Reviews of 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.

Sandalwood oriental, to me reminiscent of the discontinued Cacharel Nemo, or Diptique's Tam Dao. It's very nice, but the theme can be had for much less than what you're paying for Ormonde Jayne Man.

At first I was repulsed by it. Then I thought it brilliant for a moment. I have now settled for a detached "passable," and an intense personal dislike. I think Turin's description of OM as "a muted tourmaline-green chord from top note to drydown" hits the nail on the head. But contrary to Turin I do not find it particularly exciting or original. The top still exudes some freshness, but soon the perfume acquires a certain foggy denseness ("sultry" to Turin) which actually causes me something of a headache. "Black hemlock" evidently summarizes a number of floral components which smell distinctly "synthetic" to me, i.e. do not succesfully trigger associations with flowers, but rather remind me of generic cosmetic olfactants found in hairspray, creams, and countless perfumes. There is a dry, rasping note in there I find irritating and ultimately, the strong blending of notes, which obscures the individual character of oudh, vetiver or cedar, does not create a sum larger than its parts, but only precisely the above mentioned hazy green constant - rather boring, and to me, off-putting. As to its incense character, compared to C&S Frankincense & Myrrh, which I happen to be wearing on my other arm, Ormonde Man smells nastily unrefined and outright trashy, I am sorry to say. For "English green" I will remain partial to one of the old-time Fougères by Crown, Trumper, or Penhaligon's.

Disapointing fragrance. Pyramid promises something really gorgeous, something very distinctive and compelling....I also enjoy the bottle design very much as well as the whole OJ concept, but....

I must say that I find the scent very boring. ( I hate that word in every possible way ; "boring")
Very spicy opening, cardamom most pronounced. I also get the pink pepper very clearly, and with that cardamon it is actually able to linger on skin the whole time of the duration. I can smell the spices after many hours of application. Good lasting power overall.
I havent smelled black hemlock in solo, so I have no idea about that, but the oud note is clearly there. To me it smells like the oud in M7 (most likely synthetic oud), but of course in here it is way much weaker with awfully shy impact. And obviously that`s one of the problem with this fragrance to me : As a big fan of oud I was hoping more oomph! to it, especially when it`s listed in heart notes of this fragrance.

The base is nice blend of woods and musk, those spices still creating some undertones to it.
Very well made refined and classy fragrance, and I understand it can be very satisfying if you`re into it.
Personally I need something more edgy.

I would gladly give neutral rating for this, but considering the price as well as my high expectations I can`t resist taking this one down.

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.

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.