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On the scent of Sea Salt & Bergamot
Plunge into the story of our new sea salt-fresh cologne.
On the scent of Sea Salt & Bergamot
Some fragrances gently stroll into our scented worlds. Others meanwhile arrive like a gust of sea air that reshapes everything in its path. Wood Sage & Sea Salt firmly belongs in the latter category. When Jo Malone London first bottled that unmistakably British coastal freshness, it didn’t just create a contemporary classic, it created a cultural reference point. Suddenly, we all knew exactly what mineral air smelled like. It became the scent of outdoor escapes, of the wind-tousled British coastline, of that glorious, salty lift and fresh air that makes you breathe just a little deeper. And now, that icon has inspired a new chapter: Sea Salt & Bergamot, a fragrance that admittedly wouldn’t exist without its predecessor yet confidently swims in its own lane.
‘Today, of course, Wood Sage & Sea Salt is one of our most-loved fragrances. But it’s still amazing to me to think it all began with a simple trip I took to Cornwall,’ says Céline Roux, the Global Head Of Fragrance for Jo Malone London, taking a jaunt down memory lane. ‘Oh I loved it so much. I was mesmerised by the English coast, the roughness, the cliffs and also this idea of wild swimming…’ says the French-born Céline, a clear sense of wonder in her voice. ‘I just wanted to bottle the English coast, the cliff and the roughness of the seas. It was about walking along the coast and around the cliffs. This time around, I was like, what about we get immersed in the sea?’
‘This fragrance draws from that moment of immersion – the cold jolt, the mineral rush, the outright thrill of surrendering yourself to the water.’
And so, for Sea Salt & Bergamot, the team returned to the Cornish coastline, not to recreate the view from above but to explore what happens when you climb down the rocks and dive straight into the water. ‘I remember telling Mathilde (Bijaoui – the revered perfumer who has been the collaborator and nose on numerous Jo Malone London fragrances) that this is not really about the kind of beachy summer where it’s all sunscreen and the sun. It’s about going into the sea for different reasons. It’s about textures, the water is fresh, it is not crystal clear, the waves are moving, the temperature is not 30 degrees… It’s like the Celtic or the North Sea. It is bracing, it is raw.’
That rawness, it turns out, is the heartbeat of Sea Salt & Bergamot. Suddenly the coastline feels livelier; the air is sharper, buzzing with the energy of swimmers and surfers who meet the sea with a kind of joyous abandon. This fragrance draws from that moment of immersion – the cold jolt, the mineral rush, the outright thrill of surrendering yourself to the water. This isn’t an understated bergamot; it zings, it sparkles and its natural freshness cuts cleanly through the mineral feel at the top. Then the sea salt rises, not as a generic ocean breeze note but as something almost crunchy, like the salt left behind as skin dries in the sun. Below that, driftwood and moss notes give the cologne a soft, woody warmth. The final result is bright, modern, energising and, crucially, distinct from Wood Sage & Sea Salt while still nodding to its lineage.
Still, says Céline, it also has the kind of universal charm that transcends categories. ‘It’s very gender neutral. I have so many people around me who wear it. It’s the “crisp” you get from wearing a beautifully ironed crisp shirt. It’s also “clean” but not clean and smooth. It’s clean but with texture. And freshness.’ Freshness, of course, is a hallmark of Jo Malone London fragrances - but Céline was careful about how she achieved it here. ‘The sea salt is the starting point, the centre, so bergamot was great to use here as it is one of the citruses that brings in the freshness but not in a direct overpowering way.’
What’s particularly charming about Sea Salt & Bergamot is how naturally it slips into the wider Jo Malone London world. Consider it the spirited younger sibling; the one who jumps into cold water before anyone else, who laughs while everyone else is still tentatively inching their way in. The scent has a sense of movement and freedom that invites you to wear it whenever you need a lift, whether that’s first thing in the morning or halfway through the afternoon when you’d happily immerse yourself in a blast of coastal air in bottled form. ‘It’s invigorating and energetic,’ agrees Céline. ‘And you can wear it all year round because it’s really not the kind of summer scent that mimics laying on the beach for two hours. It’s not that kind of beach. This is the kind of beach where you just go for it, and you take the plunge.’
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