Ginger Biscuit
Jo Malone London (2013)

This is an autumn/winter scent in my book. I can’t imagine wearing it in the summer heat.

Ginger Biscuit is as spicy and foody as the name suggests. It is an easy reach for me in the cooler months and makes me feel warm and contented.

A sweet & spicy little number with a whiff of ginger over a biscuit-y base, just as the name suggests. A little while later there's a little praline & vanilla, before the tonka takes over & dominates the drydown. lt's somehow thinner & less rich than l was expecting, the projection is low to moderate, & six hours in it's very close to the skin.
l ordered a decant of this one because l couldn't resist boarding the hype train, & it sounded like something l would love. l should have realised that the fact it's labelled as a "cologne" meant it wouldn't pack a punch, & indeed l think that's a problem generally with this house, which is why l usually steer clear of it. l'll enjoy spraying this one liberally over the festive season, & it'll make a pleasant work scent, but l'm glad l didn't blind buy a bottle.

I have it side by side with CSP's Matin Calan (discontinued at one time, to my dismay) and they are almost identical in the drydown. Ginger Biscuit is lighter and has a tonka note so it goes ever so slightly more soft--the barest trace of powder.

"spiced with ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Butter-crumbly with roasted hazelnuts and the warmth of tonka bean and vanilla."

I don't find the spice notes in Ginger Biscuit, and I've hyperventilated trying to find hazelnuts. In the top and early heart, it may have more roundness, and a softness that hints at powder. Ginger Biscuit is subtle and light compared to Matin Calan. Matin Calan is brighter and stronger.

Matin Calan is not back in our directory by the search function so I Googled it for published notes. Only to find it back for sale! I ordered a back up bottle within one minute.

Between the two, I would choose Matin Calin. In a heartbeat.

Top Notes: Toffee, Milk
Heart Notes: Candy sugar
Base Notes: Vanilla pod, Sandalwood

Ginger Biscuit is still a very nice fragrance, and a bit warmer and rounded in a very subtle way. Very light.

What strikes me first is the caramel, the cinnamon and the hazelnut. A pleasant trio, with the hazelnut being dominant on me; a hazelnut that is crafted well indeed.

In the drydown I find the ginger, which is discreet and more in the background and more of an accompaniment than playing the solo fiddle. Whiffs of a faint oak note come and go.
There is a good tonka impression developing too, especially in the later stages, some vanilla also, and a restrained spiciness due to a nutmeg impression that adds additional depth to the whole.

I get moderate sillage, good projection, and a very good ten hours of longevity on my skin.

Quite a bright autumn scent for warmer days with a gourmand feeling towards the end. The ginger is maybe a bit too bland in me, and sone ingredients are not particularly vivid, but overall this a respectable composition. 3/5.

Ginger Biscuit feels to me more like a feminine scent, and I had a hard time trying to connect with it as a man even with all edible fragrance notes within.

(It goes to show that a person's perception ultimately will overshadow his or her expectations and desires of a scent, no matter what the notes are; it's all in how the scent is crafted, as well as skin chemistry, environmental influences, knowing how other's respond to what they smell on you, quality / age of the fragrance, etc. etc.).

Anyhow...Jo Malone's "Sugar & Spice Collection" outing of Ginger Biscuit does come across as delicious, nicely constructed with enticing notes that create a layered, delectable natural experience. It's like a warm, buttery sweet biscuit kissed with lovely nutmeg and ginger spice, with caramel and vanilla being two of the most dominant notes.

Needs to be experienced to be understood and believed, then you can decide if THIS is something you'd like to smell like and experience for hours at a time as a bona fide gourmand scent.

I love this cologne, i tracked down the second last bottle in London before it sold out and i'm hoping it becomes a permanent fixture. It is initially warm, sweet and spicy vanilla which wears to a rich spicy hot milk and finally fades to sweet ginger. Comforting, sexy and long lasting this is not for the faint hearted. For those who like Thierry Muglers Angel, Hypnotic Poison and anything vanilla.