Amy Winehouse was a tremendous talent. Her voice (that voice!) was unlike any other and she crossed the genres, traversing jazz and r&b, to create her own unique sound – the sound of Amy. I remember hearing her for the first time – my boyfriend at the time (now my husband) played me the song ‘Take the Box’, in which Amy implores her ex-lover to pack up the shit he bought her, put it in a box and go on his merry way. Her humour, pain, and power all came through in that song – with that voice. I hadn’t heard anything like it and sadly, won’t hear it again.
Amy did the unconventional – she became the voice of a generation with just two albums. These albums, her jazzy debut ‘Frank’ and her insolent, pain-soaked sophomore effort ‘Back to Black’ are opposing works but each are iconic in their own right. Speaking of icons, Jusbox is a brand that takes inspiration from titans of music – from decades and artists, so it’s no surprise that Amy Winehouse is the feature of their 13th fragrance: the pink rose of Siren & Sailors. It is Amy’s haunt, the bohemian Camden Town in London, that provides inspiration for this olfactory tale – the story of a beautifully voice siren who enchanted those who heard her sing.
The Notes
Top: Bergamot, Peach, and Osmanthus
Heart: Rose Essential LMR, Rum Absolute, and Whisky Accord
Base: Patchouli (Molecular Distillation LMR), Vanilla, Suede, and Musk
The Perfumer
Julien Rasquinet (IFF)
How Does it Smell?
Siren & Sailors starts out beautifully fruity and pink. It plays up the naturally juicy-fruity aspects of rose, with deep purple blackcurrant and sparkling lychee at the forefront. Peach brings a sticky sweetness whilst the leathery-apricot facets of osmanthus bring a tangy depth. All of this is the opening act for a stunning rose fragrance – the fruity accents that inject a cloud of neon gas into the signature floral note, turning it on and allowing it to shine brightly.
Rose is a wonderful thing to use in perfumery – but IFF-LMR rose is even better. LMR (Laboratoire Monique Remy) is the naturals arm of IFF and they produce some truly beautiful materials, this Rose Essential being one of them. In Siren & Sailors the rose is amorphous, moving from sweet and jammy to dark and spicy. It’s a shapeshifter and a shade-shifter to, cycling through a spectrum of colours – pink, red, purple – in a luminous whirl that is almost fluorescent in appearance. Truly, I’m so unbiased when it comes to rose I just can’t help but smell it and exclaim “beautiful, stunning, gorgeous I love it!” Make of that what you will.
The base of Siren & Sailors is as complex and rich as Amy’s voice. It’s a contrasting blend of sharp, inky patchouli (patchouli and rose go together like Winehouse and Bennett) and silky, creamy vanilla, with a wave of leather joining them together. It’s utterly gorgeous and the rose just sinks deep into it like a warm body on a memory foam mattress (a strange metaphor, I know, but a good one!). With the fruit notes, rose, and contrasting base all together, Siren & sailors is a powerful, enveloping fragrance that is glamorous, warm, and bold, evoking that distinct and heart-warming voice of a generation.
I think this is a gorgeous rose perfume with a sweet, edible edge that evokes the bohemian spirit and silky smooth vocals of Amy Winehouse. It’s a perfume that I enjoy and will probably wear regularly, seeing as I’m such a sucker for a rose, especially an edible one! Some of the Jusbox fragrances have been experimental, some have been quite mainstream, and others have been quite unwearable but Siren & Sailors strikes the balance of all three perfectly. It’s easily my fragrance from Jusbox (I think it’ll be a hit for them too) and I continue to enjoy their plucky approach to perfume. Keep ’em coming, Jusbox.
Availability
Siren & Sailors is available in 78ml Eau de Parfum for £140.
Disclaimer
Sample, notes, and quotes via Jusbox. Images are my own.
The Candy Perfume Boy 