Leather is a scent note that always transports me back to childhood, especially the one that mimics softer leather types used to make purses (see my review of Francesca Bianchi Cuir Soyeux). However, I like it in multiple forms and interpretations, and I enjoy its assertive versatility when blended with other notes and accords to enhance their beauty and essence.
Smoked Plum and Leather by Jo Loves, a scent that combines plummy liquor with sharp leather, is a fragrance tied to a special memory. It transports me back to a day spent sniffing perfumes, enjoying treats, and going to the Noël Coward Theater in London, in occasion of All About Eve, a play starring the brilliant, cool, glamorous Gillian Anderson.
It was a beautiful afternoon in April 2019, and my best friend and I strolled on Elizabeth Street in Belgravia to visit the Jo Malone boutique. After spritzing and sniffing several of her creations, Smoked Plum and Leather distinguished itself for being warmer and bolder, with a distinctly different backbone from the line’s typically light and fresh signature. I was especially drawn to it and sprayed it liberally.
We ate cake and sipped tea and mocha at the dainty Peggy Porschen café, right across the street from the Jo Loves boutique, before heading to see All About Eve. Smoked Plum and Leather was a perfect fragrant companion for our activities.
Jo Malone created Smoked Plum and Leather after being inspired by the aroma of leather from horse saddles warmed by the sun during a trip in the US state of Montana, but it evokes something else entirely for me.
It transports me to a plush leather seat in a sumptuous theater bar while sipping dark, syrupy sherry before watching a play. The bar is furnished with antique rosewood décor and a quaint fireplace. In the theater, I get whiffs of the fragrance as I watch the play while sitting on a soft fabric and wood chair. The image I picture is comfortable and soothing, yet stylish and entertaining.
The fragrance surrounds me with a haze of sweet, boozy plum liquor balanced by dry cognac, twirls of smoke, and lightly pungent leather. Flecks of cinnamon sticks and woods convey a homey and enveloping sensation. The scent is equal parts cozy and sexy.
We enjoyed the play and Gillian Anderson’s magnetic performance, and I went back to buy a full bottle two days later.
Notes for Smoked Plum and Leather are listed as they appear on the line’s website:
Aged Cognac, Plum Liquor, Cinnamon, Leather.
I reviewed the fragrance from my own bottle.
Smoked Plum and Leather is sold as Eau de Parfum in 50 ml and 100 ml bottles, and as a candle at the Jo Loves boutique.
Photos by Sarah.
