English Pear & Freesia by Jo Malone

Jo Malone has a whole host of fragrances that are great by themselves or layered with another perfume from the line. That’s what they’re made to do. I somewhat recently received a sample of what I consider to be one of the better scents from this designer, which gave me the opportunity to retest it and finally give English Pear & Freesia a full review. What does it smell like? How long does it last?

What does English Pear & Freesia Smell Like?

Notes include: King William pear, melon, freesia, patchouli, rhubarb, rose, musk

Click here to try: English Pear & Freesia

My Full Review

Here’s how Jo Malone describes it: The essence of autumn. Mellow. Cool. Golden.

So, Jo Malone scents are designed to be both worn solo or layered with other offerings from their line. If you go with English Pear & Freesia they have the following suggestions. Try layering this one with (according to Jo Malone): Wild Bluebell for a fresher scent. Velvet Rose & Oud for a warmer scent.

The pear note here is probably the highlight of the entire wear. It’s crisp, bright, and has less of the sparkling quality than some other perfumes, but it smells better to my nose. The light melon note helps add that juicy or watery sort of fruit aroma to the opening act.

Early on, the fruity notes are in charge. But, I do get plenty of musk in the early stages of this perfume. Musk flanked by the rose note, which plays more of a role than you might think by the name alone.

However, the freesia is ultimately the star here. A lovely white floral impression with hints of green stems and the underlying patchouli note.

The dry down will pretty much be a shift away from the pear dominance, to a more traditional floral soapy sort of perfume.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

This one has a nice opening burst of strength and can project itself well for the first hour or so. Then, it’ll become pretty moderate, with about a 3 foot radius of a scent bubble on the wearer.

Finally, the last couple hours are lighter still. It isn’t a weak fragrance, but not exactly a beast either. That opening is pretty substantial on me, however.

This one actually lasts a decent amount of time, on my skin. Somewhere in the 6.5-7 hour range, at its best. It’s not a long lasting powerhouse scent, but it’s not terrible for what it is.

Seasonally, this is at its best in the spring and into the summertime. But again, what you’re layering it with can determine whether it can venture further into the heat or the cold. That’s great, if you’re looking for a super versatile scent to base things off of.

On its own, this is a pleasant and clean smelling fragrance that can fit in a variety of situations. Not really a sexy or nightlife scent, though. Outside of that, it’s going to give you most of what you’d want in a perfume.

This is technically a unisex scent, but I will say that it definitely leans more traditionally feminine than being down the middle.

Overall Impressions of English Pear & Freesia

Overall do I like this fragrance? Yes, English Pear & Freesia is simple, but ultimately a lovely experience. You just have to understand what you’re actually getting with this perfume.

I do enjoy that sparkling, almost champagne-like opening, with the rather unique pear note and the melon coming through. Juicy, fresh, sweet, with the underlying musk that will be more prevalent in its support of the floral notes later.

The performance actually isn’t bad for such a simple and somewhat linear fragrance. The performance on my skin, is solid, but others report that it doesn’t last long for them. So, maybe this Jo Malone perfume is more dependent on your own skin chemistry, versus some other scent on the market.

I do think that this one is worth a try on its own. The tail on of the scent isn’t completely unique or earth-shattering, but it does smell quite good. I do still think that this is one of the better options in the Jo Malone catalogue, even after all these years.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.