A few days ago, Jo Malone hosted an intimate lunch for the launch of The English Oak collection. Spices at Manila Peninsula was transformed to look like the iconic Sherwood Forest in the fall—complete with trees and dried leaves on the floor and the scent was enveloping, warm, homey, and of course reminiscent of wood chips.

The English Oak collection features a base scent that is unique to Jo Malone, the absolute is made out of washed oak wood chips that are roasted at high temperatures to give a smokey-sweet scent that’s perfect to be used as the foundation. Global lifestyle director Debbie Wild helped me understand the break down of each scent and what ingredient goes in each bottle.

JoMalone_EnglishOak_Hazelnut — English Oak & Hazelnut 30 ml, P3,750; 100 ml, P7,500.

The first of two scents is English Oak & Hazelnut, which is spicy and woody. They brought together green hazelnuts, cedar wood, green mandarin, and geranium at the heart, while the base is Engilsh oak, vetiver, and amber.

The second scent is English Oak & Redcurrant, which give off a warmer, citrusy smell. It has red currant, green mandarin, and rhubarb at the heart for a tart scent, then they also added white musk and Bulgarian rose.

JoMalone_EnglishOak_RedCurrant — English Oak & Redcurrant 30 ml, P3,750; 100 ml, P7,500; Home candle 200 mg, P5,200.

There’s one more ingredient that Debbie got excited about because of its Filipino background and that is elemi, also known as the pili nut. They mixed in the “tears” as part of the top notes in the English Oak collection giving us a unique connection with the collection. Pretty interesting that it’s now part of our new favorite cologne and not just our staple snack (in the office, we like cracking them from the shells.)

Both scents can be worn together or combined with other scents from Jo Malone’s line-up as it is in their brand’s DNA to combine fragrances, so much so that it’s been trademarked. English Oak & Hazelnut is great when mixed in with Basil & Neroli, while English Oak & Redcurrant complements Blackberry & Bay or even Wood Sage & Salt (a personal fave.) Either one of the English Oak scents can also be worn with Cologne Intense Oud & Bergamot, Debbie’s favorite combination, which can be perfect for night events.

The key to combining fragrances is to pick colognes that have similar scents or ingredients, and of course, don’t overthink it, because like what Debbie said it should be fun and uplifting!

The English Oak collection will be available in stores starting September 2017.

Art by RG Medestomas

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