Osmanthus (Eau de Parfum) by Ormonde Jayne

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Signature

Osmanthus Ormonde Jayne 2003 Eau de Parfum

6.6 / 10 106 Ratings

A perfume by Ormonde Jayne for women, released in 2003. The scent is floral-fresh. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Floral

Fresh

Citrus

Fruity

Green

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Honey pomelo Pimento

Pimento

Davana

Heart Notes

Indian jasmine sambac

Japanese osmanthus absolute

Water lily

Base Notes

Egyptian Vetiver

Cedarwood

Musk

Labdanum

Perfumer

Geza Schön

Ratings

Scent

6.6106 Ratings

Longevity

6.384 Ratings

Sillage

5.879 Ratings

Bottle

7.571 Ratings

Value for money

5.427 Ratings

Submitted by TVC15, last update on 11/03/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the Signature collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Osmanthus

Osmanthus Elixir

Escentric 04

Osmanthe Yunnan

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions

02/06/2013

6Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Sherapop
1240 Reviews

Sherapop

4

Light and Friendly, in a word: Osmanthus

For a couple of years I've been trying to develop a concept of osmanthus, which has proven inordinately difficult to do because whenever it is combined with any stronger note--that is, any other note!--the stronger note shrouds the identity of osmanthus from my nose. I do not believe that my failure to further refine my concept today through wearing Ormonde Jayne OSMANTHUS has been adversely affected by the fact that I recently wore three tuberose bombs back-to-back. No, I started with clean skin and an empty nose, and still I find that osmanthus lacks, well, substance.

OJ OSMANTHUS opens with a bright and cheery citrus before becoming what most niche-house osmanthus-named perfumes end up being for me: high-quality, natural-smelling fruity-floral frags. My distinct impression is that osmanthus is a sort of prêt-à-porter fruity-floral composition. Light and ever-so-slightly fruity and a bit sweet, but not sugary. This blend is certainly pleasant, and I do believe that jasmine and waterlily are present, but all I can muster up to say about this perfume is: nice.

I do not find OSMANTHUS very distinctive, but it might be a perfect choice for someone who likes to blend in with the crowd and makes a conscious effort never to offend. (Not really my profile...)

04/10/2018

QuercusAlbus
72 Reviews

QuercusAlbus

2

Beginning to °Get° Osmanthus

I think possibly now I'm beginning to °get° what osmanthus is. I have not intraspired of osmanthus in native form; but interpolating between 'fumes that have it as a note, it's beginning to °emerge° & °take shape° in my consciousness, much the way orris did; but this is yet subtler. Would it be fair to say that it's aroma is something like that of a freshly-opened packet of loose-leaf Ceylon tea, with a similar very subtle oranginess? It's ^that^ certain quality - that quality that those other osmanthusy 'fumes have. Oh, and indeed it is really quite lovely! I'm getting a strong ^in a garden amongst exotic herbeage^ gestalt from it. Is it like ambergris & orris in that it is more of a °stealthy° aroma, unspectacular superficially, but gently seducing the smellsense with a whispered mystery? Yes, it's that kind of note, isn't it. Right teasing me with its mystery, it is. That's what I'm getting fræ this 'fume, anyway; and from the other °osmanthusy° 'fumes I have intraspired of. And in this one it's showcased admirably, in a 'fume that is transparent & yet somewhat earthy simultaneously, as I find OJ fragrances tend to be. And yet there are those telltale signs of a robustitude beyond what it's detailed content would seem to indicate - also a characteristic of them. They can sometimes seem to do a disappearing act; but then you realise they were there all along; and then they are still perceptible on your garments days later: yes, they are still there, no need to worry if they do their little disappearing act. Balmain's ~Ivoire~ could well have been one of these, I would say - plenty of that superficially paradoxical robustitude there as here. I'm getting used to these °lighter° sorts of 'fume now. A 'fume doesn't have to be a °stonker° to be robust, and these °light° OJ fragrances show that. I think this one is going to maintain that score.

Much as I tend to appreciate ~Sherapop's disquisitions, I cannot agree in detail here: I ^do^ think this is a very ^characterful^ fragrance. If by any chance you are reading this, I would put it to you that you always did have a concept of osmanthus: but, it being more of a ^potential^ aroma than an ^outright^ one, in that it's one if those that continually ^hints^ that it is on the point of breaking-forth into a flagrantly gorgeous aroma, but never actually does so, & is actually the better precisely for its ^not^ doing so, your explicit mind denied it. I do now strongly incline to deeming it the subtle aroma par-excellence, perhaps displacing even orris in that rôle, which in comparison to this osmanthus stuff is now beginning to seem outright flagrant! And not actually ^overpowered^ by any other note in the sense of being °blocked° or °hidden° by it, but on the contrary very much there and no less by reason of the sheer °gewalt° of that other note, like a piccolo playing amidst drums & thundrous brass. I understand how someone can perceive this OJ fragrance as a bit generic, not-quite-cloyingly-sweet, green + floral + citrusy + vetivery etc fragrance; but, after a lot of consideration - and zen-like abstinence-from-consideration, I cannot but come to the conclusion that this 'fume has a ^very^ great deal of ^character^. I keep thinking of Chanel's ~Sycomore~: I think it's quite a lot like that one.

