Do you like mangoes as much as I do?
The taste of a ripe, juicy mango is among the best things ever for me. Sprinkled with a bit of pepper and a squirt of lime juice, a mango is a treat I crave often, especially in summer.
The Jo Loves Mango Collection therefore was a must-try for me. There are three perfumes in the collection. Let us take a look at all of them…
Mango Nectar includes notes of Bitter Orange, Pink Grapefruit, Mango Leaf, Mango Nectar, Apricot Blossom, Jasmine and Musk.
Mango Nectar is hands-down my favorite in the bunch. A juicy. green, leafy, sweet-but-not-too-sweet imitation of nature, this perfume is a mango lover’s heaven. It is not complicated, but a straight-forward, drop-dead gorgeous mango scent, that smells, exactly – and I mean exactly! – like the fresh fruit. It’s delicious and it makes me and my kids squeal with delight (which in turn makes my husband shake his head and roll his eyes, but that is another story).
The question is do I want to smell like a mango? The answer is, unapologetically: Yes! Sometimes I do and now I can. 🙂
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A Shot Of Oud Over Mango includes notes of Mango, Black Pepper, Freesia and Oud Wood Accord.
The second of the Mango Collection fragrances combines the trend note oud with mango. An interesting concept, but one that doesn’t really work for me.
The perfume opens sharply with a hit of black pepper and the band-aid charms of oud. Mango tries to assert itself but is constantly drowned out by the male swagger of the oud accord dominating the perfume throughout. The perfume seems to me like a girl in a floral summer dress adding a rocker-chic leather jacket and combat boots to her outfit and starting to growl at people.
This is designer Rick Owens, not my husband. In all probability both smell like A Shot of Oud over Mango.
This perfume on male skin on the other hand worked like a charm. On my husband, A Shot of Oud over Mango smells incredible. He can pull off that leather jacket (just don’t tell him about the floral dress underneath!).
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A Shot Of Thai Lime Over Mango includes notes of Mango, Kaffir Lime, Black Pepper, Freesia, Mint Leaves, White Thyme Absolute and Vetiver.
A Shot of Thai Lime over Mango (aside from its unwieldy name) is surely the most interesting and complex composition of the three.
The fragrance opens with a fantastic accord of lime and mint leaves, that immediately bring to mind a cocktail (which was Ms Malone’s inspiration). A Mojito with lots of mint, crushed ice and fresh limes is conjured before my mind’s eyes, realistic down to the bead of condensation running down the side of the glass.
As the perfume develops (this one has the most distinct development of the three, the two others are much more linear), the lime recedes a bit in favor of sweeter notes of mango and a tender floral presence. In time the perfume becomes woody, vetiver makes itself known and is here to stay. Yet, whenever I wear it, I get different subtle aspects I hadn’t noticed before: a cool breeze that might be the thyme, a sweet honeyed nuance floating by once in a while, the delicious mango note familiar from Mango Nectar that plays hide and seek among the various leaves it hides under…
A Shot of Thai Lime over Mango is easily wearable, but holds a lot for seasoned fragrance lovers as well, as it develops in more twists and turns as one might expect. It is interesting and nuanced and a joy to wear.
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All in all, I am very happy with this collection within the Jo Loves line. Jo managed to capture the delicious scent of mangoes in her cute bottles.
I will enjoy spending my summer days smelling like a mango. Sprinkling of pepper optional.
Olfactoria's Travels 
I love everything about mangos – their taste, smell, texture. So when (if?) I get a chance I’ll try all of these. Unfortunately, Jo Loves is such a localized brand that, combined with the current shipping restrictions and prices it’s almost inaccessible.
I hope Jo expands her distribution eventually, I imagine it would be a line that would sell well, as the pefumes are so wearable but not in the least boring or pedestrian.
Maybe you can smell them when you come to London one day? Or you could try my samples should Vienna be on your itinerary… 😉
Agree. I feel that I would like these perfumes, but they are too hard to obtain. 😦
Let’s hope for wider distribution in the future. After all, the brand is still young…
Oh these sound so delish! I love mangos in all forms. I am with Undina- wish the perfumes were more accessible.
