Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.
Ormonde Jayne is a small brand with one of the most solid fragrance collections on the market. The fragrances have a distinctive character, whether effervescent florals like Sampaquita or voluptuous orientals like Tolu. There is enough diversity to make the range fun to explore, and the quality is invariably impressive. That being said, I am not that fond of the latest fragrance, Tiare. While pretty and elegant, it lives in the same universe as Chanel Cristalle—a crisp, champagne-like floral.
Cristalle, of course, is a great model to follow. The exuberance of green leaves and bergamot peel in the top notes is contrasted with languid floral accords. Like other Ormonde Jayne florals, Tiare is luminous and transparent, while nevertheless retaining a plush, rich impression. The peach and coconut of tiare is made sensual with indolic jasmine and ylang ylang. This high-volume accord might have been overwhelming, if it were not for the rooty chill of iris, which makes the composition impeccably polished. The woody accord provides an elegant backdrop for Tiare, and the interesting suave, yet dry finish will be familiar to fans of Ormonde Jayne.
As I have been wearing Tiare on and off, I started to wish for something more than just an impression of Cristalle. Cristalle has served as an inspiration for plenty of fragrances, with the relatively recent Estée Lauder Jasmine White Moss and A Scent by Issey Miyake getting on the bandwagon as well. If Tiare had improved on Cristalle somehow, I would have felt differently, but as it is, it does not rival Champaca nor Taif, both in terms of originality and character.
Ormonde Jayne Tiare includes notes of mandarin, orange flower, lime, tiare (Tahitian gardenia), freesia, water lily, jasmine, iris, ylang ylang, cedar, vetiver, sandalwood, patchouli, moss and musk. Available directly from Ormonde Jayne. Sold as 50 ml Eau de Parfum (£68,) a set of four 10 ml travel sprays (£54) or 50 ml Parfum (£180).
Sample: Ormonde Jayne
30 Comments
Raminta: I am happy to wear anything from OJ (except Zizan) but it so hard to me not to spray Isfarkand every single morning it is like a cup of coffee to start a new day.. Tiare so elegant maybe a bit too safe but sometimes we need safekeeper. December 19, 2011 at 7:50am
Carla: I gave my bottle of Cristalle EdT to my sister and now I am hankering for it even though it is winter. The hole in my collection will have to be re-filled with a spring-time purchase. I have not tried Tiare but to me Cristalle is perfection in the genre, and even if citrus and green chypres are not generally my thing, I guess I have to know I have some Cristalle for when I need that burst of springime freshness. December 19, 2011 at 9:26am
Suzanna: I have been happily wearing OJ Woman this winter; it’s my favorite from the line and unlike anything I can think of. Your mention of Ta’if reminds me that I used to adore this scent and then let it fall off the radar. It’s probably time to order a bottle.
Have not gotten into the swing of the OJ florals. Cristalle-like is not Cristalle and I go through vats of the stuff in the muggy Southern summers. December 19, 2011 at 9:32am
Lila Das Gupta: I love Tiare – first one I ever bought from the Ormonde Jayne collection. I always get lots of compliments when wearing it. For me it falls into the five star category. December 19, 2011 at 5:30am
HemlockSillage: You make me feel better about not loving this. I should. I made an expensive FB mistake with Tiare, and it sits, unloved in my collection.
I love dry green florals, but for my money, I like EL’s Private Collection (original) or the new Jasmine and White Moss better. It’s not that I do not like Tiare, it just is not amazing on me. Good news is that my mother adores it! I’ll stick with OJ Woman, which inspired my blog name 😀 December 19, 2011 at 11:00am
Victoria: It is a pretty fragrance, very wearable and elegant. I love OJ florals, esp Champaca and Frangipani. December 19, 2011 at 8:40am
Victoria: I can see how it would have many fans. I also get lots of compliments on it. It is just that with Cristalle and all of its cohort in my collection, Tiare feels unnecessary. December 19, 2011 at 8:43am
Gentiana: Tiare is really a very beautifully crafted perfume.
Although.. I have the same issue with all the OJ’s fragrances tried till now: the name prepares me to welcome a dominant note surrounded by the following smells that make the arrangement, the composition…The interpretation of the Dominant, in the artistic vision of a certain perfumer. That is what my brain expects to become, judging about the name of the perfume.
Here the central note doesn’t dominate, it has to be discovered among the other different notes.
Well, maybe this is only a trap of our mental patterns.
If just smelled, with no relation to the name, the fragrance is absolutely gorgeous and well crafted.
Till the moment Tiare, Frangipani are (I dare to say) love.
Ormonde Woman and Tolu share my likes. The rest of them… Undecided.
In this stage of development ( 1h 30′) it really has a lot in common with Cristalle.
Yes, dear Victoria! As you said 🙂 : Me, too I have a staple of Cristalle and all his cohort… I don’t think I need a FB, but it is delicious to smell my wrist every half minute.
It is heartbrakingly beautiful. February 17, 2014 at 1:32am
Victoria: Cristalle has such an amazing effervescence, truly champagne-like. Yet, unlike many modern fragrances, it does not have that neon-glow about it. To me, it is perfection! December 19, 2011 at 9:36am
Victoria: I know some people who love OJ orientals and woods, but who cannot stand their florals for that sharp, bright character. I find it very interesting, especially contrasted with the rich floral notes. The quality is just so impressive.
