From the classical, ladylike, put-together era of the late 1950’s, Jasmal, designed especially for the late Natalie Wood, is the effervescent, floracious, jasmine-imbued remake of Diorissimo.
While of similar breeding and olfactory structure, this beautiful perfume by Creed is however quite breathless: spinning, effortlessly almost, out of control.
Where Diorissimo breathes refinement – not a hair out of place in that ice blonde, well-kempt chignon– Jasmal is a romantic, hopeless; a hectic matriarch chasing her children around the house, hair come loose; breathless, heart-pounding, and laughing – perhaps just that little bit too hard…..
Am so loving this new style of posts for you…despite the brevity it is all still so Neil-esque!
“a romantic, hopeless; a hectic matriarch chasing her children around the house, hair come loose; breathless, heart-pounding, and laughing”….you have described me…..except that I am usually NOT laughing! So perhaps Jasmal is the fragrance for moi!
I am laughing reading this..
I’m laughing too!
Actually I think a better olfatory representation of my life would be what Feral describes below as “jasmine psychotic episodes”!!! Truly! half the time I know not whether I am coming or going!
As always, fantastic post Neil!
I don’t know why it is that I feel I know immediately what a breathless jasmine would smell like. It’s a lovely description. As soon as I read it, I want to experience this part of the jasmine spectrum. My chosen jasmines so far have been closer to the dark end of the spectrum- Tawaf and Sarrasins particularly, which are not really jasmine nervous breakdowns but more like jasmine psychotic episodes.
Divine! That is exactly what Sarrasins is, and I have heard very great things about Tawaf. Please tell me more.
Tawaf is a strong and growly jasmine on a base of opoponax. Evidently the company offers it also as a kit with extra opoponax so that you can alter it to taste. I haven’t felt any need to pursue that because the jasmine absolute in it is rich, dark, opulent, and indolic, and as it develops on skin it reminds me of sinking deeper and deeper into a sensual dream from which I don’t want to awaken. It also contains narcissus, which I detect only as a dark and slightly sharp undertone, and myrrh which I can barely detect at all. I don’t wear it very often, but when I do I drift into reverie easily. I doubt that it has much popular appeal, but I love it and my husband loves it on me, so our household is happy. I would speculate that you might love it, Ginza, and might want the extra opoponax. It reminds me a lot of being in an Egyptian nightclub 30 years ago, where people’s perfumes weren’t laundered to American tastes and ain’t nothing sanitized for your protection.
What a beautiful way of describing it. Hypnotic.
I am always on the lookout for jasmine fragrances for my mom. She’s not the ice-blond type at all so adding this to the list!
I will definitely want to sample this when/if I ever encounter a bottle!
Reblogged this on The Black Narcissus and commented:
As the jasmine here fades until next year….
I do adore jasmin scents. Jasmal in particular when I do not feel like the severity of Diorissimo. Yes, dear Diorissimo sometimes seems a bit like my mother in law, a little too tight at the seams.
Currently reading your book, specifically the review on this fragrance. I thought that, believing Natalie Wood wore this might have might have been influenced your review (you described it as “breathless”). Now knowing the history of Creed, have your opinions on these fragrances changed? Are these changes reflected in newer editions of your book
Sadly there were no newer editions !
And I am aware of the Creed Lies now – but at that time it all fit the aesthetics of the book and I am ok with that.
The whole book is very outdated now – but still hopefully a good read.
Are you enjoying it ?
I’m enjoying it very much! I’m at that stage of being super interested in perfume history and diversity, and your “perfume atlas” is not only eye-opening but also inspired me to think of perfumes differently. I don’t find it to be outdated though, maybe you can comment on why that is?
Nothing past 2018 !
To be fair, the references towards a certain world leader is still incredibly (and regrettably) relevant.
And reading this book does make me want to hunt for several discontinued fragrances – Vitriol d’oeillet sounds like it was created with me in mind. These remarkable creations might have been excluded if the book has been updated. So I don’t mind if it’s “outdated”.
No I am proud that it came out the way it did despite the compromises I had to make and I LOVE that you have honed in on the reference to Fuckface
I loved reading in an Amazon review that some corny person took it back to the shop because of that !
I tried Vitriol again the other day and didn’t entirely enjoy it but the fact I was craving it says something
I still miss the Santa Maria Novella Garofano
I hope you will enjoy trawling through the Narcissus as well