No.486 Blackberry & Bay

No.486 opens on a zingy, slightly tart grapefruit note layered with soft white flowers, giving a fresh, green first impression close to a freshly mown lawn - a strong echo of Jo Malone's original. Blackberry moves in through the heart, jammy and dark without becoming syrupy, while bay leaf adds a herbal, slightly peppery lift that keeps the fruit from feeling too sweet. This blackberry-bay pairing is the fragrance's most convincing resemblance to the designer original, capturing its light, unfussy character well. The base settles into vetiver and cedar, offering a clean, woody finish that is a touch more simple and one-dimensional than Jo Malone's original, which carries a bit more depth and fruity-green interplay through the drydown. Performance is modest, as expected from a cologne-style fragrance - it sits close to the skin after the first hour and doesn't project much beyond arm's length, mirroring the original's famously light, layerable design rather than working against it. A solid everyday spring or summer fragrance for anyone who likes Jo Malone's understated British-countryside aesthetic without the price tag.