I love the way Jo Malone uses her Jo Loves label to throw curveballs all over the perfume world. Pink Vetiver’s name predisposes for a feminine, even girly interpretation of the classic masculine note. And the opening fullfills this promise. Momentarily. “Pink” comes mostly from pink pepper but there is also a vague florality in there that is totally unjustified by the official note listing. Bright citrus, pink pepper and ginger are the notes that I can identify but everything smells like a beautiful pink magnolia. I know pink magnolias don’t usually smell but still I cannot shake the image of the flower from my head. Very quickly though the texture of the composition starts changing. It becomes warm and velvety, almost oriental. The original freshness gives way to warm spices. The star of the heart is cumin! I love cumin in food as well as in fragrances so if you run away from it my word probably won’t count. But this is truly the most beautifully incorporated cumin note I have ever smelled. Pitched at exactly the right tone, it doesn’t smell like food at all. It adds a beautiful warm texture and accentuates the floral elements this spice carries. The longer it stays on skin, the stronger vetiver becomes. It is the classic moderately earthy, moderately smoky vetiver note that is easily found in most masculine colognes but cumin makes the difference here. It transforms coolness into an electrifying mix. The drydown is destined to be a crowd pleaser and I have a really difficult time trying to stop sniffing my wrists.
Pink vetiver evolves beautifully from a more feminine opening to a more masculine drydown but what really sets the composition apart is the ingenious use of cumin. It is a perfectly unisex composition that made me think of the way Heeley Parfums officially describe their perfumes:
On a man: a crisp, pink cotton shirt
On a woman: a sexy, grey silk blouse
Notes from Jo Loves: Pink Crushed Peppercorns, Juniper Berries, Cardamom, Cumin, Nutmeg, Ginger, Angelica, Vetiver and Amber
Notes from my nose: magnolia, ginger, pink pepper, cumin, vetiver, juniper berries
Disclaimer: the sample was offered as part of a promotion to members of Jo Loves mailing list
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Memory Of Scent 
Glad you liked it too!
I loved its elegance and its intelligence
I agree that it’s pretty elegant and heck stylish.
Nice review! It sounds very interesting …fem to butch in one sitting. Loved the shirt and blouse suggestions too. Nice touch.
Although it is not revolutionary it manages to be very interesting and thoroughly enjoyable.
I loved it for the first sniff ! I’ll be back at Jo Loves this very Thursday and I might grab a bottle of PV…
This is seriously addictive. There is some IsoE-Super in the drydown I think but I really don’t mind if I enjoy the way to it.
Sounds dishy, as I do love cumin in fragrance. Looking at the notes for this one, I’m reminded of Frederic Malle Angeliques Sous la Pluie, except that this sounds much more “forward” (rather than reserved) and sensual.
I can see the similarities but Pink Vetiver is effervescent. They both however exude an air of confidence.
To the fans over the pond they were sending … scented blotters. I’m still shaking my head in disbelief.
It seems that Jo Loves has a particular problem with shipping outside the UK. Almost as if there is concrete evidence that they will be launching a mass terrorist attack out of Jo Malone’s lab…
🙂