Ormonde Woman (2002)
by Ormonde Jayne

I agree wholeheartedly with Tigrushka's review, so will say no more by way of description.

Just to add, I have owned almost all of the OJs at one point in time, and normally find little difference between the EDP and parfum (the EDP has a whopping 25% jus and the parfum only a bit more at 30%, so the EDPs are great value for money in this line), but with Ormonde Woman, I have found the parfum to be softer and smoother, without the peppery bite of the EDP. I much prefer it.

Not really a perfume but more of an impression, Ormonde Woman is the clearing in a dense forest and the bubbling spring in that clearing. It is fresh and green without a hint of bitterness. It is as transparent as air. It astonishes me. I am smarter for the experience. Yet, I probably will never make a purchase, because the impression is too fleeting. To get any longevity would diminish the beauty. A truly amazing, but impracticable beauty!

Ormonde Woman goes on with peppery green citrus top notes that are tangy, moist, and pleasantly bitter all at once. The citrus note bows out even more quickly than most to leave a refreshing peppery, herbaceous accord. The heart is all herbaceous, violet-seasoned woods in the manner of (believe it or not,) Geoffrey Beane’s Grey Flannel, though much lighter, sharper, and more transparent. In fact, so clear and simple is the texture that it can be compared with the most minimalist of Jean-Claude Ellena’s compositions. (Un Jardin en Mediterranée comes to mind.)

With time the herbal elements dissipate, leaving a very dry, clear cedar and moss base. Ormonde Woman is an extremely understated and transparent scent that does not project far from the skin and leaves no sillage to speak of. It’s not terribly long lasting either, so you’re likely to go through that expensive bottle very quickly if you wear it at all often. On the plus side, Ormonde Woman is a very sophisticated fragrance and belongs to a rare genus of dry, green woody scents aimed at women. It’s also perfectly suited for use by men – certainly better than the dull, monochromatic Ormonde Man. Even so, price and poor lasting power work against Ormonde Woman, and I’ll go so far as suggest the ladies try a light spritz of Grey Flannel before splurging on a bottle of this! (Revised to a reluctant "thumbs up" for originality, and because it's actually far more effective on my wife than on me.)

Grass oil and cedar are the two most prominent notes. I wish the jasmine and violet had a stronger presence, or any presence at all. I'm just "meh" about this one. Gets on my nerves, kind of boring as it wears on...I really don't find it to be anything special.

My 6th grade class toured a huge Everett, Washington sawmill back in the 1950s, and I had forgotten it completely until it was brought vividly to mind by a sample of this scent.The massive stripped trees, the huge machinery in every direction thrashing and cutting and buzzing, the infernal noise, the pungent scent of the slashed, raw wood, the dark vats of chemicals for dipping the wood into. It was an interesting memory, but I would not want to wear this as a scent. I smell nothing in it, sadly, but devastated evergreen forests.

A perfume of contradictions! Is it transparent, or completely and mysteriously opaque? Is it familiar and comforting or strange and unique? Yes. and Yes.
It is transparent, a la Ellena, with a fresh herbal/piney layer, but look (sniff) closer and that surface clarity reveals the dark, enticing undercurrent of a sweet and mysterious floral oriental. Similarly, though I feel the fragrance is familiar, it is more the familiarity of a recurring dream, or a distant pleasant memory. Not comforting, but not unsettling either. It is both provocative and calming. A masterpiece of perfumery IMHO. Get thee a sample, and try it for yourself!