Blackberry & Bay

The Verdict

Jo Malone London's Blackberry & Bay, released in 2012 and created by Fabrice Pellegrin, is a fragrance that captures something genuinely difficult to bottle: the experience of picking wild blackberries from an English hedgerow on a late summer afternoon. The fragrance community widely praises its naturalistic approach and elegant simplicity, even as they lament the fleeting nature of its performance.

This is a fragrance that inspires real affection. Reviewers across multiple platforms describe it with warmth and nostalgia, connecting it to childhood memories of berry-picking and walks through the countryside. Its appeal is immediate and broad, transcending gender despite its marketing toward women.

What It Smells Like

The opening delivers a burst of tart, realistic blackberry that avoids the synthetic sweetness that plagues many fruity fragrances. This is not candy blackberry but rather the slightly sour, deeply fruity character of actual wild berries. Grapefruit adds a citrus brightness that lifts the fruit note and prevents it from becoming heavy.

Almost immediately, bay leaf enters with a herbal, slightly spicy quality that gives the fragrance its green backbone. This interplay between the dark fruit and the aromatic leaf is the composition's defining characteristic, creating a tension between sweetness and sharpness that remains engaging throughout. Vetiver and cedar provide a quiet woody depth in the base, grounding the brighter elements with earthy warmth. The overall effect is of something dignified and tastefully restrained.

When to Wear It

Blackberry & Bay thrives during the transition between summer and autumn, when warm days begin to cool and the first leaves start to turn. Late summer evenings and early autumn mornings are its ideal setting. Daytime wear is most appropriate given its gentle projection, and outdoor settings allow the fragrance to interact beautifully with fresh air.

Given its modest performance, it works well for shorter occasions: brunch dates, afternoon teas, garden parties, and casual outings where intimacy rather than announcement is the goal. It also layers exceptionally well with other Jo Malone fragrances, a deliberate design feature of the house.

Longevity & Projection

This is the fragrance's Achilles heel. As a cologne concentration, Blackberry & Bay consistently disappoints in the performance department. Community consensus places longevity anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours, with many reviewers reporting it becomes a true skin scent within the first hour. Sillage is intimate at best, barely detectable to others after the opening minutes. Some users find that warmer weather and well-moisturized skin improve performance, but even under ideal conditions, this is not a fragrance that projects.

The Community Says

On Fragrantica, Blackberry & Bay earns praise for its scent quality but consistently low marks for longevity and sillage. The Fragrantica community rates its longevity at just 2.6 out of 5 and sillage at 1.64 out of 4. Despite this, the fragrance maintains devoted fans who accept the performance trade-off for the quality of the scent itself. Basenotes reviewers echo similar sentiments, calling it refined and tasteful while noting that reapplication is essentially mandatory.

Who Should Buy This

Blackberry & Bay is ideal for those who prioritize scent quality and naturalistic compositions over brute performance. Jo Malone enthusiasts who enjoy layering will find it an excellent building block. Those who appreciate understated, close-to-skin fragrances rather than room-filling sillage bombs will be well served. However, anyone who considers longevity a dealbreaker should sample extensively before committing to the full price.

The Bottom Line

Jo Malone Blackberry & Bay is a beautifully composed fruity-green fragrance that captures an authentic sense of place and season, earning devoted admirers despite its frustratingly short longevity.