Jo Malone London - English Pear & Freesia

With hints of Spring finally coming to the East Coast, it seemed fitting to test and review this Jo Malone from 2010.  English Pear & Freesia (“English Pear”) is a chypre fruity fragrance that, while initially released in the Fall, has many of the hallmarks of Spring to me.

English Pear opens with a beautiful juicy, ripened pear.  There is a crispness to the note that reads very much like biting into a pear just picked from the orchard.  And, not to dwell too much on this opening, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that I find this singular pear note to be one of the most authentic representations of pear in fragrance.

After the very first whiff of pear, in comes a honey sweet quince, a beautiful white freesia, and a lush wild rose.  The florals blending with the fruits is quite heady but also lovely.  At roughly two hours into wear, the florals seem to recede slightly and coming forward I get a soft patchouli, amber, and white musk.  These notes are handled quite delicately and they add a depth to the fragrance.  I also get a lightly green and slightly sour fruity note that I attribute to the rhubarb although it is not clearly identifiable to me as such.  This green note seems to pull some of the initial sweetness out of the fragrance and gives it a touch of brightness.

In the drydown, English Pear seems to circle back on it’s fruity floral opening.  It remains bound to the deep and rich base notes and finishes with a whisper.

English Pear wears on me with moderate projection for roughly 10 hours.

Notes:  pear, quince, rose, white freesia, rhubarb, patchouli, amber, white musk

Perfumer: Christine Nagel