If you are looking for a fragrance that relies solely on the
merit of its scent rather than the hint of a rich and beautiful lifestyle so many
perfume adverts now entice us with, then London Perfumery Ormande Jayne is your
man.
Named partly after the terrace where Linda Jayne Pilkington set
up her own home as a perfume lab, the ingredients used are quality oils and
absolutes sourced worldwide, some still not widely used in the Western perfume
industry.
The first of the three perfumes for men Linda created is:
Ormonde Man
Top notes: Juniper berry, bergamot, pink pepper, cardamom
and coriander seeds
Heart: Oudh and black hemlock
Base: Vetiver, cedar, sandalwood and musk
It’s as though all the top notes are jumping around to grab
your attention saying ‘Smell me! Smell me!’ But then they seem to exhaust
themselves and settle down and let the smooth sweet heart blend take over.
It is the infusion of Oudh oil which gives Ormonde Man its distinctive
sweet woody aromatic fragrance. Oudh is
usually an acquired taste but like all acquired tastes, once you’ve acquired it
you’ll be hooked. It’s definitely a smooth
operator.
Oudh has always been highly valued in the Oriental and
Arabic cultures and when Ormonde man was launched in Nov 2004, it was one of
the ingredients not widely used in the West.
But now it’s all the rage!
Gentlemen - A note of warning! Keep your Ormonde Man under
lock and key unless you don’t mind sharing. This is a fragrance the ladies like
to wear too, probably because it doesn’t smell too woody or citrus like your
average men’s fragrance.
Ormonde Man is available in eau de parfum (50ml £70),
hydrating bath & shower crème (200ml £28), essential bathing oil (100ml £49),
replenishing body lotion (200ml £35), travel kit ( 4x10ml vials £56) and large multi wick scented candles with
silver lid and base. (100hrs burning time £184)
Isfarkand – a
name derived from a mixture of the cities of Isfahan in Iran and Samarkand in
Uzbekistan. This cologne based fragrance was launched in 2006 and in the same
year was voted the best scent by Wallpaper.
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| Travel kit |
Top notes: Lime, mandarin and bergamot
Heart: Pink Pepper
Base: Cedar, vetiver and moss.
This one is a fast worker! The blast of top citrus notes
quickly makes way for the highly pink peppery heart notes. The peppery scent
lingers alone before blending with the richer damp moss notes, the earthy
vetiver and the drier cedar notes. As it
settles it becomes soft and powdery with the peppery notes fading in to the
background, whilst the dry cedar wood makes a lasting impression.
Available in the following: eau de parfum (50ml £70), travel kit (4x10ml vials£56) and
shampoo & body wash (temporarily out of stock)
Zizan is the
latest of the men’s fragrances, again cologne based fragrance and launched in
Nov 2009
Top notes: Sicilian lime, lemon, bergamot, clary, sage, pink
pepper and juniper berry.
Heart: Bay, violet and jasmine
Base: Vetiver, cedar, musk and amber
This zingy fragrance is grounded by the earthy aroma of three
types of vetiver, hence the fragrance’s name Zizan which was taken from the Latin
word zizanoide meaning vetiver.
Zizan was launched as
a result of many customers asking for a vetiver based fragrance similar to Eau
de Sauvage. Vetiver is a perennial grass native to India but is now also cultivated
in Haiti, Reunion and Java. The oil distilled from its roots is used in
perfumes. The aroma is deep, sweet, woody and earthy.
This one has stamina! The strong citrus top notes are there
for the long haul, lingering with the heart notes before they slowly mellow and
allow the sweeter base notes to take centre stage.
This is probably the strongest and longer lasting of all the
three fragrances.
Zizan is available in eau de parfum (50ml £70) and travel kit (4 x 10ml vials £56)
Since leaving her humble yet beautifully scented home, Linda
now owns two London boutiques with striking black lacquered interiors and her
perfumes are also available from the opulent Harrods Perfume Hall.
However some
things haven’t changed - each product is still created by Linda and the
bottling and packaging is still by hand but now in her British workshop rather
than in her home.
Ormonde Jayne’s flagship boutique is at 12 The Royal Arcade
and her new and larger store at 192 Pavillion Rd just off Sloane Square. For more information check out the website: www.ormondejayne.com
