$50 Soap? Jo Malone Review – Luxurious Scents and Hand Wash!
The hand soap in my bathroom has been “upgraded” with a $50 Jo Malone soap, and here is how that happened…
Sucker for Packaging and “Free Samples”
I’m extremely sensitive to most scents, notably perfume stuff, so I opt to go for unscented or something very mild most of the time. One of my coworkers introduced me to Jo Malone a while back and gifted me a Nectarine Blossom & Honey scent and surprisingly that worked well with me since the scent is rather light and wasn’t too sweet. Anyways, I was more impressed with the packaging. The box was really sturdy and the whole thing was minimalistic with an amazing feel that I kept the box.
Buying Directly from Jo Malone’s Website
Several retailers sell Jo Malone, such as Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks, etc., but not each order or purchase comes with amazing samples and packaging. Buying directly from Jo Malone’s website allows you to put in a coupon code to get a deluxe sample each time.
Each Day, Different Sample
I know Jo Malone for its perfumes and colognes, but they have other things, such as diffusers, candles, body wash, soaps, etc. The samples they offer can be mini sizes of those items, and they may even do full size stuff around holidays. I’ve seen a code right before Christmas for a full size body item, but didn’t go for it.
Various Scents (Perfume or Cologne) I’ve Tried
- Oud & Bergamot – Mmm it turns out that I like more of the spicy / woody scents. This one was really good, but just a bit strong for me and I didn’t really use it much. I ended up giving the small one I had to a coworker since they’d have much better use than me. It ended up sitting in my bathroom for years untouched!
- English Pear & Freesia – One of Jo Malone’s most popular scents! I love pear scent and have no idea what freesia is, but the English Pear & Freesia was way too sweet / syrupy for me. Just too much, not for me. I had a small one of these and gifted it to one of my aunts and she loves it. Works better on her than for me.
- Nectarine Blossom & Honey – This one sounded really sweet and I didn’t think I’d like this one as much, but I really do! The scent is rather light and it doesn’t really last long at all, which some people don’t like. It works great when I don’t feel like throwing something in the laundry so I just spray this scent around the arm pit areas of my tops. It isn’t too over powering and it gives my tops that freshened up scent without it being too much. Subtle on myself, but as others also mentioned, this scent does not last long at all.
- Wild Bluebell – Tried a sample of this one and it was a bit much for me. The scent was pleasant, but just too strong. It’d give myself a headache. Very sweet floral.
- Poppy & Barley – OK, this one smelled so darn good at the store that I bought it. Then when I tried it on, the scent lasted so long (so opposite than nectarine blossom) that it gave me a headache. It was rather strong for me, so I gave it to another coworker and she’s been meaning to try Jo Malone and loves this one!
- Wood Sage and Sea Salt – I got a beautiful 9mL sample of this one. I haven’t tried wearing it on myself yet, but so far I like how it smells! Hopefully the sea salt portion doesn’t stick on me, but it’s a beautiful woody fresh scent.
- Pomegranate Noir – When I take the Jo Malone quiz re which scent is for me, I kept getting Pomegranate Noir. I am so glad I did not invest in this scent since I tried it at the store and it was instant headache for some reason. Too much!
What is Myrrh & Tonka??
I kept hearing about how great Jo Malone’s Myrrh & Tonka scent was, but it was sold out around the holidays. It’s back now, but I really don’t need another perfume as I don’t wear much perfume. Anyways, one day they were giving the body cream sample (along with the wood sage and sea salt perfume sample), I decided to try out Myrrh & Tonka in that way. It’s rather vanilla-ish with some woody elements, but WOW this lotion stuck on like no other! The scent was really strong and long lasting! I also did hear that some scents are better as candles, others as perfumes, etc., so maybe this one is better as perfume/cologne as that was the recommendation. I didn’t really like it as a body cream since the scent was too strong for me.
I Digress… So what about the $50 Soap??
OK, so during the holidays, the sample codes only worked when you spend over $80, $100, or $120 depending on the day and sample(s) being offered. Since it was after the holidays and I had to buy someone a gift, I decided to get them a fancy Jo Malone body wash / hand soap, and the sample code worked! So they also got a deluxe sample of the perfume offered that day. That inspired me to try a fancy $50 soap as well, so I ordered the grapefruit one (the basil negroli one was out of stock, which was what I wanted to try) and the sample that day was a deluxe sample of their Honeysuckle Davana scent!
Is the $50 Jo Malone Soap Superior to “Regular” Store-Bought Soap?
Honesty, no, but I feel fancy AF with this in my bathroom. The color totally clashes with everything, but this soap is just different. The scent is not typical generic brand soap and the feel is different as well. It bubbles a bit less, and the pump totally sucks and I’d probably be annoyed with it once I get to the final quarter of this soap bottle when the pump doesn’t deliver any more soap, so I wouldn’t want to waste any fancy soap that I’d awkwardly try to get as much soap as I can unscrewing the pump to get the soap from the stick thingy. If the bottle was one of those reusable bottle quality ones, then I can justify the $50 on one of these. HOWEVER, if your bathroom is more aesthetically pleasing and $50 for soap is no issue for you, then so be it and enjoy some fancy soap!
I’d Probably Buy Another Though
BUT WHY?? One thing is curiousity in a way that I want to know how other scents work within the soap in comparison to perfumes and other things. Another is that it’s one of their cheaper options to buy to get more deluxe samples of stuff I’d want to try or want a miniature version of… yup, I’m a huge sucker for nice packaging and samples.
More Scents to Try
Earl Gray & Cucumber is rather interesting – like earl gray tea! Honeysuckle Davana is a bit sweet, but I haven’t tried either of these on me just yet. Looking forward to it though. Ah, the cute packaging gets me every time!
