Ormonde Woman (shown above) was the first fragrance released by London-based niche house Ormonde Jayne, and features notes of cardamom, coriander, grass oil, black hemlock, violet, jasmine absolute, vetiver, cedar, amber and sandalwood. If you are wondering what black hemlock is, see here.

Of all of the Ormonde Jayne fragrances I have reviewed so far, Ormonde Woman is the hardest to capture in words. It is perhaps even more unusual than Champaca, although I would venture to guess that Ormonde has a wider audience. The top notes are very spicy and rich, slightly sweet, and almost foody. As the spices calm, the grass oil lends a green, almost herbal edge to the woods and the earthiness of the vetiver…

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For anyone happening by midstream, this week I am featuring the fragrances of the London boutique Ormonde Jayne. Earlier this week, I posted an interview with Linda Pilkington, Ormonde Jayne’s founder and owner. Today’s fragrance is Frangipani Absolute, and the notes are linden blossom, magnolia, lime peel, white frangipani, jasmine, rose, tuberose, water lilies, plum, green orchid oil, amber, musk, cedar and vanilla. Frangipani, by the way, is also known as plumeria, or sometimes West Indian jasmine, although it is not related to the jasmine family.

When my set of samples arrived from Ormonde Jayne way back in December of 2003, Frangipani Absolute was the last fragrance I tested. At that time, I had not yet developed much of a taste for floral scents, and the tuberose alone was enough to frighten me off. As it turned out, the Frangipani was far and away my favorite of the line…

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Champaca was one of my early favorites from the Ormonde Jayne line. According to the Ormonde Jayne website, the champaca flower is related to the magnolia. The champaca tree is also called the “Joy perfume tree”, as it is said to be one of the primary notes used in Jean Patou Joy. It is also found in Christian Dior J’Adore, and is one of the ingredients used to make Nag Champa incense. The notes for Ormonde Jayne’s Champaca fragrance are neroli, pink pepper, bamboo, champaca, freesia, basmati, myrrh, green tea, and musk.

Champaca starts with dry neroli and just a touch of pepper. After a few minutes, it smells almost eerily like basmati rice cooking on the stove, and in that sense, it is a foody fragrance, but it is far from the heavy, dessert-like fragrances that the term “gourmand” usually calls to mind…

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