Jo Malone London released Incense & Cedrat in 2015 as part of its Cologne Intense line, composed by Marie Salamagne. The name tells you most of what you need to know: this is a citrus fragrance built around cedrat, the thick-skinned citron, sitting on a frame of resin and incense. It has since been quietly retired, and bottles now change hands on the secondary market for well above the original counter price. Here is how it wears and whether the available alternative covers the experience.
What Does Jo Malone Incense & Cedrat Smell Like?
The opening is bright but never sharp. Cedrat and lemon give a pulpy, slightly bitter citrus peel effect rather than sugary juice, and pepper adds a dry sparkle that keeps it from reading like a cleaning product. Within the first half hour the citrus recedes and the heart takes over: frankincense and elemi produce a soft, resinous smoke that stays near a smoldering ember instead of a full church interior. Labdanum bridges into a drydown of benzoin, patchouli, and cypress, landing warm, faintly sweet, and balsamic. Compared with the rest of Jo Malone’s catalog, which leans fresh and sheer, this is one of their deepest and most atmospheric releases, yet it remains polite and easy to wear.
Performance
The Cologne Intense label signals a higher oil concentration than the standard colognes, but the format still behaves like a cologne. Community consensus puts wear time between four and eight hours depending on skin, with five to six hours being typical. Projection is moderate for the first couple of hours before settling into a close skin scent. In cool, dry air it holds its shape noticeably better than in heat and humidity, where the incense turns more diffuse and the whole composition thins out. The most common complaint is exactly this: for a fragrance that retailed around $120 to $180, many buyers expected more staying power. Applying it to clothing along with pulse points helps it reach the evening mark.
Best Clone Or Alternative
Dua Fragrances makes Citrus Incense, an explicit inspired-by release the brand lists as an homage to Incense & Cedrat. At $36 for 34ml of extrait strength, it mirrors the shared note stack of Sicilian lemon, pepper, elemi resin, frankincense, labdanum, and benzoin. Realistic similarity sits around 85 percent. The extrait concentration can actually push longevity past the original, though some wearers find Dua’s blends slightly rougher around the edges, and stock comes and goes, so expect occasional sold-out stretches. Since genuine bottles now run roughly $125 to $250 on resale sites, Citrus Incense is the sensible starting point unless you collect the original line. What the Jo Malone does better is refinement: the transitions are smoother, the cypress adds a dry woods touch the clone underplays, and the bottle suits a dresser rather than a dropper drawer.
When To Wear It
This is a cool-weather fragrance. Fall and winter are its natural habitat, and mild spring days work too, especially mornings and evenings. It suits office settings, formal events, and dinner, projecting just enough to register without filling a room. In hot, humid summer weather it loses structure quickly, so save it for the other three seasons.
Who Should Buy It
Anyone who loves citrus paired with resin will find few fragrances handle the combination this cleanly. It also suits people who found austere incense scents like Avignon too severe and want something warmer and more approachable. If you missed it during its retail run, the Dua clone lets you test the idea cheaply before committing to a resale purchase.
Who Should Skip It
If you need heavy projection or twelve-hour endurance, look elsewhere. Wearers in year-round hot climates will get limited use from it. And if sweet amber bases bother you, the benzoin drydown may read as too cozy for your taste.
Final Verdict
Incense & Cedrat earned its small following honestly. Bitter citron over gentle frankincense is a distinctive, wearable pairing, held back mainly by modest longevity and a price that climbed after discontinuation. As a fragrance it lands around a 6.5 out of 10 overall: genuinely good, situational, and no longer practical to buy blind. Try Dua Citrus Incense first. If the style clicks and you want the smoother original, the resale hunt becomes an easier decision.