Late last week Couds and I popped into an exclusive li’l Jo Malone event held at their V&A Waterfront store.

The brand wanted to get in touch with a few of their favourite customers and emphasise the point that Jo Malone is a ‘sensory experience’, not just a purveyor of delish-scented candles and colognes.

The guest of honour for the evening was wine maker Piet Matthee.

Piet was all too keen to show off his new MCC, Francois Le Garde String of Pearls Semillon Blanc de Blanc. (Clouds and I each bought a bottle for R90 and it won’t be our last. If you’d like to get in touch with the winemaker, get hold of Solje Smit on admin@technofill.co.za). 

The Jo Malone peeps felt that String of Pearls was a good pairing because, much like the bubbly, Jo Malone Lime, Basil and Mandarin (the brand’s signature scent) is also ‘herbaceous, citrusy and utterly indulgent’. Being absolutely cray cray for champers and lucky enough to have tasted several (from bottom of the range plonk like braille-covered Miss Molly to the terrifyingly expensive shizz I drank in France with my sis), I’m happy to tell you String of Pearls is one of the best I’ve tried. The way it tastes reminds me a bit of Cadbury’s chocolate covered raisins, another of my favourite things. I’m sure that’s probably one of the more bizarre descriptions Piet will have heard and there’s probably not a ‘chocolately’ or ‘raisiny’ note in there, but that’s what it brings to mind for me.

Anyway, getting back to Jo Malone…  after a welcome ‘talky talky’ guests got to indulge in a complimentary hand and arm massage at the ‘Tasting Bar’ to help them figure out their ‘bespoke’ scent.

She’s now a fan of Jo Malone Grapefruit body creme (R735):

I’ve yet to find my ultimate favourite Jo Malone cologne as they make so many that I like which causes me to keep on changing my mind. One day I’m all about invigorating citrusy scents like French Lime Blossom and the next I’m wanting something a little more exotic like Blue Agava and Cacao. (Just listen to how divine the latter sounds; fresh limes and zesty grapefruit with a blue agava flower heart with sea salt and cacao resting on a base of vetiver, cinnamon and musk. Sjoe!)

Peeps-wise; e-TV’s Tanya Nefdt and Andre-Pierre du Plessis popped in for a while:

They also felt spoiled by choice but ultimately decided they most appreciated Wild Fig and Cassis as well as Orange Blossom (Tanya) and Lime, Basil and Mandarin (Andre-Pierre). A 30ml bottle of either cologne will set you back R545.

If you’re keen on finding your favourite Jo Malone cologne, pop into their store and chat to store manager Marius Steenkamp. He’s a vertiable wizard when it comes to mixing up all sorts of fabulous scent combinations and can reel off the notes of each and every scent. 

A big thanks to Maliza from Jo Malone, this was a lovely evening out.

Love, love

Leigh

P.S. Afterwards, Clouds and I hit up a restaurant near the water’s edge for a light supper and ordered up yet another round of champagne. (Don’t be ‘judgy judgy’ now… it had been a long week…) We opted for a fancy premium brand who’s name I won’t mention because, having tasted the fabulosity that is String of Pearls, the bubbles we ordered suddenly tasted like crappy carbonated grape juice. Clouds was like ‘Good Lord, I can’t BELIEVE I used to give this to people as a gift!’ (Skaam, skaam, skaam…) Thanks Piet, it looks like you’ve gone and ruined us…