Description
“English Fields Collection Q&A with Celine Roux, Head of Global Fragrance, Jo Malone London and Mathilde Bijaoui, Master Perfumer.
Celine: Poppy was a very important ingredient for the collection as it so quintessentially British. It is symbolic to this country and they always appear in English fields. Aesthetically they are so bright and vibrant. Barley has a cocooning, cotton-soft texture and nurturing warmth. The contrast between this and the vivid poppies is very Jo Malone London.
Mathilde: Poppies don’t have a specific scent, so I created an accord of green notes and red rose to express the colours and vivacity of the poppy fields. I liked how fragile poppies are, they can break so easily, and that’s why the contrast of barley works so well as it is something quite solid and secure. I added some fig and violet flowers to bring a rounded and edible facet to the scent, and used the bran absolute to emulate the nourishing and savoury warmth of barley. Celine told me she wanted a ‘cotton’ effect, so the white musk brings that sense of softness to the base.
Rich red poppies dancing in the wind. Violet flowers, alive with colour. Fruity with blackcurrant. Cocooned by barley and bran. Softened with powdery notes of white musk.” – a note from the brand.
Poppy & Barley was launched in 2018.
olberova – :
A nice, gentle, flowery scent, not overly sweet. Emanates something clean. The poppy is noticeable but not cloying.
Not ground breaking but definitely not your usual perfume.
My favorite from this collection and as far as I understood the top best-seller form the five limited edition scents.
Longevity is nothing to write home about, but it’s a lovely summer scent for those who like it different.
bah1111 – :
Soft rose and soft blackcurrant jam. Very soft, jammy rose. I’m not getting any violet and this does not smell powdery on me. The barley / bran note sits at the bottom of this fragrance and gives it a warm, comforting undertone.
This sits on your skin and doesn’t project at all. But I get better longevity on it than a lot of Jo Malones. I’d say around 7-12 hours.
Soft, rosy, comforting perfume. Perfect for everyday wear, office-safe, and lovely.
igorioshka – :
Very natural, fresh and transparent scent, all notes are blended well together. It has good longevity for such a subtle type of fragrance. Ideal for spring, and for me it is strongly associated with the London countryside. For those who want more depth and sillage, I would recommend to try other perfumes from English fields line, because this one is the lightest and the most inoffensive in it.
pp1956 – :
I like it, even tough I don’t love it. To me, it smells like a sophisticated, more tender version of flower by kenzo. It’s pretty but I prefer other scents from the collection, wich appealed to me because – in contrary to this scent – I found them more extraordenary.
saramaga – :
The staff told me that this is the most popular one among the wheat collection so I chose this one as there was only one left and I may not be able to buy it later.
However this is not the most unique one among them. If I have some more time to smell it, feel it and choose it, I may not go for this one. Yes, it is very good-smelling, it is very popular. But usually popularity means typicality and ordinariness which are not the elements of a ‘good’, ‘successful’ and revolutionary fragrance albeit its smash hit in the market.
Its opens with obvious green notes, which are said to be created as the poppy scent, and the smell of barley is not as strong as its fellows. Rather there is an intensive violet note when the opening settles. I like the scent. It is really like poppies dancing in the wind, an image created by the greenery notes, but there is nothing to do with wheat in the picture.
Instead of poppy & barley I would recommend you to try green wheat & meadowsweet, oat & cornflower and primrose for a stronger wheat scent. They do smell like wheat and depict a view of English field. I’d probably buy one more with a stronger wheat smell as it is more special compared to other fragrances.
senior.so – :
Probably the most approachable of the English Fields Collection, probably because it smells the least like a grain or cereal. In fact, I can only smell a very soft, slightly powdery floral. A heavy hand of violet with some sweetness from black currant. Nothing revolutionary, just inoffensively nice.
kae57 – :
This is lovely! At first sniff it is like a fresh watery rose scent, so nice !! It doesn’t open up much, I don’t detect woods, or barley..it remains on me a soft floral…so pleasant, easy to wear, and feminine…i might get a bottle, as this is so lovely and fresh..it has in the drydown that warm aura, I really like this..thank you Miss Cherie for the decant !!
Update: I like it, but won’t buy a bottle…it is a bit light, and in the end not the most distinctive perfume
D.I.moon – :
Tried it for third time. I now get the powder that Ms. Cherie mentioned. Not a powder fan but here I don’t mind it- almost like it with the gauze-y linen and the dry toasted grains. This smells good with Basil Neroii. Daxx! Now I am toying the idea of getting FB of both Poppy Barley and Basil Neroli. But let me remind myself I didn’t want to get sucked into buying a $70 bottle of 30ml Jo Malone again.
Anarxist – :
I adore this. It was my second favorite of the 5 but now closing in on being the 1st…. This juice undergoes a very unique transformation – at first a pretty floral that is Dipqyque style, but once settled it becomes mellow and creamy, which turns into a grainy sweetness that I love. I can not stop sniffing it on my wrist throughout the day. This is long lasting – which is a wonderful thing because it is a limited edition and I do not want to run out of it too soon!
pigorix – :
Initial impression: this is a fresh barbershop-type scent. I have a bottle of it, but so far I have not been able to pull it off. It’s not a bad smell, but it reads too masculine for my liking. On the other hand, I’ve had several female strangers compliment me on it. Every single one of them said it was “very clean”. I was standing in line at Starbucks and the lady behind me asked me what I was wearing, and even took the time to write it down to purchase it for herself. I hope she has better luck with it than I did.
gvshapkins – :
Out of all 5 from the English Fields collection, I like this one the most, but still, there is nothing special in it that screams:”I have to have it”. I have had much better poppy fragrance before. This one also does not last well on me after all.
I first smelled typical sweet poppy floral scent and then just wheat/barley thru the end. Jumping from flower to barley, I don’t think that combination make sense to me at all.
dillerr1 – :
Poppy & Barley is not as “sharp” as I originally perceived. It just needed some time to warm up. I smell rose and black currant and something slightly powdery but not the cosmetic kind. It’s probably the barley. Anyways, it’s warm, spring floral leaning more towards the feminine side.
Ladyhawke – :
This is my favorite among the five in the Collection. It is also the least ground breaking (and has the lowest rating so far). Red rose with grains and wheats, in a linen dress. Oh the creator was going for cotton? Okay, a late-spring cotton-linen dress. It should be very pretty comes warmer weather. Leans a bit on feminine. I also like Honey Crocus in this line.
whatvxruomm – :
Based on initial notes and description this one was my favorite from the collection but totally failed me. It is unbearable, headache inducing.