All this may seem an excess of circumspection; but if a perfumier is going to use these ultra-subtle, ultra-delicate notes in the perfume, precisely for the °intriguing° of the smellsense, then, of course, people are going to respond in that sort of way! I'll bet, where this stuff grows, people have for millenia been struggling just like this to °bottle° this aroma verbally. And reviewers do tend to struggle similarly when they review osmanthusy 'fumes, as one may see, casting round a bit.

It's delightfully tantalising: is it green, is it floral, is it ... whatever! It seems to occupy a space between categories - a space where you never hitherto realised there was a space, suspended there. Makes me want to keep talking about it, trying to pin it down; but I don't think I'm going to. Perhaps I ought to leave it for now. I'll say somewhat about its longevity whensoever I can.

Oh! BtW, I haven't forgotten, in all my musing about osmanthus, that there's other stuff in this 'fume; and moreover that osmanthus is not even the chief note (honey pomelo is, at least according to the contributors here). So I do realise I might have gotten it wrong, and that the qualities in this 'fume I fondly imagine imparted by it are infact imparted elsewise. But I am as I said, interpolating; and I now quite strongly feel I have discerned what °osmanthus° 'fumes have in common; and also it is consistent with what I have read of osmanthus, both in terms of explicit descriptions of it, and in terms of observing the difficulty many have framing such description. But I have as yet have an awfully long way to go, note-analysis-wise.

11/26/2022

7Scent 6Longevity 6Sillage

Kurai
388 Reviews

Kurai

3

Pomelosmanthus

Straight to the point: Osmanthus, and that is that. The opening is a bit citrusy. That must be the pomelo listed. From up close eenie meenie tiny bits of spice can be detected as well. Other than that, this is osmanthus from head to toe. Its fruity side is most present here as well as that typical crystalline brightness. From time to time its buttery and even leathery facets come through. Nice overall, easy to wear and office-friendly, but does not bring anything new to the table. I already have The Different Company's Osmanthus so I will not be needing this.

03/27/2021

Pepdal
238 Reviews

Pepdal

2

OJ Pomelo

I have enjoyed exploring the few scents i have from Ormonde Jayne thus far. Osmanthus is an ingredient i am becoming more and more fascinated with. I hope you find the review useful and thank you as always for watching

05/25/2015

9Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Smellie13
28 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Smellie13

Very helpful Review 13

Amouage "Sunshine Light"?

Recently, another perfumery specializing in niche fragrances opened in Vienna, and I had the opportunity to get to know "Osmanthus" by Ormonde Jayne. Until now, I was not familiar with Ormonde Jayne. It is a small niche company founded by Linda Pilkington in London, which allegedly uses only pure natural ingredients from controlled cultivation. That already sounds quite appealing.
Immediately after the first spray, I had a strong association with "Sunshine" by Amouage. Curious, I first compared the two fragrance pyramids, and lo and behold, there are common denominators in all three fragrance phases (Davana in the top notes, Osmanthus and Jasmine in the heart notes, and Cedar in different forms in the base). So, one can theoretically find a common "red thread".
The practical comparison today yielded the following result for me:
Both start with a very similar, quite specific note, which is apparently caused by the Davana. I was not familiar with Davana either. A quick Google search revealed that it is an herb from South India that smells tropical-sweet, reminiscent of ripe mangoes, and has a slightly woody aroma. Hmm, yes, that's exactly how it smells ;-)
And let someone say that engaging with perfumes doesn't educate you ;-)
From the beginning, Sunshine is more intense and also a bit more gourmand than "Osmanthus", probably due to the almond it contains!?
As it develops, "Sunshine" becomes creamier, a bit sweeter (vanilla in the heart note), and also darker, while "Osmanthus" remains consistently light, citrus-floral, and somewhat aquatic. There’s also a bit of powder involved. Nevertheless, the similarity between the two remains for me, or even becomes stronger in the progression than "in the middle".
After two hours, I can hardly smell "Osmanthus" on my skin, while "Sunshine" remains persistently present.
For those who like the theme of "Sunshine" but find it too intense or heavy, I recommend testing "Osmanthus" as an alternative. The price of "Osmanthus" (50ml for €120) is also at least "somewhat lighter" compared to "Sunshine".

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