Tiare (2009)
by Ormonde Jayne

First sniff, and this smells like an ice cube sounds when it cracks upon meeting water. Tiare is poised between the crisp verdancy of Cristalle and the armpit muskiness of Edmond Roudnitska's Diorella, while its floral core is akin to Dominique Ropion's Carnal Flower for its no-expense-spared attitude to materials (note the oiliness of Pilkington's scents on your skin). However I'd recommend Tiare as more generous than either its Chanel or Dior forebears, straddling influences of the citrus (mandarin, lime), floral (freesia, water lillies, ylang-ylang), green (vetiver), and chypre (moss), and all headed for the usual Ormonde woody diminuendo.

Luminous, quenching, and entirely unfussy despite its classical heritage.

15th May, 2011.

Thanks to Baykat - I am trying Tiare. :)
As a fragrance Tiare is quite lovely and wearable - quite a bold ,modern type chypre, bright with citrussy notes and I get a whole symphony of flowers as it unfolds.

BUT for gardenia / tiare lovers this is disappointing. It's nowhere near gardenia or wonderful rich and creamy tiare. It is highly 'perfumey' on my skin .
Dare I say this smells like a strong perfume from the 80s ??? For tiare I guess I will stick to Monoi Oil !

3rd May, 2010.

If you like Pina Coladas, then you'll love Tee-ah-Ray...(doo doo doo doot)

Ok, that was cheesy, but If you've recently lined your fruity cocktail with lime you'll know how this opens. It's got a good citrusy vibe, for sure. I like that it maintains the orange note all the way through to the drydown, and it wears light and 'energetic'. For the longest time I thought it was a foo foo floral, but nope, this is a green chypre all the way. Fans of Chanel 19 and Ma Griffe take note!

I do have two 'complaints', however. The longevity is about 5 hours, which is ho hum for me at this price point. But when it does fade I'm left with the 'dirty body' vetiver scent which I'm not too fond of. (Vetiver is not a note i reach for with joy).

But the big plus here is the opening and middle notes- Cheers!

10th March, 2010.

Totally classic citrus/floral chypre. What a delightful surprise! Thank you Linda! After a few years of this nonsense of calling syrupy fruity florals 'new chypres', Ormonde Jayne has shown us how to actually do a 'new chypre. Brava!

From the name, I was expecting a big, sweet, tropical white floral, and so didn't bother to try it for some months thinking 'ho hum, who needs this when there's Frangipani?' But instead it is an extremely elegant, sophisticated, feminine fragrance that sits alongside Cristalle, Diorella and Y. Less powdery than Y, less fruity than Diorella, and much more full bodied than Cristalle. The drydown has something of Bandit about it too. But these are just comparisons to give a sense of its character, it's very much it's own unique fragrance. The white floral heart seemingly pulses with touches of sweetness, but the overall effect is dry and reminds me of heavy silk. Love it!!!

22nd January, 2010.