New Perfume Review Molton Brown Muddled Plum- Plum Rum Pum Pum

As I receive the holiday fragrances towards the end of every year there is a reliance on the spices of the season with some fir thrown in. It is why the ones which choose a different route capture my attention. Molton Brown Muddled Plum takes a left turn; for a Holiday fragrance.

Molton Brown has been building a nice fragrance collection to go along with their better-known bath and skin care products. I’ve been keeping an eye on every release because I have frequently found them to be good. The last one to catch my attention was an interesting take on an aquatic style perfume in the Spring of 2017; Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel. It was in part because the perfumer, Carla Chabert, added some nice wrinkles to an overexposed style. Mme Chabert was the perfumer for Muddled Plum which piqued my interest even before I sniffed it. This time she makes something more original.

Carla Chabert

Plum Rum is one of my favorite Holiday spirits. There is a Mason jar of plums and dark rum marinating on a shelf in my kitchen as I write this. I cook with it and I sip it throughout the festive time of the year. It is both sweet and warm. Mme Chabert also creates a heart of plum and rum in Muddled Plum it also has the same effect of the liquor mixture.

The habit of adding a wrinkle to her perfumes shows up in the top accord of Muddled Plum. A typical citrus pairing of orange and elemi is wrapped in warm filaments of saffron. It changes something sunny to a much cozier feeling. This leads to the heart where the plum and the rum arrive simultaneously. The plum rum I make has a syrupy consistency. The plum rum at the heart of Muddled Plum also has an olfactory viscosity. This is deeply fruity matched by a boozy brown sugar complement in the rum. Mme Chabert encloses it in a warm shawl of benzoin, sandalwood, and musk.

Muddled Plum has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.

I like Muddled Plum because it captures the fun of the Holidays without resorting to opening the spice cabinet. It feels as cozy as a sip of plum rum liqueur while watching a fire. If you’re looking for a different Holiday fragrance experience go check out Muddled Plum and join me in singing “plum rum pum pum”.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Molton Brown.

–Mark Behnke