Isfarkand pour Homme (2005)
by Ormonde Jayne

Isfarkand starts off with a pleasant and refreshing citrus note, but then all I can get is pure incense. After sampling all the non-feminine fragrances from Ormonde Jayne (Orris Noir, Ormonde Man and now Isfarkand), I have to say that this is far, far away from what a niche company should be. All their fragrances smell very generic and cheap. I find the auto-characterization from the Ormonde Jayne web-site an insult:
"The story of this unique luxury perfume house is one of uncompromising perfection. Known for the rarity and purity of ingredients, sourced personally from growers in far flung climes such as Indochina, Arabia, the Amazon and Madagascar, and alchemised in our own London laboratory, Ormonde Jayne has attracted the admiration of the perfume cognoscenti and fine fragrance lovers worldwide."
I could (should) have rated all the Ormonde Jayne fragrances as negative, simply for the huge disappointment they produced on me.

The pink pepper heart note is apparent from the start and dominates the entire composition. This is supposed to be a warm masculine scent, but it ain't Jean Patou PH. Somewhere closer to Vera Wang with a heftier price tag perhaps?
The woodsy basenotes accord is the best part but by the time we get there the question must be answered: how many spritzes should be applied to land in between barely noticable sillage and making the cats sneeze. Sorry, but I render a neutral verdict on this. Nice try.

With a name like "Isfarkand," I expect a rich, evocative oriental scent, but that’s not what Ormonde Jayne delivers here. Isfarkand starts out with a peppery kick, immediately followed by brisk, tart citrus. These top notes are bolstered by a bone dry cedar and spice accord that evokes parched dunes and scorching sun. The citrus notes fade after several minutes, as citrus notes are wont to do, leaving the spare spiced cedar accord in stark isolation. Isfarkand continues in this manner for most of its duration, and as I wear it, it’s simple structure begins to strike me as familiar. As I perceive it, Isfarkand parallels other dry cedar-dominated scents like Diptyque’s Tam Dao and Satellite’s Padparadscha. (Both of which, as far as I’m aware, are cheaper.)

Is it good? Absolutely. But it doesn’t strike me as original. Try it if you like this sort of thing, but I can’t work up too much enthusiasm for it.

Between the two masculine fragrances offered by Ormonde Jayne, I would choose Isfarkand. A nice spicy woody fragrance that lasts for a while. I get whiffs of the woods in the drydown once in a while and it's really great. Slightly soapy with the moss but it doesn't get overbearing. Nice and good.

I'm afraid another OJ non laster and I spray liberally. Also, the scent itself isn't that distinctive -- a citrus burst followed by peppers with a woody base. The peppers in 'Nicole Fahri for men' are far superior though and much cheaper. OJ for men is better, but again, fleeting. It's a lovely little shop with very friendly staff -- it's a shame the fragrances don't match the ambience.

Kaern

Not the kind of fragrance anybody is going to swoon over, but very nice nonetheless. Ormonde Jayne's compositions are unfailingly classy, but I'm not sure how I feel about the Iso E Super that seems to occupy the base of all of them. Sometimes I think it's a wonderful smell, and other times I feel as if this weird synthetic thing has taken over my entire aura. Kind of like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," if that makes any sense.

Citrus - pink pepper - woods. You can't get much more straightforward than that. I'm torn between this and Ormonde Man. This is frankly a little more boring, but Man sometimes seems overcomposed, even bordering on loud. I'm not sure which one I could see myself happier with over the long haul, but I have a feeling I'll wind up buying one of them one of these days--probably the one whose sampler runs out first.