ormonde jayne woman review
Ormonde Jane Woman is a very interesting fragrance; arresting, powerful, and very unique. It is a very intriguing blend of what I would categorize as ‘dusty’ smells—things that are not ‘powdery’ per se, but somehow feel dry and crumbly, as if the molecules are falling apart into little particles as they rise into the air. This is an unscientific way to describe the feeling I get when I smell violet, cedar, sandalwood, and some vetivers. Ormonde Jayne woman brings all of these together in one mysterious little fragrance, with the addition of ‘pure hemlock absolute’ which here sort of functions as a wild card, with a certain woodiness and round sweetness to it that somehow perfectly complements all the dusky dusty smells.
The pepper and cardamom open up with spicy strangeness this unusual yet magnetic fragrance, then give way to a mildewy powderyness that is the heart of the fragrance (and I mean mildewy in the best possible way—it is not rotten smelling, but definitely ‘decadent’ in a dark powdery sort of way). Behind this dusky powdery cord lies a deep dry woody vista stretching into the horizon as far as the eye can see in this dark olfactory nigh
I see this as an impeccably-crafted, low-level, rather gothic scent, suggesting secret assignations in the garden, dusky old books, and raven-haired beauties clad in white nightgowns on a starless night. I love it for its dark splendor, as well as its absolute uniqueness.
The only downside is that Ormonde Jayne Woman dries down very quickly to a rather straightforward vanillic feminine with dashes of woody vetiver—I found myself wanting it to stay strange longer—but it quickly becomes a sort of bronzy, dusky Shalimar type, which is very appealing, but not what I’d expect from this at all…
full disclosure: I received samples to review from Ormonde Jayne perfumes, but this has not influenced my review, of course!
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CREDITS:
An architectural capriccio with figures amongst ruins under a stormy night sky by Leonardo Coccorante, and Waterhouse’s Magic Circle courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
I love Ormonde Woman - it's so deliciously mysterious. Ormonde Man is also good (on women), and has a drydown you might prefer to OW. Lovely post. x
ReplyDeleteSaturday night, at my friend F's house, I was able to sniff OW and I really liked it! I also really enjoyed Osmanthus (sp?)
ReplyDeleteHmm, I clearly need to figure out how to stop things like that first comment from happening. How lame.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Trefusis,
I love O Man so much and am looking forward to posting on it soon! Welcome, btw!
BF, Glad you liked it too! I'm not surprised;-)
I haven't smelled Osmanthus yet, but it's in my lineup, so soon....
Hi LBV - my favourite OJ is Tiare. I love it and am permanently toying with the idea of buying a bottle. Haven't bought one so far.
ReplyDeleteThat's in my lineup too...Looking so much forward to sniffing it as well. Soon.
ReplyDeleteOh my..I loved O.J. so much, that I almost got a FB but then , given time , I realized that it was not for me in the end. Because at the end was a big ol' puddle of soapy synthetic blah. I love perfumes changes from the intial blasts of lovely to the drydowns of heaven in all sorts of fragrances but O.J. failed me. The beginning is still enchanting for me but I feel like Lil' Red Riding Hood in the deep , dark forest skipping along unaware until I see the Wolf is coming at me with a bar of soap and he wants to take me to a chemical factory instead of G-Ma's house. :P
ReplyDeleteSorry about the rambling, I just got done with TWO root canals and I'm a tad loopy. Wearing En Passant to soothe me..it's airy,pensive scent is working.. <3 Hugs to my PPP,
Truly , Tamara
Like you, I would want the strangeness to last. Perhaps because so many perfumes smell similar, it's a special treat to run across something that is different, crumbly, 'dusty,' as you say. Thanks for the great review - I really want to try this one!
ReplyDeleteJosephine, maybe it would last for you...who's to say! Thanks for the kind words--hope you get to try it soon!
ReplyDeleteTamara, sorry about the chemical soap and the big bad wolf (um, I might be having nightmares about that sequence of images tonight, LOL)
Hope you can enjoy the loopiness and then sleep off the pain of the root canals.....
It's so interesting how perfumes react on different skin. Ormonde Woman isn't dusty or vanillic on me at all, but mostly hemlock and violets with a hint of creamy woodiness underneath from beginning to drydown. I've never smelled anything else quite like it, which is why I'll probably always have a bottle on hand, even if I don't reach for it more than once every few weeks.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's very nice! That is what I wanted it to do to me. I am glad you love it so; it clearly deserves it!
ReplyDelete