Jo Malone London Peony & Blush Suede cologne review

Today I'd like to review a new member of my perfume collection, Peony & Blush Suede by Jo Malone. 

The brand is totally unheard of in Poland, but after hearing British bloggers and youtubbers rave about every single product by Jo Malone, I felt I needed to give it a go. I picked their newest release and I exploited my poor friend Ania again and induced her to bring his lovely bottle from London for me.

The cologne arrived in a lovely bag, lined with scented peony-print paper, with paper peony attached to the bag with a suede ribbon. The bottle itself rested in a classy box, which reminded me of the kind of boxes that luxury pens are packed in. I also loved the simplicity of the bottle, nothing fancy, just a clear glass bottle and a label with the name of the brand and scent.

The packaging is great. But what about the fragrance itself?

Well, my feelings towards Peony & Blush Suede are of love and hate nature.

First of all I must disagree with many reviewers who claimed that this cologne smells like peony in a bottle. I think they never actually smelled peonies. I grew up surrounded by the most gorgeous pink and burgundy coloured peonies from my grandma's garden. Only the pink ones have the beautiful smell and Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede is nothing like them. The first notes, however, reminded me of another fake peony product, Sephora Body Lotion and Scrub.

Secondly, the fragrance doesn't seem to last long on my skin. I should have predicted this, knowing that colognes contain less perfume extract that EDTs and even less than EDPs. However, since every single reviewer mentioned its amazing performance, I was lead to believe it's one of these scents that fill the room you're in and linger on long time after you've left. This is definitely not the kind of fragrance that everyone within 5m radius can smell.

Now comes a surprise. I love this fragrance 'the day after'. I said it doesn't last on my skin at all, but it lasts for ever on my clothes. The perfume even survives washing! I don't know how this is possible, but it does! What's more, once the strong, artificial flowery scent evaporates, it gives way to a more powdery notes, which together with the remains of the floral scent make a really nice combination.

This is not a strong perfume, you need to stand rather close to the person wearing it to smell it. I generally prefer everyone to know that I'm wearing some nice fragrance, but there are some formal situations when you don't want to make others suffocate and that's when my Jo Malone comes in.

All in all, I'm in two minds about this scent. Picking perfume basing on reviews does not always have a happy end. I think my greatest disappointment is connected with the fact that I expected something different. 

This is by no means a bad choice. Peony & Blush Suede is a nice floral go to scent and I'm sure I'll use it up with pleasure. I also don't think that my relationship with Jo Malone is over. I'll just pick something other. 

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.