Jo Malone London’s enchanting collection of fragrances are hard to resist and one of our all-time favourites, Honeysuckle and Davana Cologne, has been recognised as the 2019 Women’s Prestige Fragrance of the Year at the Fragrance Foundation Awards in New York.
The Fragrance Foundation has been honouring the fragrance industry’s creative achievements since 1949 and this year Honeysuckle and Davana triumphed over a number of coveted and impressive scents including Joy by Dior and Marc Jacob’s Daisy Love.
The Honeysuckle and Davana Cologne
With its sweet, enchanting fragrance, it’s easy to understand how the delicate scent of honeysuckle could evoke cheerful memories. It was with this in mind that Celine Roux, head of fragrance development at Jo Malone London, and Anne Flipo, Jo Malone London master perfumer, turned to the iconic English flower for the house’s newest scent. “It always brings you back to a happy moment,” Roux says when explaining the inspiration behind Honeysuckle and Davana cologne.
Capturing the sparkling scent of honeysuckle was not straightforward, as the pair explain. “It does not exist naturally in perfumery, so it was very important to capture English honeysuckle in nature,” Roux says. To create the scent the pair travelled to the National Arboretum in Gloucestershire to begin creating the headspace they needed for Davana and Honeysuckle. “It was very important for me to capture the bucolic feeling – that pleasant feeling of countryside life – as well as all the facets of the honeysuckle flower,” explains Flipo.
Honeysuckle, she says, is a complex flower, which the pair discovered when smelling its scent throughout the day. “We smelt it three times and it was different each time. We then learnt that it was evolving in order to attract different butterflies and bees as the day goes on. By the end of the day we wondered if it would evolve anymore, so we went back to at midnight to do it one more time. The scent had become more interesting over the course of the day,” Roux recalls.
Despite honeysuckle’s many facets, she says it was the creamy, addictive part of the flower that they decided to use to create Honeysuckle and Davana cologne. “We added a chypre construction which really helped to convey the sensuality and warmth of honeysuckle after dark,” she explains. Uplifting, radiant and the perfect scent for the warmer months are the thoughts that spring to mind when experiencing Honeysuckle and Davana for the first time.
Enchanting top notes of bright rose oxide and neroli awaken the senses before delightful notes of honeysuckle rise. A Jo Malone London twist of davana – which Flipo says gives the scent a fresh, fruity, green note at the top of the fragrance – enhances woody moss and sandalwood base notes. “This scent carries a very joyful feeling and reminds me of a sunny, spring afternoon in a colourful garden,” says Flipo. “A bright and positive moment.”
Jo Malone London Honeysuckle and Davana cologne is available now in 30ml, $118 and 100ml, $236.
