Smells like Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt: Sea Sage body butter

Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt smells of ambrette seeds, sea salt and sage. Sea Sage is our take on that profile, with sea salt, sage and grapefruit, in a pheromone-infused body butter at $25 a jar.

Which Wood Sage and Sea Salt is it?

Jo Malone London launched Wood Sage and Sea Salt in 2014 as a Cologne, and Christine Nagel is the perfumer credited with it. The house describes it as inspired by the British coast, and suggests layering its scents with each other.

The Cologne is the version we mean. Sea Sage follows its profile in our own formula, and we would not claim it matches any other Wood Sage and Sea Salt product, such as the body range.

What happens when a mineral, salty scent goes into a butter?

Sea salt and sage are dry, airy notes, and a butter gives them something soft to rest on. We add grapefruit for brightness. The result reads clean and a little windswept, close to the skin.

The formula is our own, in a shea and cocoa butter base, so it is inspired by the original and not identical to it. In a butter the scent stays close and does not carry across a room, which is why we think it suits warm days.

Where does Sea Sage fit in your week?

Warm days, any day: a walk, a market, the beach, a long lunch, a shirt dress with the sleeves pushed up. It is fresh and clean in our view, and it is not one of the two louder scents.

For a cold evening, Dark Tuberose or Crimson Amber is the better choice. Sea Sage for the day and Crimson Amber for the evening is a straightforward pair.

How do you wear it?

Apply one scoop to damp skin after a shower: neck, collarbone, chest and wrists. Most skin holds it for 12+ hours, longest when damp.

If you own a bottle of the Cologne, wear the butter first and spray over it. We have no controlled test showing the spray lasts longer, so try it and decide.

What does it cost next to a bottle?

A bottle of Wood Sage and Sea Salt costs about $325. A jar of Sea Sage is $25, about $300 less. You can also buy 2 for $43.38 or 3 for $58.08, and every order ships wrapped in a piece of a real coffee sack, with a card that says where it came from. If the scent is not right for you, there is a free scent swap within 14 days.

Obsessed is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jo Malone London.

Quick answers

• Is Sea Sage identical to Wood Sage and Sea Salt? No. It follows the profile in our own formula and base, and it adds grapefruit.
• Is Sea Sage good for work? We think so. A butter stays close to the skin, and Sea Sage is not one of our two louder scents.
• Who should skip it? Anyone who wants a warm, sweet scent. Roman Vanilla or Crimson Amber is the better pick.
• Does it work in winter? We would choose Dark Tuberose or Crimson Amber for a cold evening, but Sea Sage is fine in the daytime.

See Sea Sage body butter, or take the scent quiz if you are choosing between all six.