Jo Malone | What The Reviews Don't Tell You

Even if the price tag would put you off ever buying one for yourself, I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t love to receive a Jo Malone candle as a gift.
For me, they’re absolutely one of the most luxurious items I can think of, partly due to how completely unnecessary they are. I mean, once in a while I may be known to splash out on a Molton Brown hand wash, but what do you expect me to do, not wash my hands? I need hand soap. The same can almost be said for makeup to a certain extent, I’m pretty sure mascara is a basic human right. But no matter what ridiculous lies we tell ourselves, it’s very difficult to justify £40 on what is essentially, a scented lump of wax. I mean, you’re literally burning your money!

Perhaps this is what makes the Jo Malone Candles such a beautiful gift, the sheer extravagance of them; somebody telling you, “Hey, you’re worth this.” We all love that, right?
Maybe it’s their chic, understated design. The classy, classic glass jar is very easy to spot as being Jo Malone, yet doesn’t demand attention. They definitely make a statement when left unburned as home décor. Even when that last pool of wax at the very bottom has gone, you can rinse out the jar and use them to store makeup brushes, cue tips, even as a toothbrush holder (as demonstrated by yours truly), and continue to enjoy looking at them for months.
So why am I only talking about how they look, and not how they smell? After all, they are scented candles. Well, it’s like this…

When standing in the cream and black gorgeousness of a Jo Malone Boutique, receiving amazing service from the polished, lovely ladies who massage body lotions and perfumes into your hands, it can be very easy to get swept away in the heavenly scents that surround you. Sticking your nose in and out of the entire range of candles, most of which are quite unique and sophisticated, you then trot off home with that “ooh, what a treat!" feeling.
After such a euphoric shopping experience, and such an extortionate purchase, you can feel obliged to absolutely. love. this. candle. With a reputation and price tag to match, it is surely candle of the Gods. But be warned:

A lot of Jo Malone reviews will praise them for being “elegant and not overpowering”, or “beautifully subtle”, and in my experience, that is to say that they are very, very subtle in smell. As someone who’s worked in a candle shop, I like to think I know candles, and those who don’t have the nose of a bloodhound may find some Jo Malone candles to be very weak in perfume once lit.
Pomegranate Noir, a hugely popular Jo Malone scent, has never seemed to give me this trouble. Sadly, the same can’t be said for Lime Basil and Mandarin, Jo Malone’s signature (and my favourite!) scent. Truth be told, I hardly smell it at all when I burn it. Nor am I impressed by the perfume power of English Pear and Freesia, a really feminine fragrance. When I compare this to a Yankee Candle that floods my entire flat after five minutes and for a fraction of the price, it’s hard not to be a bit disappointed. Having said that, plenty of people find Yankees overwhelming and too dominant, so if hardly-there is your thing, go for it.

I will always love a Jo Malone candle. Get me one for Christmas and we’ll be best friends forever, but when parting with my own hard earned cash, I tend to invest in the diffusers instead, which I don’t think I could say a single bad word about. My Lime Basil and Mandarin diffuser has lasted MONTHS and fills our bedroom with a subtle yet distinctly detectable scent. When I want a bit more oomph out of it, I simply flip the reads in the oil. As for my candles, I like to leave them as ornaments mostly, burning them on special occasions but certainly not relying on them to add a welcoming aroma to my flat.In conclusion, no I don’t think a Jo Malone candle is going to fill your four story house with fragrance for a week, but I do think they’re a truly beautiful gift and a luxury I will continue to indulge in every once in a while.