Straight after giving my December course at the London College of Fashion, I found a moment before jumping on the Eurostar to pay my first visit to Ormonde Jayne’s tiny black-lacquered shop in the Royal Arcade (God save the Bobbies – I had to ask several times for directions before getting my GPS-less tush there).
The shop was doing very brisk pre-Christmas business: at least seven sales were rung up in the half-hour I was there, mostly to men on a mission from the wife/girlfriend.
I immediately recognized the lovely, petite Linda Pilkington, identified myself and had a short, informal and off-the-record chat with her – she did tell me she had plans for expanding distribution, but not the line itself as she preferred to concentrate on selling the scents in her collection, which she is quite rightly proud of.
Thus Tiaré, the latest OJ jewel, will be the last new scent for the next two years. A new shipment had just come in – there were glitches in the tiaré absolute supply.
You could think of Tiaré as the sunny side of Linda’s sensational Ormonde Woman: a bright tropical orchard to its dark green forest. Like most Ormonde Jayne compositions (orchestrated by the German perfumer Geza Schoen if my information is correct), Tiaré is bathed in the powdery woody haze of Iso-E super and cedar which is the house signature (and sometimes seems to overwhelm the blend as the scent ages), melded with intense, narcotic salicylic notes that give it the plush texture of dense white velvet. It is this thick petal texture that sets it apart from the scents it has been compared with, namely Chanel Cristalle or the more recent Estée Lauder Private Collection Jasmine White Moss. The lime and mandarin citrus notes cut through this texture and infuse it with green bitterness but unlike Cristalle, there is no galbanum. The scent does, however, reference green chypres with a touch of moss (Evernyl rather than oak or tree moss).
As for the namesake tiaré absolute, lifted by a green floral heart of muguet and light jasmine notes, it is used more to add a layer of lushness that for its traditional, tropical effect. The overall feel is that of spring-like, amiably sensuous femininity. It smells rather more natural than Jasmine White Moss and a little more grown-up than Cristalle: lover of both scents would do well to check it out, especially since the discovery set is now available again, as everyone who’s on Ormonde Jayne’s mailing list now knows (Tiaré is, unfortunately, not part of the samples).
As for myself, I voted with my Visa and stepped out of the shop with a 50 ml eau de parfum. It’ll do wonders come April.
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Unfortunately, Tiaré is not part of the sample set; but the sample set is still well worth getting. Now if only Pilkington could get some stateside distribution for those of us in the U.S. -- that would be fantastic.
RépondreSupprimerThanks for the info: I've amended the post. I don't think Stateside distribution is in the working yet, though. Linda seems to want to grow her company organically, not producing more than she can do in her own lab.
RépondreSupprimerIt's not part of the sample set, but I emailed and they offered to mail it separately once the samples were made up again (mine hasn't arrived yet).
RépondreSupprimerHave you smelled the new Geza Schoen Intelligence and Fantasy available at Luckyscent? At first sniff, it reminded me of Tiare. But I haven't properly compared the two.
RépondreSupprimerCyndi, that's good to know, thanks!
RépondreSupprimerLondon, is that the one that's called A Beautiful Mind?
RépondreSupprimerI was indeed struck by the similarity when I first smelled Tiaré but sadly, I couldn't do a side-by-side: by that time, the cat had probably batted the Beautiful Mind sample tube under an unmovable piece of furniture, which is why I didn't mention it in my review.
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RépondreSupprimerI got the same news as CyndiF when I wrote asking if I coud purchase a Tiare sample (already have and adore the set). Your post makes me want to nag them, but I'll refrain.
RépondreSupprimerThanks for confirming my private feelings about the woody powdery base, btw. I'm not a fan of powder, and sometimes feel like I'm straining past it in the OJ's, to get to the good stuff. On the right day, however, nothing's better. I especially love the way the pepper and rose in Ta'if play against that velvety quality.
I'm envious you visited OJ. I love the top notes of tiare but found I wished as it wore on my skin that it had perhaps more citrus and less of the base. On me, it dried down to something more stagnant than fantastic. It's no mark against the perfume just a mark of my taste for lighter more sprightly white flower compositions made lofty with something like ginger or citrus. I prefer frangipani and champaca to this. Still, it's gorgeous at first.
RépondreSupprimerAlyssa, that's my main issue with most of the OJs (though not Taif or Tolu): that base can be a little too pervasive and I feel it gains ground when the juice ages. But as you say, on the right day it's absolutely lovely.
RépondreSupprimerCait: what I said above. I don't know if it's a technical issue or an aesthetic choice (the latter I suspect). Still, it does work wonder in Ormonde Woman. I need to re-try the other ones with a fresh set of samples: mine are shot, especially since they are in atomizers, which tend to let air in and oxydize faster.
RépondreSupprimerI love the Tiare, and now, with everyone comparing it to Cristalle, I feel like I should try that too (I haven't tried that yet, somehow).
RépondreSupprimerSo how does the parfum compare with the edp?
Gator Grad, I didn't compare the parfum and the edp, so I couldn't say.
RépondreSupprimerCristalle has an old-fashioned green chypre, slight "ashtray" note that comes from the meeting of jasmine and galbanum, which some people find off-putting, and doesn't exist in the Tiaré.
". . . especially since the discovery set is now available again, as everyone who’s on Ormonde Jayne’s mailing list now knows."
RépondreSupprimer*giggle*
I've been meaning to get my hands on a sample of Tiare, just to see how it compares with other OJ works. I have a friend of mine who really likes the OJ Frangipani, so am curious as to whether this could work as a flanker in her collection.
Nathan, I think it might. It's quite a bit greener though. It's hard for me to compare because my Frangipani decant is a bit too old.
RépondreSupprimer@Alyssa: From what a commenter said on Now Smell This today, it's not time to nag just yet. Sounds like they are completely out of bottles and samples at the moment due to scarcity of tiare oil. So we may have to wait a while!
RépondreSupprimerCyndi, thanks for the heads-up. Sounds like my review was a bit badly timed... :-(
RépondreSupprimerBadly timed? Nonsense. You are riding the wave, creating demand, stoking the fires, etc.
RépondreSupprimer:)
Hi, Denyse
RépondreSupprimerYour post was perfectly timed for me - I was just at the OJ shop today - specifically on a mission to try Tiare. Too tired and inarticulate to be able to describe, but can something simultaneously be lush and yet elegantly spare? Anyway, they are out of it for now, as Cyndi says, though wonderfully helpful SA told me there would be some coming in to Harrods in three weeks time - for launch there and then more in Royal Arcade shop in a couple of months. You were wise to vote with your Visa when you did - & I've learned my lesson about dawdling. Haven't been to Harrods in years - but this may change all that. k
Kit, Tiaré *is* both lush and spare: I think it's the textural effect. I know what you mean about Harrods -- a place I only venture in to go up to Rojaaaa's.
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