That being said, Taif and OJ Woman are among the best of OJ! December 19, 2011 at 9:37am
Martyn: I agree wholeheartedly about Isfahan, but I disagree equally strongly about Zizan. Zizan is a wonderful fragrance for men, and I’m only sorry I used all of mine up! December 19, 2011 at 10:26am
Martyn: I met Linda P. by accident a couple of years ago. I had heard about the OJ fragrances and was gazing in the shop window during a business trip to London, and this little blonde woman came out and asked if I needed any help. She showed me whatever I asked to see, but wasn’t in the slightest bit pushy. I thought, what a delightful shop assistant; she’s worth her weight in gold. No-one could be put off by her (unlike most perfume-counter girls these days). I asked her name, and she said “I’m Linda, the perfumer [not “parfumier”, you notice] – I’m usually downstairs in the workshop but I’m covering the lunchtime breaks.”
I went away with a flask of Isfahan and samples of Zizan and Ormonde Man. Incidentally, I made a photo of the Zizan sample. If anyone’s interested, it’s here. December 19, 2011 at 10:37am
Martyn: By the way, of course I mean Isfarkand, both in my comment above and in my reply to Raminta. (I have a good friend who comes from Isfahan, and I often get the two names mixed up.) December 19, 2011 at 10:39am
Kym: Victoria – I agree with you completely. December 19, 2011 at 5:25pm
carmencanada: Like Martyn, I ran into Linda Pilkington while dropping by the shop and left with a bottle of Tiaré — at the time, it had gone through production issues and seemed difficult to get hold of. I bought Jasmine White Moss a couple of weeks later. I ended up re-selling Tiaré, as the Lauder seemed to cover that area of the olfactory spectrum (I adore Cristalle but associate so strongly to a friend I can’t wear it). Why the OJ rather than the Lauder? Damned if I know, but as you say, it’s absolutely lovely but not absolutely necessary. Ormonde Woman is the one I hang on to, but I’ve noticed the OJs have an issue as they get older: the base tends to really take over. December 19, 2011 at 1:41pm
Victoria: I have never met her, but the stories I hear are similar to yours.
Great photo, by the way! December 19, 2011 at 1:49pm
Victoria: It happens to me too. I also have a good friend from Isfahan, and he actually wears Isfarkand. December 19, 2011 at 1:50pm
Victoria: I also love this genre, but like you, I find Jasmine and White Moss more compelling. On the other hand, there are other OJ fragrances that are stunning. Tiare does not shine next to them. December 19, 2011 at 1:51pm
Victoria: I prefer Lauder’s, if I have to choose, because it has more of that crunchy green effect that I love and more of the animalic and indolic notes. Not too much, but enough to be exciting. Tiare is elegant and polished. Beautiful, but given the price and the expense of ordering online, it loses on that count as well. And of course, Cristalle is enough in itself to satisfy my yearnings for the green floral chypres. December 19, 2011 at 1:53pm
Tulip: I’ve been searching for something to wear after I swim in the mornings. Cristalle sounds perfect. Do you prefer the Edt or EdP? BTW I have Tiare, and I think it’s perfect for the doctors amd dentists offices. As you say, nice. December 19, 2011 at 7:56pm
sunnlitt: Also, does Christalle smell like itself these days?
And, as Tulip asks, which do you prefer, the Edt or EdP?
I spray A Scent by Issay Miyake when I desire some zesty greenness.
But, I like to hear more about the currant incarnation of Christalle. Thanks December 19, 2011 at 9:13pm
Victoria: Glad to see that I am not alone. 🙂 December 19, 2011 at 10:25pm
Victoria: I own both, but I wear the edt more often. The edt is dry, green and effervescent. The edp is lush and floral. December 19, 2011 at 10:27pm
Victoria: I think that it is still great! The edt is my favorite champagne like scent. It is really like a sip of something fizzy and bubbly. December 19, 2011 at 10:29pm
Carla: I called the shop to order and the lovely person who took my order gave her name as Linda when I asked. I was pleased to get to tell her how much I love oj woman. December 20, 2011 at 12:46pm
Carla: If they don’t age well, all the more reason to keep wearing Woman every evening this winter. (with my black silk pjs curled on the couch in our library – the thought of it gets me thru the day!) December 20, 2011 at 12:51pm
Martyn: 🙂 December 20, 2011 at 11:53am
Erin T: I really liked this when it came out, and I still like it, but I find myself not wearing my travel sprays of it very often. I do, though, like you, find myself enjoying Cristalle more as time passes. For me, Frangipani is still the OJ floral stunner; I enjoy (and own) Champaca, and Ta’if is also beautiful, but Frangipani is the one that gives me “The Moment” every time I wear it. I think it’s a desert island fragrance for me, it’s so luminous and rich. December 21, 2011 at 11:41am
Victoria: I completely agree with you on Frangipani. It took me a while to try it, but when I finally did, I fell completely in love with it. December 21, 2011 at 3:18pm
kjanicki: I love Tiare. I own Tiare, Ta’if and Woman but I think Tiare is my favourite. Champaca didn’t ring my bell, but Frangipani is on my “someday” list.
Cristalle I like for the green and the moss but the opening lemon notes keep me from buying it – just too lemony. Maybe I will feel diferent about it in hot weather, so i am going to try t again next summer. But Tiare is just right. December 22, 2011 at 3:15pm