Fragrances From The Veggie Patch

Read time: 8 minutes

‘Enough of the fruits – let’s have fun with vegetables!’ When Céline Roux, Global Head Of Fragrance for Jo Malone London made this dramatic declaration four years ago, she may have been half jesting but just like that, the seed of an idea was planted. It was one that would take her, along with master perfumers Mathilde Bijaoui and Anne Flipo, from much-loved London allotments to the iconic Sissinghurst Castle, once home to Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson and their now-mythic garden. If any fragrance brand was going to turn an English vegetable patch into beautifully crafted colognes, it was always going to be Jo Malone London.

This is a brand after all with a long-standing talent for taking slices of British life – from sea air to afternoon tea, barley fields to sunlit orchards – and translating them into utterly desirable scents that straddle the lines of the elegant, the modern, the whimsical and the surprising. Veggies, a playful and seasonal collection of colognes and home fragrances which pays homage to the allotment, is a glorious example of Jo Malone London’s delightfully quirky ethos.

‘There’s a raw beauty that you see in something that is rooted in the soil. It’s so rich, there’s an earthiness to it, there’s an authenticity to it.’

‘I just knew I wanted something that grew in the soil,’ says Céline, laughing as she reflects on the very first spark that began the story of what this collection could be. ‘There’s a raw beauty that you see in something that is rooted in the soil. It’s so rich, there’s an earthiness to it, there’s an authenticity to it.’ The result of that instinct – part curiosity, part whimsy – is three irresistible colognes: Scarlet Beetroot, Velvety Butternut and Carrot Blossom. ‘We visited a lot of gardens,’ she recalls. ‘At Sissinghurst we just wanted to smell everything and be inspired by the smells of the gardens as well as the different soils. But beyond that I was also just really attracted to the idea of an allotment. I just love that people, even in the middle of cities like London, can grow their own carrots and herbs – the fact that everyone wants to have a grasp on nature from wherever they are… So this takes that idea of something homegrown and unmanicured but gives it a fresh take. I call it a textured freshness.’

And truly, there’s little more British than a well-tended vegetable patch: the quiet pride, the sense of order, the belief that patience and a bit of daily care will reward you with something wonderful. It’s familiar, humble, but full of unexpected beauty – the flash of a ruby-red beetroot just pulled from the soil, the velvet curve of a butternut squash, the subtly sweet scent of carrot tops crushed between your fingers… That’s exactly what this collection captures: the every day, but elevated; the familiar, but seen through a more refined – yet playful – lens.

Still, a literal translation of a freshly dug carrot or dirt-covered beetroot was never the point. Céline’s mission was what it has always been: push the boundaries, play with nuance and build in that essential element of the unexpected. ‘I asked if the perfumers could add some patchouli. That’s the running thread between all the fragrances,’ she explains. ‘It gives an earthiness but without taking away the freshness.’

That balance is the heart of the collection. And though the three colognes sit together as a family, each has its own clear personality. Scarlet Beetroot is the vibrant one – the extrovert of the trio, if you like. In the garden, beetroot is unmistakable yet modest; in a fragrance, it becomes unexpectedly joyful. The scent opens with a bright burst of blackcurrant that feels juicy, energetic, almost effervescent, then settles into a soft, earthy sweetness from the beetroot that feels both vivid and wearable. ‘I think this is such a colourful, fun, happy fragrance,’ explains Céline. It’s the kind of scent that instantly lifts the mood. Carrot Blossom, by contrast, is the romantic. Céline describes it as ‘a fresh floral that has a touch of fennel that brings a luminosity without being overpowering’. It’s the gentlest of the three: a polished, soft sweetness that feels like a morning walk through the garden when the light is still delicate. The injection of orange flower lends it a dewy brightness, while an accord of white musk keeps it airy and contemporary. Then there’s Velvety Butternut, the comfort-lover’s dream. ‘It’s very creamy,’ agrees Céline. ‘And warm and comforting and a touch nutty. It is actually so moreish.’

That buttery, rounded warmth she alludes to can be likened to how it feels to wear your favourite cashmere jumper. A spark of ginger at the top gives it a little lift before sinking into the tonka bean and patchouli to ground it. Céline is especially proud of this one. ‘It took a long time to finalise because it was very hard to get the right level of warmth, sophistication and woodiness. But,’ she adds, smiling as she spritzes it onto her wrist, ‘it was definitely worth it.’

Of course, Jo Malone London has always understood that scent is a multi-sensory experience; not just worn on skin but also lived at home. And so the collection also includes the Green Tomato Vine candle and diffuser and Tomato Leaf Hand Wash. ‘It was the scent that worked pretty much immediately,’ says Céline. ‘Straight away we knew it was the right one and just fell in love with it.’ Light the candle, wash your hands and suddenly you’re transported to summer: that unmistakable green snap of tomato leaves, the crispness of the vine, the earthy freshness of the garden… It’s like throwing open the kitchen windows on the first warm morning of the year. Housed in a glossy green vessel, the candle in particular is as decorative as it is fragrant; the kind of thing you will happily leave out and repurpose – flower pot anyone? – long after you’ve run out of burn time.

And for the detail-obsessed: yes, a tomato is technically a fruit not a veg. But while Céline may have started this whole journey with ‘Enough of the fruits – let’s have fun with vegetables!’, this one is so deliciously good, we’re certain she’ll be forgiven.

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