We review the sweet, boozy Jazz Club fragrance, a cult fave from Maison Margiela’s REPLICA perfume line.
Maison Margiela’s Replica line wants to evoke a sense of place, take us back to a memory. The fabric label of their ‘Jazz Club’ fragrance states that that destination is Brooklyn, 2013, full of ‘heady cocktails and cigars’. The label also states that this is a male fragrance, and whilst the jury we’ve asked is undecided, we definitely feel this scent is unisex given its sweet notes.
It’s definitely fresh upon first spraying, the neroli, Spanish lemon and pink peppercorn giving it a good gin-styled sweet citrus and herbaceous kick straight off the bat. The clary sage and vetiver keep the green notes continuing through the dry down but the real heart of the scent comes from the rum (we feel it’s a little more bourbon than rum, though) and tobacco (there’s the Jazz Club for you) paired with lashings of luscious vanilla. It’s the vanilla that makes us feel like this isn’t as ‘male fragrance’ as the label professes, especially when boosted by the base note of styrax, another strong vanilla accord.
It’s moody, flirty and sexy. Does it mimic a Jazz Club for us? Not quite, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The booze and tobacco notes are definitely there, but most jazz clubs we’ve visited don’t smell this appealing. It’s a scent that keeps drawing us in, however, complex enough to keep us coming back for more. It’s perhaps not as powerful as some boutique scents, but if you want something intriguing but not bombastic this is a great choice. Perhaps we’d like a little more strength and silage, but our biggest gripe is that this bottle doesn’t come with a lid. If you’re a person who likes to carry your fragrance with you this can mean it’s a tad more delicate to transport than it should be, and we’d like to see them include a lid in the packaging (not that hard really, is it).
But packaging aside, this is a smooth, sensual scent just like the music it’s inspired by. If you like sweet, boozy scents, this is for you. It’s mischievous, but with an innocent side. It’s all dim lights and smooth tunes, the cute but mysterious girl-next-door sending you a bourbon from across the bar.
What are your thoughts? Is Jazz Club by REPLICA Maison Marginal more feminine, masculine or do you think both sexes can carry this one off with equal aplomb?
Notes:
Top: Neroli, Spanish lemon, pink peppercorn
Heart: Clary sage, vetiver, rum
Base: Tobacco leaf, vanilla, styrax
Season: Summer, autumn
Destinations: New Orleans, Brooklyn, Paris, Hanoi