CREED Jasmal

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Do you think Elizabeth Barrett Browning was really talking about a fragrance? Her much-analyzed sonnet was about love, or God, or all aspects of human existence. What do I think about when I smell CREED Jasmal ($225 or $365)? The opening lines from this famous poem! This is one of the truest jasmine fragrances I have ever worn.

Jasmine, a natural floral essence coveted for centuries, takes on a fresh twist in the uniquely stylish blend called Jasmal. In order to extract the maximum amount of oil for this fragrance, jasmine flowers are picked when they are the most fragrant: before dawn. Jasmine oil is among the most expensive essences in the world, and the largest size of Jasmal I purchased wasn't inexpensive - but I had to have it after testing a sample made for me.

For all of the complexity of the experience of wearing jasmine, Jasmal is a simple fragrance in a sense. It's not loaded with distracting notes.

• Top Notes: Bergamot
• Middle Notes: Italian and Moroccan jasmine
• Base Notes: Ambergris, Galbanum

The jasmine in it is prominent - and divine for any jasmine lover. Jasmal is a seductive floral scent. Jasmal, made from Italian and Moroccan-grown jasmine flowers, has an intriguing green aspect derived from the leaves and vines of this exotic plant. The greening of jasmine makes this fragrance unique in my fragrance collection.

This isn't a new fragrance, nor is the storied House of CREED a new company. Based in Paris, CREED is the world's only dynastic, privately held luxury fragrance company, founded in 1760, and passed from father to son since then, serving royal houses and the discerning public for 249 years. In recognition of CREED's excellence, a number of European monarchs have honored CREED with royal crests.

Jasmal was originally created in 1959 as a private fragrance and introduced to the public in 2001. I'm not quite sure how I spent the last nine years without it, but when I tried it, I had to have it. I bought the largest size - so great is my love!

I'm on a CREED roll, having recently discovered, with the help of CREED super-specialist and passionate Francesca Camacho at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria, a "set" of CREED fragrances that excite me. I have lots more to tell you. For now, if you love jasmine in all its glory - heady, rich, noctural, and simultaneously calming and intoxicating - you will love Jasmal. It smells like the real thing. Imagine a warm, humid, languid evening, somewhere in the Deep South (maybe even Bermuda). You're relaxing in a garden with the scent of night-blooming jasmine all around you. You are lulled into a state of sublime calmness, happiness really, simultaneously a detached observer of the activities of the nocturnal hummingbirds and moths who have sought out your retreat and at one with nature, intoxicated by the night-blooming jasmine. It's a scent so powerful that you've slipped into a meditative state, letting your cares go and appreciating the fragrant moment. That's Jasmal.

Seek it out! Wear it - and make sure to put some on your arm. You will find your nose reflexively gravitating for a whiff, like a hummingbird snatching some nectar. It will only take a second. It will happen naturally. Let it go! This scent will last on your skin all day - or all night.

Those who lived in Jasmal before me include Natalie Wood, Whitney Houston, Goldie Hawn, Naomi Campbell, and Sarah Jessica Parker. They were all in on the secret. I'm in great company, although I wonder if any of them turned to Jasmal for the peace it inspires.

I purchased mine at Neiman Marcus. You can find it there or at CREED's Web site. If you would like to speak with someone about CREED, I wholeheartedly recommend Francesca. Tell her about yourself - your fragrance likes and dislikes - and she will recommend a CREED fragrance that could be your next "signature" scent. She is fab...u...lous.

Photos courtesy of CREED and Wikipedia