Monday 26 October 2009

Jasper Conran Woman - A Four Star Sleeper


Today I am wearing Jasper Conran Woman, a discontinued and now heavily discounted designer fragrance, which I feel deserves a lot more acclaim than it has received - and this despite Luca Turin's favourable rating in Perfumes: The Guide. He awards it four stars, describes it as a "bright, balanced, classic citrus eau de cologne", and likens it to Chanel Pour Monsieur, no less!

Yet for some reason this lovely scent is under most people's radar, even in the UK - I am not sure of the distribution situation in the USA. JCW is classified by Osmoz as a "fruity chypre", which you can make of what you will, but I certainly think it comes over as a poor man's Cristalle, as in a good, affordable substitute. These days, you would be hard pushed to pay more than £9.99 for a 30ml bottle in a gift set with body lotion!

I cannot identify the perfumer behind JCW, and the note information is sketchy:

Top notes - lemon, petitgrain, ginger

Heart notes - ylang ylang, bourbon geranium

Base notes - wood, oriental notes (sic!)

Interestingly, I seem to be drawn to any scent with ylang ylang in it (Ajne Calypso and Penhaligon's Amaranthine being two of my favourites), and have developed a recent appreciation for geranium (Agent Provocateur Strip), so between those notes and the bracing citrus aspect, it is perhaps no surprise that this scent should exert such a pull!

2 comments:

lovethescents said...

I found this a little too 'bracing' for me. Ginger does it every time. Interesting that you compare this to Chanel pour Monsieur. I should probably test it on DH!

Vanessa said...

It was LT who spotted a likeness to the Chanel - I do see what he means and at the same time I understand your reservations about excessive gingeriness. I have the same issue with men.