Me too!!! Maybe it helps that we are all saying that… 🙂
I haven’t made up my mind about mango – I thought I like Manguier Metisse for example, but backed off again. And am not bowled over by the note in Jardin sur le Nil or Bombay Bling. I would certainly test these scents, but maybe I was just destined to eat mango with blueberries and ice cream. 🙂
This (especially in Mango Nectar) is the most realistic mango note I ever smelled. I’m not a fan of Manguier Matisse and even JslN doesn’t come close (but JlsN is about other things too, not only mango). So maybe you’ll enjoy those (you can always have blueberries and icecream anyway!) 🙂
I think I found the musk in Manguier Metisse perturbing. I am finding musk in lots of things perturbing at the moment! So Mango Nectar could be the pure mango hit I’ve been missing so far…
No musk to be afraid of in Mango Nectar.
Interesting post, Miss B! Btw, it’s mango season here, where they tend to be yellower, sweeter and juicier.
Yum!!!
Wonderful review my dear!
I contacted Jo Loves Showroom last year when they didn’t have an e-shop running. I asked if there is any possibility to buy samples of their fragrances – I quickly got a very kind reply from the assistant that they’ll be happy to send me free samples of all their unisex fragrances. Few weeks later I got a package with 3 samples: Pomelo, Green Orange & Coriander and a Shot of Oud over Mango. And then later they also sent me Pink Vetiver. Pomela and Green Orange are my very favourites, they smell so realistic, natural! MMmm… delicious
Thank you, Lukas!
I’m glad you enjoy them too.
Dearest Brigit
I’m so glad that you’ve had the chance to try the JoLoves perfumes too.
I am really very taken with them. As you rightly point out they are delicious and decidedly wearable and anything but dull.
A great way to add a little fizz to the day, in fact entirely by coincidence I’ll be talking about one today too…
Yours ever
The Perfumed Dandy
I’m looking forward to reading your take, Dandy.
Love love love mangos (for eating) and yes, I, too would not mind smelling of one! These fragrances sound fantastic…I think the Thai Lime would be more to my liking of the two. One of Brittany’s favorite fragrances is Pacifica’s Brazilian Mango Grapefruit …so refreshing and so affordable!
I will look for the Pacifica line in the US, so say many good things about them.
No need to look…I will put together another sample pack toute suite (did I spell that right? My French, like my German, is quite rusty!!) of all the Pacificas I have at home (including the discontinued ones) and mail to Daisy…then when you visit her end of May you will have more goodies to bring back to Vienna and share with Val and Sandra and whoever else comes to visit! (Poor Daisy is becoming my ‘fume distributor!)
Oh, brie, you are too generous! Thank you my dear!
My pleasure :D!!
What a mouth-watering review! I really want a mango with pepper and lime now.
I’m glad you said Mango Nectar was not so realistic to be off-putting, as that was my concern. Any perfume that has the squeal factor has to be sampled! I love lime notes too, so I also have to try the Thai Lime one. They sound like perfect summer perfumes
Perfect summer perfumes indeed! Lady Jane is visiting Jo Loves tomorrow, I had a hard time not forcing her to bring me the whole range. 😉
Mangoes are my absolute favorite fruit. I’ve never eaten them with lime or pepper, though, so your post has given me a new thing to try that doesn’t even have to do with perfume. 🙂
(Plus, you made me laugh with that photo for A Shot of Oud Over Mango!)
