Bold, robust and exotic, Jungle L’Elephant by Kenzo is an oriental gourmand scent of the non-edible foodie variety. Holy Moly, I’m talking about spicy, fruity sweetness at it’s most glorious. The nose behind Jungle L’Elephant is none other than Dominique Ropion. There’s no question that this belongs right up there with his best creations, along with Frederic Malle Carnal Flower and Givenchy Amarige.
If you’re looking for a nice floral scent this isn’t it. Supposedly it contains ylang-ylang but this doesn’t smell at all floral to my nose. What I register from this are delicious spicy smells of cinnamon, cumin, clove and cardamom along with dried fruits. I’m thinking plums and mango possibly. If this sounds revolting I get it but trust me it isn’t! There’s also some vanilla and cashmeran present along with warm amber and patchouli. It has a warm cozy quality which should be at odds with the spiciness but isn’t.
Jungle L’Elephant reminds me of Asian spice market meets Christmas.
After about an hour the energetic spicy intensity dies down and there’s a halo of amber and vanilla that linger and add to it’s richness. As you’d expect, this is an extremely long lasting scent and will envelope you for at least a day — a little goes a very long way. The sillage is also huge.
What I love about Jungle L’Elephant is that I’ve never smelled anything remotely like it. Granted there may be some out there but I’ve never personally come across any. To me this really unique and interesting. And I tend to stay away from many gourmand scents because they tend to either give me a headache or make me feel nauseous.
There are few things that I get more excited about than a new scent experience. If you also consider yourself a scent adventurer, put on your helmet and head to the wilderness to hunt up some Kenzo Jungle L’Elephant. It may never be a crowd pleaser, but if you love it you will really love it. And if you are one of the smitten ones you should know that it’s highly addictive. ?
Though not widely available at stores, Jungle L’Elephant can be purchased on Amazon or on websites like FragranceNet.com. A 1.7 oz bottle costs around $50.
