Reviews of Ormonde Man (2004)
by Ormonde Jayne

first sniff of this and you would be taken back to lot of scents...quorom silver especially ..but give it 7 minutes and this morphs into a terrific earthy note..the incense is fresh...feels like incense sticks been made..the smell of wet mixture..now wait..this reminds of another earthy scent! Creed Silver Mountain water ! yes! thats it! the midnotes is a green incense version of Creed Silver mountain water, period. a thumbs up coz its a beautiful rendition and a wonderfully constructed scent. wow..im already loving it...Ormonde...i coming !!

A sour/spicy mix of woods and herbs. Bad from start to finish. And it also smells very, very generic...

There's a slight resemblance to Pascal Morabito's OR Black for about five and a half seconds after the top notes settle, then it's wood-bland nothingness. Not horrible by any means but let us remember that the line between the uderstated and the boring can be easily crossed. For me, this one crosses it to the wrong side.

Being of the wrong gender to review it personally, I can only review it most positively from the chemical effect it has on me when husband choses this.

A low sillage green and woody scent that you can get for nearly half the price by getting 212 Men. This is much better by why spend more?

If Ormonde Man were a color, it would be charcoal gray. It goes on dusty-dry and herbal, smelling of rosemary, pepper, and sage. A tightly integrated oudh accentuates the peppery accord, which is sweetened only slightly by spices in the background. All of this rests upon foundation of sharp-edged woods and vetiver, and though no incense notes are listed, the combination of oudh and spices leaves me with the impression of a dry, craggy incense fragrance. Ormonde Man’s mossy, vetiver-flavored drydown is both rugged and austere – I only wish it lasted longer. The fragrance runs its course within two or three hours, even when applied generously. After a few days’ wear I've decided that I like the stuff but it hasn’t knocked my socks off. And at Ormonde Jaynes’s price point and two hours duration, it would need to leave my toes showing.

Very woody smell like a cigar box, but was a sweet dry down. Not bad but not great either it's more for the older crowd.

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.

A handsome Continental fragrance with top quality ingredients and possibly addictive qualities. (Perhaps the aoud/oudh in the heartnotes?) Whatever it is, I've not been able to stop sniffing my hand all day!

Interesting use of pepper here -- I almost mistook its slight piquancy for cedar at first. As it dries down, though, it mingles with the vetiver, the oudh and the balsam in wonderful harmony. Grassy, spicy, woody all at once.

A definite keeper.

Yes. I like this more and more. This is a very well made scent and an enjoyable one too. It takes many facets of classic, even generic men's' scents and tones them down, tucks in the loose edges, trims off anything unpleasant and puts them in an expensive suit.

The bergamot note is of wonderful quality and keeps a levity and a brightness which prevents the grassy spicy notes from being sombre. The pepper has surprising presence and gives a warm lift without being sharp. The juniper sits in wonderful balance, giving a dryness which reminds me of rosemary a little. In the heart the oud gives a woodiness and rich complexity which holds all the other notes and accords and seems to control the fragrance, checking any note which threatens to dominate.

The base mixes a very dry santal with a prominent mid range vetiver supplying a kind of hay or grassy accord which is detectable increasingly from the early development.

All in all this is a really well constructed scent which keeps the traditions of masculine scents intact but adds a special balance and unique quality. It takes notes which are usually serious and lightens them just enough to remove the appearance of trying too hard, while retaining a stamp of easy authority and unaffected quality.

I agree with those who love this scent. Actually, the follow-up is better and this scent is really good. It does not last long because it is light, but, I cannot imagine anyohw who smells this cologne and not love the scent at all. It boggles my mind!

I was just smitten when I smelt this, dark, robust and the staying power is incredible. Reminds you of Arabian nights, powerful and earthy. A calssic fragrance, beauty is not ever Kevin, Dave or Gavin is wearing it! Its like fab coloured suit, not suitable for those that cant carry it off! Wow factor is a 10/10!

Contrary to previous reviews I find Ormonde Man to be both highly distinctive and incredibly long lasting. It's a dark, rich, warm, enveloping, sultry scent that, unlike say, Nicolai Pour Homme, never becomes depressing or melancholic. It's sophisticated and masculine, and kept bringing to mind a color like forest green. Perhaps this is due to the black hemlock, which seemed to me to be a strong note in the mix. The topnotes open with juniper and pepper, and some spicy notes. As the scent dries, it warms up and rounds out, and happily avoids the cliched sweet, vanilla dry down. Instead it seems to get both deeper and richer. I think it also gets stronger. It's one of those scents that starts off strong, mellows very quickly and fools you into believing it is going to fade, but then comes back to full strength as it develops. Ormonde claims there is oud in this scent. I believe it is there both because of the depth and aura it has, and also the longevity. But it is well-blended and I get none of the usual medicinal tinge that I get with oud scents. The sillage was great, and the longevity unreal. I put some on my skin, where it lasted with good strength all day, becoming an almost powdery dark green aura. As I wore it, it transferred to my shirt. Four days later I could still smell it on my shirt. This is like the older, more sophisticated brother of Dior Homme: darker, more mysterious, older, more sophisticated, sexier, more dangerous, but still smooth and suave.

I haven't quite tried this for a very long period of time. It starts off coniferous - with the black hemlock as in Ormonde (for women), but than dries down to a tolu balsam base note or something similar to Dior Addict.
I didn't find it particularly interesting - but I didn't give it enough chance. I will need to come back later and review it again.
My boyfriend wasn't impressed with it either.

This reminds me, in a way, of Bulgari pour Homme. An absolutely wonderful--WONDERFUL--scent, but it's not long lasting. Or rather, it is at first distinct, but then quickly becomes just a hint. It's still there, but you really have to hunt for it in order to smell it. If Ormonde were only just a little less demure, it might be my all-time favorite.