The scent of things to come: Searching for the perfect perfume

Published on Wednesday 11 August 2010 09:41

Setting sail on a voyage of scented discovery, searching for the perfect fragrance is as much a gut feeling as what goes on inside your nose, but expert advice can make the whole process a positive pleasure with the perfect pong at the end, finds Lee Randall

• The Ormonde Jayne premises off Old Bond Street

In 2002, Linda Pilkington set out her shingle as Ormonde Jayne, a company dedicated to creating exquisite fragrances for people and the spaces they inhabit. Now operating out of the Royal Arcade (off Old Bond Street) and by mail order via their website, they have a perfume library of 12 scents, available as pure parfum, eau de cologne, body creams and candles.

Pilkington doesn't answer to investors, so she's able to indulge her passion for travel, sourcing the finest ingredients from around the world. She aims to create blends of specialty oils and molecules that aren't widely used by her competitors. She says: "My goal was to combine elements which I consider define true elegance: the quality of English craftsmanship, the art of French perfumery and the sensuality and natural harmony of the Orient."

I'd been curious about these scents for a long time because so many of the blogs and Twitter streams I follow rave about them, especially the Woman and Man signature blends. When I heard about their Fragrance Portrait – a free in-store service – I vowed to give it a test run between appointments the last time I was in London.

Hidden in a drawer are 21 ceramic stoppers infused with the "dry-down" of individual scent components; another section contains ceramics of the Ormonde Jayne fragrances themselves. The idea is that by isolating the individual notes I prefer, they can steer me toward the best few to try on my skin.

It's a sensible way to predict which of their products I'm likely to fall in love with – and presumably buy, or have bought for me. Ormonde Jayne maintains a customer database, making it awfully handy for blokes, friends or relations to ring up and get the right scent, based on one's known preferences and previous habits. So not only is perfume profiling fun, it's good business, too.

Natalie is my guide for the experience, and she begins by asking what I am looking for – a signature scent, something for a special occasion, a gift? We talk about fragrances I've worn in the past and what I like about them. When she asks if I have any specific dislikes, I mention the intense leathery armpit sensation I get from colognes such as Aramis, and S-Perfume's S-eX, which I cannot abide. Wafting the first stopper under my nose, Natalie says, "Don't think of these scents as a finished perfume. What you are smelling now are single ingredients." Go on your gut, she recommends. "If you like it, say yes, and if you have to think about it, it's usually a no."

The first trio is the Hesperidics: bergamot, Mexican lime and mandarin. To my amazement, since I love the smell of the cut fruit, I dislike the Mexican lime. I am not keen on the mandarin either, but then I don't like eating the fruit. Bergamot, however, makes me happy, though for some reason I was expecting it to smell of Earl Grey tea.

The Delicate Florals are orris (iris root butter), freesia and frangipani. It's a vehement no for orris; I am fond of the freesia, but want to smother myself in the frangipani – it's gorgeous.

Next are the Intense Florals. I actively dislike the Indian Jasmine called Samback – another surprise, as I loved the jasmine flowers I smelled when actually in India – and also say no to the Champaca, a smelly evergreen. I love Tiare, the white flower Tahitian women regularly tuck behind one ear.

Out of the Balsamic group, I'm very keen on Tolu (a variety of Peruvian balsam) and incense and dislike labdanum. Next came the Orientals, and I ticked them all. Pimento oil smelled like five star spice and cloves – a combination reminiscent of the way carnations smelled when I was kid, thus making me love it on both sensual and nostalgic grounds. The vanilla ceramic left me underwhelmed, but I love vanilla so said yes anyway, and yes again to the tonka bean, which is something perfumers use in place of vanilla, because it's less dear.

The Woody group came next, and I said yes to hemlock and vetiver – it smelled like walking into a forest – but got a big fat nothing from the cedar stopper.

Finally, out of the Atmospheric section, three resounding nos. No to pink pepper, no to ambroxan (the molecule of ambergris), and no to moss.

Natalie suggested that Tolu and Tiare would appeal to me, and that Frangipani might be in third place, followed by Ormond Woman.

Initially I'm skeptical about Woman, despite this being the very fragrance I'd heard so much about, making me curious to visit the shop. She reminds me that the stopper scent is the drydown, and that everything changes when you test the scent on skin. This turns out to be the understatement of the year.

Ormonde Woman has top notes of cardamom, coriander and grass oil, a heart of black hemlock, violet and jasmine absolute, and a base of vetiver, cedar wood, amber and sandalwood. She wasn't exaggerating – it's drop dead gorgeous on skin: grown up, sophisticated, dusky and sexy without any hint of sluttishness.

Back home I tried the Tolu. They call it an "opulent velvety formulation (that] takes you on a sensual oriental journey." It's a dense, old-fashioned floral amber. The top notes are juniper berry, orange blossom and clary sage; the heart is orchid, Moroccan rose and muguet, and the base is Tolu, tonka bean, golden frankincense and amber. I loved the first whiff, and after five minutes, well, all I can politely say is that I wanted to drag myself off to the bedroom. My one complaint, and I'm not making a cheap joke, is that the fragrance didn't have great staying power.

Tiare's top notes are Mandarin, orange flower and Sicilian lime, the heart is tiare, freesia, water lilies, jasmine, orris and ylang, and the base is cedar, vetiver, sandalwood, patchouli, moss and musk. It has a bouncy citrus top note that cries vegetal, not cleaning fluid. It's fresh, and adult and haunting but lacks the sexy swagger of Tolu. Hours later, the drydown is soft, powdery – it's a very clean floral. Yum!

So if Tolu is Ava Gardner, flooring men by inflaming their libidoes, then Tiare is Doris Day, sneakily winning your heart while dressed like a prim secretary.

Readers who are paying attention will notice that these three stunners contain individual elements that I rejected during my smell-a-thon. That's because in perfume making, as in cooking or whisky making, it's about getting the right combinations in the right proportions. I bought their Discovery Set, which contains samples of all 12 fragrances, so that I can continue this voyage of discovery at my leisure. But I can already predict that a lot of my disposable income will be channeled their way.

These are grown up, complicated fragrances – just right for complicated grown up me!

• Ormonde Jayne is at The Royal Arcade, 28 Old Bond Street, London W1S 4SL; for information or to place an order, ring: 0207-499 1100, email: [e-mail], or shop online at www.ormondejayne.com. The Discovery Set is 42, while 50ml of eau de parfum retails for 68.