Montale - Jasmine Full

Addictive jasmine, honeysuckle and orange blossom

Jasmine Full should come with a warning: Unless you love it strong, do not sniff up close for at least 10 minutes! Seriously, put that wrist down by your side and leave it there. This is strong stuff. You would not want to spill a bottle of JF in your purse. Luckily, there's little chance of that with the practical aluminum cylinders that Montale uses as bottles.

The top notes of JF smell like hyacinth and gasoline. I wonder if the smell of gasoline is an aspect of the jasmine? Aha, yes! The Scented Salamander says that a "nuance of gasoline exhaust appreciated by connoisseurs of the flower." So, I guess if you are a jasmine aficionado, you won't be surprised by the top notes. They grew on me; now I love that blast of gasoline and spicy, thick hyacinth. I even get a hint of lilac, like when they are blooming and you stick your face right into the bushes and inhale – overwhelming in a good way.

So trust me, if you're sensitive, only remote sniffing for a few minutes. You will be rewarded. After 10-15 minutes the most delicious scent will be wafting around you. JF becomes the most perfect night-blooming jasmine, dark and mysterious and narcotic, like the smell of lust on a summer night. Then it gets better. The jasmine becomes a base for two other white flowers to ride on: orange blossom and honeysuckle. If jasmine is lust, orange blossom and honeysuckle are first love, pure and sweet. I enjoy the honeysuckle the most.  JF is the only perfume I've tried that has this mouth-watering honeysuckle note. It floats around me like a veil.

The lighter white flowers are lifted by the heady jasmine beneath them and Jasmine Full becomes more than a soliflore; it's an incredibly beautiful, summer-flowers bouquet. Even better, my husband loves it too. Unfortunately, without any real base notes, like woods, musks, etc., the gorgeousness is fleeting. What's so strong at 8 am is mostly gone by 4 pm. All the more reason that I am going to need that full aluminum bottle for my purse.

House: Montale
Nose: Pierre Montale
Notes: Jasmine, honeysuckle and orange blossom

Photo: Madmoiselle Lavender