Perfume Review: Jasmin & Bergamote (L'Occitane Collection De Grasse)

Target Gender: Female; Price Bracket (Aus): Medium (up to AU$100. Category: White Floral. L'Occitane is an independent brand.

I have a strong love-hate relationship with the Collection De Grasse scents from L'Occitane....love because the scents are absolutely gorgeous, and show mastery of perfumery by the creators. I'll come to the not-so-loved part later.

The entire lineup has the nose of Karine Dubreuil behind it. She has a few other scents of note, but the most prominent would probably be YSL's Vice Versa to her credit before this collection.

Jasmine & Bergamote was one of the first 4 scents launched in this collection (there's a fair few more now)...If the name wasn't enough of a giveaway, the packaging has enough white and yellow to give away the perfume's profile.

As the name would imply, the 2 dominant notes are Bergamot and Jasmine. It starts with a splash of citrus, the bergamot supported by what seems to be to be a more sour citrus...bergamot is a bitter citrus to me, so the sour citrus could be valencia orange probably...or maybe mandarin, as it isn't sweet like navel or valencia oranges.

And then...jasmine. That's that. Maybe a little powdery, oily wood at the very bottom, but jasmine is by far the most dominant note.

Now back to the love-hate I was talking about...the "hate" part of the relationship is because even though the perfumers at L'Occitane are good at creating these scents, the chemists at the company don't seem to be able to deliver when it comes to making the scents last. And this is the biggest issue with the scent...it just falls off a cliff, barely managing to make it to 3 hours on my wrist, and that is without facing any harsh soaps.

It isn't the only white floral to be like this, but even among white florals, it has weaker lasting power than the likes of J'Adore (Dior), or Jasmin Noir and Mon Jasmin Noir (both from Bvlgari). Note that I'm not penalising it for lack of projection here; white florals don't normally project far away from the wearer. The difference is, compared to its peers in white florals, Jasmin & Bergamote doesn't last as long either.

Ratings:
3.5/5...Subtle, neutral, unobtrusive, versatile. Decently priced, but lasting power could be better.

Prices:
RRP: AU$85 for 75ml (only size sold)

UVP: 75ml $1.13/ml
Click for more information on UVP

Stockists: L'Occitane stores, L'Occitane website, L'Occitane concession counters inside major department stores (not all).