Perfume Review: Ormonde Jayne Ormonde Woman

If perfumes were being categorized in some sort of Synesthesiac's Guide to Fragrances, Ormonde Woman would represent color Dark-Green. Black-Green even. It is the deepest green imaginable, the color of ancient trees in a witchy forest, on the darkest night of the year. It is not a feminine perfume, at least not feminine in a sweet and dainty or come-hither and vixenish, obvious, way. I imagine Lilith, "the witch Adam loved before the gift of Eve", smelling like this, dangerous and disturbing and strangely, insinuatingly sensual. Famously featuring a black hemlock note, Ormonde Woman has the kind of meaty green earthiness that I usually associate with immortelle. The oily powderiness -yes, I know, sounds bizarre, but this is a bizarre scent- of violet in the heart contributes to that fleshy, robust feel. Compared to an immortelle-heavy scent like Dior' s Eau Noire, however, Ormonde Woman is spicier, sharper, with cardamom and especially coriander being very prominent. In fact, it, to me, smells more masculine than the very unisex Eau Noire and certainly more masculine than the sweet Ormonde Man. Having said that, I feel uncomfortable using words like "masculine" or "feminine" when describing this perfume. It is beyond definitions like that. Like Lilith, this perfume is not human and requires a whole other vocabulary. My synesthesia is not enough to write a better review of Ormonde Woman. I need the gift of xenolalia. Ormonde Woman is available at Ormonde Jayne online boutique, £58.00-£112.00.