Sampaguita (Scent Review: Jo Malone Orange Blossom)

I keep on forgetting that orange blossom is one of my favorite notes. I keep on forgetting that Jo Malone does really stellar perfumes. So it is not a surprise that I really have ignored Jo Malone's Orange Blossom Cologne. I shouldn't have. I randomly sampled this a couple of months back and loved it - it was one of those "unforgettable scent" moments that we all have once in a while. You spritz something, and it just grabs you and holds you hostage. I couldn't stop thinking about it, and when my sister had the opportunity to pass by Heathrow Airport (they have the best Jo Malone deals there, by the way) I asked her to pick this up for me. I've worn it past couple of days and it's glorious. It's a very soft orange blossom scent - there's that bitterness and tartness to it, but it is certainly less abrasive than, say, Uncle Serge's Fleur D'Oranger, and less abstract than Annick Goutal's watery Neroli. The heart of the scent is really lovely, thanks to an addition of a jasmine note that's full and lovely-indolic. After wearing it, I realized that the jasmine accord here is reminiscent of the jasmine of my youth - sampaguita. No wonder this scent spoke to me - the sampaguita flower is very close to my heart. We used to put it on all  the "santos" in our house. Linda Pilkington has a Sampaguita scent, but I found it very dissimilar to the real sampaguita flower. This scent comes closer. My one complaint - since this is under the cologne line, it is kinda fleeting. While it does moderate projection, the longevity is on the short side.