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Jo Malone Lime, Basil, & Mandarin

post #1 of 14
10/10/10 at 9:55pm
Thread Starter 
How does LBM compare to traditional colognes like Eau du Coq, Farina, and Acqua di Parma? Luca Turin says it is one of the best extant eau de colognes--he also says Chanel Eau de Cologne is too--but I find it utterly sharp and synthetic-- a good starting point I suppose.
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post #2 of 14
10/10/10 at 11:30pm
I did not like the Jo Malone Lime, Basil and Mandarin.

I would say try Guerlain's Mandarin Basilic from the Aqua Allegoria collection.

Sephora is carrying this. This is listed under women's but one look at the notes will tell you it is unisex. This is a fresh citrus in the spirit of the eaux yet longer lasting. It has been around for awhile and now has a new package with a gold label. It's a better value, IMO.

Guerlain often sells this as a unisex.

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P182204
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post #3 of 14
10/11/10 at 1:04am
Try the Oud & Bergamot. Just divine but unfortunately only cologne not EDT or EDP.
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post #4 of 14
10/11/10 at 6:26am
Nouveau Bowery is very similar to Lime, Basil and Mandarin and I think it'd actually done better. Not to mention it lasts twice as long and projects better.
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post #5 of 14
10/11/10 at 7:25am
I'm a big fan of the Jo Malone, especially during the dog days of summer. I get nice longevity from it - 3 - 4 hours. The lime gives it a very sour and somewhat sharp accord, while the basil gives it an almost medicinal, balsamic accord. I find that it also possess a somewhat salty character, which nicely balances out the sourness. The other colognes that you've mentioned are much less zingy and have very short longevity.
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post #6 of 14
10/11/10 at 7:31am
Jo Malone Lime, Basil, Mandarin is one of the most refreshing, bracing and eye opening fragrances you can find. There is a dryness that accompanies the sharp lime mandarin notes that makes this an ideal refreshing cologne especially when it is very hot. It is good anytime you need a slap-in-the-face cologne to open your eyes and make ready for the day. Next to Pomegranate Noir this is my favorite Jo Malone.
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post #7 of 14
10/11/10 at 7:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bokaba View Post

How does LBM compare to traditional colognes like Eau du Coq, Farina, and Acqua di Parma? Luca Turin says it is one of the best extant eau de colognes--he also says Chanel Eau de Cologne is too--but I find it utterly sharp and synthetic-- a good starting point I suppose.

The fact that we both completyely disagree with Turin about Chanel Eau De Cologne (I find it way too synthetic and needing soft notes to flank the citronellol), I can say that I find it unlikely you'll find Lime Basil Mandarin bottle worthy. It's not an EDC-type. I went in with heavy expectations, as those 3 are some of my favorite notes. But I was dissapointed. Not that it's bad, it just wasn't what i was expecting.

I partially agree w/ Primrose about Guerlain Mandarine Basilic AA.
It's mandarin and basil notes are outstanding, sweet and synthetic mandarin, but i still love it.
My only beef is the peony/whiteflower drydown.
If Guerlain found a home on the masculine/unisex side for a huge dose of that same sweet/synthetic Mandarin note, perhaps with some tart lemon, bergamot, Myrtle/verbena, petitgrain, galbanum, patchouli, and none of the cotton candy featured in Guerlain Homme, they'd have a unisex/masculine hit...their equivalent of Hermes D'Orange Vert.


If you want great lime scents see Trumper and Truefitt.
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post #8 of 14
10/11/10 at 9:17am
It's fresh. It's nice. Totally wearable. I find that when I'd sample this and thier Grapefruit side by side, I would find them to be quite similar. I think I preferred the Grapefruit though. Both are light, and don't seem to have the best longevity though. There are perhaps better fragrances out there that accomplish the same thing, but these two are definetely worth consideration.
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post #9 of 14
10/11/10 at 9:37am
I too enjoy Grapefruit Cologne more. Lime, Basil, & Mandarin is simply too sour for me. Just doesn't sit right. Grapefruit is more of a soap accord...quite pleasant, but not bottle-worthy, IMO.

The only bottle-worthy Jo Malone I've found is Amber & Lavender. Really like that stuff.
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post #10 of 14
10/12/10 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
I suppose there's just no beating the greats: Imperiale, Coq, AdP, LV AdC, etc!
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post #11 of 14
10/12/10 at 10:47pm
I'm partial to Acqua di Parma but I am a huge fan of Jo Malone's citrus accords. As Kevin said, Lime, Basil, Mandarin is more "zingy" and I think it also has more attitude than the others you mention. Definitely give Lime, Basil, and Mandarin a test drive or two. Any scent is worth testing because you never know what you might find.
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post #12 of 14
10/13/10 at 2:53am
I like Lime, Basil and Mandarin, but do not find it similar to traditional EDCs.
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post #13 of 14
10/13/10 at 5:58am
Speaking of Jo Malone's Lime Basil and Mandarin, I was checking about it Heathrow a few days ago and discovered there's a !!NEW!! slightly different version with Grapefruit (instead of the Mandarin) and I must say that, in the very short time I had to compare the two on paper, I preferred the Grapefruit version - for what it's worth.
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post #14 of 14
10/13/10 at 2:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrFragranceReview View Post

Nouveau Bowery is very similar to Lime, Basil and Mandarin and I think it'd actually done better. Not to mention it lasts twice as long and projects better.

I personally found that I liked LBM better than Nouveau Bowery. I had NB and liked it enough, but found it had a slightly synthetic, plasticky feel to it (probably why it lasts longer). I did still like it very much, but when forced to choose between them, picked LBM.

Quote:
Originally Posted by petruccijc View Post

I like Lime, Basil and Mandarin, but do not find it similar to traditional EDCs.

Ditto that - it's unlike other EDCs from ones I've tried. Very fresh, but in a good way rather than the common take on it, and crisp and bright in a way that you'll have a hard time finding elsewhere.

One other note to it - there have been some posts saying that it smells like Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena. I wholeheartedly disagree, however Bond's Gramercy Park and Coconut Lime Verbena are a close match. The BBW oil is pretty fabulous on an oil heater.
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