Ormonde Man (2004)
by Ormonde Jayne

It is interesting that the Ormonde Jayne website classifies this as a chypre. There is nothing in the basenotes described that lends itself to a chypre accord (e.g., oakmoss, labdanum). Nor does it smell like a chypre. The opening strikes me as a pleasant citrusy-musk dominant blend. The citrus fades and woody notes emerge; the muskiness remains throughout the drydown. If aoud is one of the woods, I cannot discern it as such; there is none of the medicinal character that I have come to associate with aoud. One could consider this to be a well-blended fragrance, as one gets impressions of accords as opposed to notes. I find it to be quite pleasant smelling, a bit sweet, and not one that I would buy for myself.

Tam Dao, Or Black, Bulgari pH, Silver Mountain Water - all very different fragrances which were compared to Ormonde Man by some reviewers.
I was very curious about testing OM, cause some of them I like and some I hate.
To start with: It was not a complete disappointment.
OM is another spicy woody scent with a good amount of incense. The first 2-3 hours the spicy notes (foremost junipery and pepper) dominate. After that the coniferous and woody-incensy elements become more and more evident. I always recognise
a little bit unpleasant powdery undertone (which might due to tolubalsam or something like that?). To add a further comparison I would mention CdG II Man, but with a weeker incense note. OM always stays warm (after 6-7 hours it cools noticeable down), present, but not intrusive with a good longevity. So, nothing very extraordinary, but a reliable fragrance for the middle-aged.

If given the choice, I’d choose Isfarkand over this any day. It’s a pleasant, although short-lived, scent that lacks the necessary qualities to sustain any personal interest. It’s well constructed but, for the hefty price, I expected much more than that.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

Currently, one of the best scent I have worn, and possibly my favorite. I didn't know what it was that I particularly liked about this until I tried OJ Woman, and knew it must be the hemlock and oudh combination (the woman also containing the hemlock but not the oudh). Beautiful citrus blast in the opening followed by the haunting hemlock and oudh that lasts forever. The sillage is excellent and the longevity is outstanding. The prices at OJ just went up about 10 pounds, but this is easily worth the price. My only problem, my wife can't stand it, so it's a guys out only scent. Five stars.

Deserves the 5 star status from Turin IMO, good peppery opening, great cedar drydown and very long lasting,

A woody green with medium impact spices forms the opening accord: To my nose, the juniper berry / cardamom create the dominant notes, but they shouldn’t be referred to as “dominant” — they are not “strong” in the usual sense of the word, but they are the most recognizable notes. The bergamot seems to be blended nicely into the accord – blended so well that I don’t recognize it in the matrix. Of the spices, I don’t find the coriander as an identifiable note, but the combination of pink pepper and cardamom create one of those intriguing accords that tread the thin line between “wonderful” and “I just don’t know about this…” The spices do have a bit of the questionable “sweat socks” vibration. The refinement and balance of the opening is outstanding and it is long, long lasting. The middle accord doesn’t show up very strongly for me. I don’t get a clear aoud note as in the Montale aouds, but I do get an excellently refined woody (aoud and hemlock) accord whose smoothness could be attributed to aoud. The hemlock note is outstanding, but I would like the whole heart level to have more strength and substance. The drydown presents a bit darker, deeper aspect to the fragrance than the sophisticated accords that preceded it, and it gains a little more presence: I even get a modicum of “raw” which, counter-intuitively, adds to the elegance. On my skin Ormonde Man has incredible longevity – I can smell traces of it on my showered skin the next day.

I’m a bit turned off by the opening accord and it lasts so long that I can’t overlook my reaction to it. I do, however, see Ormonde Man as a smooth, beautifully designed and constructed fragrance that legitimately deserves its reputation as an extraordinary fragrance. I’m sure it would be worthy for HG status to those whose chemistry it agrees with.