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I know there are a few of you out there who gripe when you see Christmas decorations in November. You believe that only elves should wear the color combo of green and red. Perhaps you think that the Starbucks holiday drinks are too sweet. Maybe you don’t celebrate Christmas. You know in your heart that Thanksgiving is a better holiday, and you aren’t sure why every woodsy scent smells like you hugged a pine tree.
Jo Malone’s Hinoki & Cedarwood fragrance wasn’t specifically formulated for Christmas haters, but it’s perfect for those who hold any modicum of a Grinch in your heart. While it’s true that most woodsy perfumes do smell like a forest mixed with a crackling fire, I assure you, this is not one of them. A special type of cypress native to Japan, hinoki smells herbaceous, green, and cedar-like. It has become an It ingredient in perfume, popping up in bath products like Nécessaire’s Hinoki body wash and Comme des Garçons’s 01 fragrance.
Jo Malone London Hinoki & Cedarwood Cologne Intense
This particular scent distinguishes itself from all those other woodsy or hinoki aromas with what the brand calls a “clean sexy” accord. “I just made that [phrase] up,” Celine Roux, global head of fragrance at Jo Malone London, confides to me, when trying to describe what makes Hinoki & Cedarwood special. Even though Roux improvised on the spot, perfumer Anne Flipo agreed that her categorization was spot-on. “We decided to work on a fresh, clean accord to add to the hinoki, to make the top note much more evident, fizzy, fresh, and brilliant,” she says.
Inspired by the art of forest bathing and hinoki forests in Japan, Roux wanted to the scent to have a calming, yet invigorating effect. I smelled the vision. If there was a family tree for woodsy scents, this perfume would be a very distant cousin to the Irish Spring soap bar, with that same sort of green freshness, and a touch of zest. This perfume smells bright and earthy, with a powdery, smoky, blanketing element that allows it to linger. With its touch of patchouli and spices like cinnamon and glove, there’s a creamy and toasted feel to the scent, like sitting by a warm fire. Just imagine a perfume for cashmere sweaters, as opposed to ugly Christmas knits.
Kathleen Hou is the Beauty Director of ELLE, responsible for overseeing beauty coverage across print and digital. Previously, she held the same title at New York Magazine’s The Cut. She’s appeared in publications such as The New York Times Magazine, Vogue India, Forbes, and Allure. She was also a co-founder of Donate Beauty, a grassroots beauty donation project started during the COVID-19 crisis, which donated over 500,000 products to over 30,000 healthcare workers across 500-plus hospitals.