LB&M a more spare and streamlined effect which is accentuated by thin and sharp smelling lilac that complements the basil, as well as the dry agrestic note of white thyme which ties into the salty edge of the lime opening.

The lightly dosed base materials support the acid citrus and tart herbs by the the use of a clean vetiver and patchouli. It finally dries down to a bland, mid toned powdery residue.

The overall result is modern and clean, which is in keeping with the New Purity genre that emerged in the nineties. LB&M's bright optimistic construction can be read as a forerunner of cK One, which two years later ran with a similar motif, taking the cologne further down an abstract and less naturalistic path, albeit with less conviction.

LB&M is a modern classic which has carved out a niche beside the greats of the EdC genre.

The opening of Lime Basil & Mandarin by Jo Malone reminded me a bit of L’homme de Grès; that similar sort of really pungent, decidedly “virile”, kind of old-school and really bitter lime-green note supported by a woody, somber, almost chypre (in a really subtle way) base. At first the mandarin is not really there and neither is basil to my nose, but in a matter of minutes the bitter and fresh “head of the head notes” vanishes off and the fragrance starts to warm on skin – at that point you surely get a slightly sweeter, more aromatic-floral blend which seems comprising also something like neroli. Still no basil to my nose, weirdly enough I get thyme and sage more clearly; overall, basically a sort of aromatic green fougère centered on lime-orange with a subtle and to me, quite masculine woody-herbal-musky base smelling quite dark, slightly waxy and also slightly camphorous. And kind of “humid” too.

Also, I think I clearly get here the sort of aftershave vibe I get from many British fragrances based on classic structures (like those countless “West Indian Limes” colognes by Truefitt & Hill, Taylors of Old Bond Street and similar “gentleman’s grooming” brands) – although it may be just pure suggestion. Surely anyway something way less fresh than one may assume by reading the name. Overall, in my opinion Lime Basil & Mandarin isn’t bad at all, almost quite good actually; the only negative thing for me is that I get a whiff of something annoyingly and persistently synthetic that somehow “ruins the magic”. For me, citrus-green scents – more than others – need to be as much natural as possible to smell pleasant, fulfilling and compelling, to avoid smelling like floor detergents or cheap soaps. This doesn’t really make it for me, at least not entirely; it smells decently good, but I feel it would have been way better if part of the efforts was also financial - I mean in raising the budget and picking better materials. Still quite nice overall, just don’t expect something neither fresh nor particularly solid or refined.

6,5/10

I only smelled this for the first time recently. It has such a pretty opening and it seems like it might simply be a long-lasting take on the eau de cologne. The heart turns out to be fairly short-lived, but the basenotes, while quiet, are quite durable. The base hints at vetiver, patchouli and iris, having a dry, dusty feel. It seems a bit like dried citrus rind, the perfect ending to the citrus-dominant start.