For context, An original version of this review was published during lockdown, when everything was on Zoom. These days, launches are usually in person as you know. I’m now handing you over to me, in 2021. Over to you, Sam.
This week was a week of firsts. I attended my first online fragrance launch and I met (albeit virtually) the amazing Linda Pilkington, founder and creator of Ormonde Jayne for the first time.
I was contacted by Ormonde Jayne PR and invited to take part in the launch of the Ormonde Jayne La Route de la Soie collection. I was then sent a sample set of the fragrances we’d be talking about along with a Zoom link. It’s a brilliant way of launching a fragrance and it means that I can actually attend from Wales. In the past, I’ve had to regretfully decline many invitations due to location and time, so online is perfect for this blogger.
The collection is called La Route de La Soie and is inspired by the old silk road from China to Europe that was used from 114 BC to the 1450s AD. Despite its dangers, it must have been a magnificent experience watching the scenery, and even the seasons, change so dramatically. Linda herself makes no secret of her love of travel (it’s the inspiration for her fragrances) and she told me that she can’t wait to be able to visit some of the places along the route. The collection is currently four fragrances, with three more to come.
The scent collection is as intriguing and diverse as the route it’s based upon. Naturally there are exotic spices and resins, but also achingly beautiful flowers and, Linda admits, far more fruit than usual. Astonishingly, Ormonde Jayne turns twenty this year, no mean feat in the world of niche fragrance, and the Silk Road collection encapsulates all that sets Ormonde Jayne apart: craftsmanship, expertise and a dazzling hint of the exotic and far flung.
Tanger
Tanger is a little journey of its own, beginning with a bright dawn of citrus which opens your eyes and lets in the sun, before a bouquet of unruly flowers edge their way in around the window you’ve just flung open. Roses and neroli jostle for dominance, with neroli just taking the edge before shimmering away into a sunset of woody, almost-but-not-quite-spiced vanilla and a shrug of cashmere to wrap around you. The neroli here is extraordinary, like wearing a garland of orange blossom.
Byzance
Byzance is like nothing I’ve ever smelled and I mean that as a huge compliment. It’s equally Eastern and Western, with a warm spice that’s tempered with a creaminess that sits perfectly on skin, It’s not quite hot milk and nutmeg, but not quite chai tea either. Imagine iris butter and suede together – what luxury! Then add a creamy swirl of blond woods and buttery rich vanilla pods . This is both the scent of comfort and downright, unabashed sensuality.
Damask
Damask, like its namesake, is opulent and rich, spelled out with roses so dewy you wonder how their essence was ever captured. The fruit adds a feast of colour and indulgence with pear and pink pepper especially standing tall. I was convinced there was rhubarb in this, but there isn’t. However, in my opinion,when pear and pink pepper get together, the result can feel similar to those blushing garden stalks. Blackcurrant adds an intriguing dark heart to this beauty before bedding down into mineral amber and musk The rose petals will never leave you though. Their longevity is both addictive and bewitching.
Levant
Levant is named to uplift you and it does its job beyond and above what is required of it. Peonies are everywhere, like a pink scented dreamscape, whilst bowers of orange flower and jasmine bloom above you. Lilies join in too, along with a confetti of rose petals. It’s unapologetically a big, beautiful floral. This will add joyful flowers to every day you wear it . PS If you’re planning a wedding, this would be my recommendation for your wedding day scent.
Where to buy them
You can buy La Route de La Soie fragrances directly from the Ormonde Jayne website. Can’t choose? Try a 10ml size for £35.00. A little goes a very long way.
Disclosure
Thank you to Ormonde Jayne PR for providing my samples and the opportunity to talk to Linda herself. The opinions stated and the choice to write these reviews are both mine. All photos are from Ormonde Jayne, except the map of the silk road, which is widely found online although I can’t find its original owner. If it’s you, get in touch. Linda works closely with Geza Schoen, the gifted perfumer who created the Escentric Molecules brand.
The bottom photo of my sample box is my own. Samples are no longer available, but were very handy during lockdown when public sniffing was discouraged.
Leave a Reply