The one that sounds most appealing to me is the mango paired with Kaffir lime and mint. Kaffir lime is just so … mmmmm. One of the best smells in the world. Ok, off to buy mangoes and limes today … thanks for being so inspiring, B. 😀
You are very welcome! 🙂
Enjoy your mango with lime and pepper! ❤
Great review, Birgit! I am glad these wonderful trio is available for you now… In spite of the fact that I do not like the taste of mango, I adore the aroma of mango and very curious about any perfumes that has mango in the composition. As for Jo’s creations I can bet my favourite could be A Shot of Thai Lime over Mango (really look forward to get the opportunity to try this one), because it has all ingridients I love: lime, mango, mint – mmm… mouth-watering mixture indeed 🙂 And as mojito is one of my favourite cocktails I can already imagine the beauty of it in the aromatic form… Also very curious about Mango Nectar – should be something very natural and realistic. So now I will try to find a way to test these wonderful beauties. Thanks for sharing, Birgit 🙂
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, Ellia!
Mango? Oh yeah, I’m in. I’ve got some Bombay Bling coming my way just because I adore that juicy opening so much. I’ve e-mailed Jo Loves to see if they’re planning on adding samples as an option on their website.
It says on the site (where the notes are listed for every fragrance) that samples are available upon request.
I hope you get some to try, Dionne!
They responded to my e-mail already (impressive customer service!) and said they’d send two to me, but were out of Mango Thai Lime, unfortunately. So after requesting that they might consider selling sampler sets, I asked for Mango Nectar and Green Orange and Coriander.
I’m glad they responded so quickly! Good customer service is so important!
I love mangoes! They are difficult to find in season here, so it is always a really nice surprise to get a good one. I will have to text these when I have the chance.
I’ve heard from Neil that Mangoes are practically impossible to find in Japan, now you say they are also rare in California at times – I guess I’m quite lucky to find great mangoes at every supermarket right in the middle of Europe…
Hope you get to try the perfumes, they are lovely!
Oh, I should clarify that I’m not in California anymore. They are much easier to find in California. We get them here (toward the middle of the country), but they are not as delicious. They often don’t have as much flavor, and sometimes they go from unripe to overripe in the course of, it seems, 5 minutes. 🙂
Oh, of course, I totally forgot about your move… 😦
Mangoes are abundant in season where I live. I buy a big tray of them as part of a school fundraiser and give them to people at work, who appreciate them even if they could obtain mangoes just by walking into their own supermarket. Must try the lime and pepper option; I actually get a bit sick of mangoes towards the end of the season.
Mango is a scent used so often especially in body products. I tend to keep clear of them all. Hopefully the Jo Loves brand will do well and go into wider distribution. There is something a tad more sophisticated about it compared to Jo Malone that attracts me.
I agree, Jo Loves is a lot more sophisticated and the perfumes more complex.
Please don’t say that…now I really want to try them!
These remind me of a tasty chopped salsa we make with jicama, mango, pineapple and hot red peppers (fresh) plus lime juice and salt. Instant euphoria. The oud here is perhaps the least attractive of the series, but the others sound wonderful. Will they ever get to NYC?
Oh, that sounds yummy!
I hope they will eventually be available in the US, but I don’t know any facts…
I want them all! 🙂 I love mangoes and have absolutely no problem smelling like one. 😀 None at all.
Haha, you’d be cute as a mango. 😀
A red headed mango…love that image :D!!!
LOL!! 😀
With summer approaching I am definitely in the mood for some take-me-somewhere-tropical-type getaway scent (that was a mouthful :P).
Mango is certainly somewhere high up on my list!
I was wondering how the Mango “Manguiere Metisse” from Huitieme Art compared to Mango Nectar..? Never having smelt any of the two I am having a hard time deciding which to get.
I think my mind just salivated…
If you ask me, I would definitely get Mango Nectar. Manguier Metisse is much sweeter, less natural smelling and just not as joyful and happy as the Jo Loves scent. (And don’t get me starte on the Huitème At bottles… 😉 )
“This is designer Rick Owens, not my husband. In all probability both smell like A Shot of Oud over Mango.”
Love it! As someone who own too many leather and pleather motorcycle jackets (my mom once smacked my hand away from another one made of denim), I bet this would be my favorite too.
I’ll bring you some and we’ll see! 🙂
Whoo hoo! That sounds wonderful!
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