Kohdo Wood Collection: Dark Amber & Ginger Lily (2008)
by Jo Malone

The more I try the Jo Malone line the more I realize that purity and clarity are not what I seek in a scent. At first whiff, I really disliked this. There seemed to be two quite distinct layers - one a kind of brutish amber, the other an undefinable, overripe floral (obviously the "ginger lily" half of the equation). But after a short while to two converge into something delightfully woody and musky with nice floral hints. I can imagine walking through a very old growth forest filled with fragrant wildflowers. I am growing to like this scent, but I'm not sure I'll ever love it. Jo Malone seems to embody a kind of post-modernist approach to scents: a genuine commitment to ingredients with little concern for predetermining the outcome. Instead of an omniscient perfumer, there's a predilection for letting the user be "interactive" by encouraging layering.

I love it. This is a beautiful treatment of lily-- not honey-sweetened, not ripe and lush, but elevated to something bright, weightless and almost pungent by spicy ginger. I don't find amber to be much in evidence until well into the drydown, but it is quite exotic, especially when the incense comes forward. Yet, I wouldn't call this scent "dark." The incense isn't brooding, the lily not funereal. This to me is a beautful summer fragrance; serene and uplifting. It reminds me of visiting a Japanese garden on a warm afternoon, sitting in an azumaya shaded by surrounding cypress trees, watching the koi investigate brightly hued fallen leaves from Japanese maples floating on the surface of a sun-dappled pond.

I adore this. It's sensual, deep, woody, earthy...yet light... It's gentle for an incense-wood fragrance, with a clear, very dry, ambery base, Beautiful spices make this fragrance intruiging, because they are, somehow, both bitter and sweet. I do love to layer this with Lotus Blossom & Water Lily, but Dark Amber & Ginger Lily is absolutely gorgeous on its own. This fragrance was just what I needed to reignite my scent curiousity, which had dulled due to burn-out from my disappointment with countless new releases. WHY is this a limited edition? Now I have to hoard.

This is a very nice scent, smooth, warm, amber...so inviting and lush. Very masculine, Along with the Amber&Lavender , and the "Vetyver" by JM this is probably her most refined and distinct men's scent.

The only problem is that its a dead ringer for "Black Walnut" at Banana Republic . Seriously, go to your local Banana Republic in the mall, smell the "Black Walnut " and then smell the Dark Amber and Ginger Lily. They are so close in comparison its almost scary.

Dark Amber and Ginger Lily is great but for the money and longer lasting cologne...Black Walnut by Banana Republic sounds pretty good. Especially in this terrible Recession of 2009

This comes in a black bottle to accentuate the 'dark' aspect I suppose. I'm not sure why it is categorised as feminine -- it seems pretty unisex to me. It has a spicy incensey feel right from the start with the lily joining in later -- all very funereal. The ginger isn't that strong to me, but I have trouble identifying that note amongst other spices anyway. The best is yet to come though with the fabulous amber rendition kicking in at the bottom-- similar to the one in Cavalli Black -- so very sexy. A real return to form for this House imo. You need to seek this one out.

I also love this fragrance. Stock up now, it's going away again! (sorry, I'm not joking)