Clive Christian — Jump Up And Kiss Me Hedonistic (2021)
Essence
A lush, syrupy black cherry wrapped in smoky tobacco, leather and resinous labdanum - Clive Christian’s most acclaimed and “addictive” modern release, and for many the one fragrance from the house that justifies its eye-watering price. The 2021 version is a reissue (in new 50 ml bottles) of a 2017 limited edition from the Addictive Arts collection, composed by Julie Pluchet, themed loosely on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream - “a story of ecstatic enjoyment and hedonistic reckless abandonment.
Scent Profile
The opening is “lush and juicy but not synthetic feeling or especially sweet” - a rich black cherry led alongside bright grapefruit, bergamot, mandarin and neroli, with bitter mate tea and clary sage adding an herbal-green twist that keeps the fruit from going candied. This cherry is the selling point: “the first cherry fragrance I’ve actually properly enjoyed. Many of the others have a latexy feel that goes in a cough mixture sort of direction but this is silky smooth and incredibly sexy. The heart introduces a dry, smoky tobacco - Clive Christian’s own copy describes “sweet nuances of maple, caramel, and hints of violet, rose, and whiskey” - woven through jasmine, orris and papyrus, all so finely blended that wearers find individual notes “surprisingly hard to pick out because they are so well folded into each other. The base is a warm oriental-woody construction: amber, smoky leather, resinous labdanum (creating a “leather-spicy accord”), softened with tonka and vanilla over sandalwood, cashmere wood, musk and a touch of moss/patchouli/vetiver. The arc settles into an “earthy amberwood retaining some of the sweetness,” elegant and smooth, never harsh or cloying to its admirers.
Performance
Strong, as befits a 25% parfum, though not universally agreed. Classifies both projection and longevity as “above-average,” and enthusiasts report all-day performance and compliment-getting sillage - one wearer “put it on at 7am worked all day. Got home around 9pm and the scent was still on me. The detractor camp (notably on the older 2017 entry) reports the opposite on their skin: “Longevity is a joke as is projection,” and “it doesn’t go above arm’s length.
Wearing Context
Primarily a fall/winter and evening fragrance - its cherry-tobacco-leather richness is built for cool weather and “nights out,” repeatedly called a “dumb reach for nights out [that] will garner compliments. That said, the citrus opening and overall smoothness give it some warm-weather flexibility: one reviewer noted “probably you can wear this also in summer thanks to the citrus opening and its smoothness, just don’t overspray. Genuinely unisex, leaning slightly masculine. Its complexity makes it more of a statement/occasion scent than an everyday wear.
Comparisons & DNA
Initio Side Effect: the most-cited comparison. Verdict: Hedonistic is “Side Effect without the saffron and hedione” - “heavier on the cherry and slightly more woody,” and to its fans “a more polished, higher quality and deeper version of everything else out there. Detractors who dislike Side Effect find Hedonistic too close to warrant the price gap. Tom Ford Lost Cherry: explicitly rejected as a true match by the most detailed reviewer - Lost Cherry is “utterly linear and boring cherry,” whereas Hedonistic is far more complex. Clive Christian Blonde Amber (C for Men/Blonde Amber): repeatedly invoked as the in-house relative - Hedonistic reads “like Blonde Amber infused with smoky leather, a little less gourmand,” with Blonde Amber being creamier/whiter and Hedonistic the darker cherry-vanilla-leather take. Also mentioned: Mancera/Montale-style cherry-amber DNA at a fraction of the cost, which is the value critique leveled at it.
Reception
Among the most praised fragrances in the Clive Christian lineup - “one of the most praised blends in the market,” and frequently a collector’s top-three even alongside Roja, Creed and MFK. Admirers love the smooth, non-synthetic cherry, the complexity, and the luxury blending. But it’s also a flashpoint for the house’s two recurring criticisms: (1) price vs. Uniqueness - “it doesn’t really present something unique enough to warrant the high price compared to other scents with a similar DNA”; and (2) a vocal minority who call it a dud, with one reviewer launching an unusually personal attack on perfumer Julie Pluchet’s experience and calling it “an absolute dud” with cloying sweetness and poor performance. The broader backlash frames Clive Christian’s Addictive Arts era as a “department store brand flanker strategy” at indefensible prices.
Versions & Reformulation
This is the crux of this specific catalog entry. Jump Up And Kiss Me Hedonistic exists in two releases: the 2017 original limited edition (Addictive Arts, in larger bottles), and the 2021 reissue in new 50 ml bottles - both composed by Julie Pluchet. Per reviewer who has tracked it: “Hedonistic - Julie Pluchet - first 2017, then 2021 in a new bottle. Whether the juice was meaningfully reformulated between the two is not firmly documented; one owner of both the 50 ml and 75 ml stated “they are the exact same juice.
Acquisition Notes
Ultra-premium - Clive Christian is “sickeningly expensive,” among the priciest niche houses, and Hedonistic is no exception (full bottles run several hundred dollars; secondhand 75 ml bottles are sought after). Available in 50 ml (the 2021 reissue) and 75 ml; owners confirm the two sizes are the same juice. Sold through Clive Christian boutiques, Neiman Marcus, and authorized niche retailers; samples and decants are the prudent entry given the cost. Because of the price and the polarized opinion, sampling is strongly advised.
Notable Facts & Lore
- The lineage is the key piece of lore.
- Clive Christian acquired the historic Crown Perfumery Company in 1999 - established in 1872, the year Queen Victoria “granted the use of the image of her crown on the perfume bottles,” making it the only house ever permitted to use her crown - and relaunched it as Clive Christian Perfume in 2001.
- The house is behind “No.
- 1,“ whose No.
- 1 Passant Guardant flacon was “officially recognised as ‘The World’s Most Expensive Perfume’” by Guinness World Records.