Isfarkand (Ormonde Jayne)

By Dane

When first smelling a fragrance, it's hard not to draw comparisons with familiar works of the past. When I first smelled Isfarkand, I immediately thought of L'Artisan's Navegar. Both have similar construction, but veer into different territories. L'Artisan's rendition of citrus and pepper is very tart and crisp, while Ormonde Jayne's remains very composed, almost like it's holding back.

Lime is a difficult note to work with in perfumery. Done right, and you get a tart, mouth-watering topnote, but done wrong, and you get Mr. Clean. Isfarkand's lime is just right, and although tangy in a way, is also very subtle. OJ's trademark pink pepper soon enters the picture, but unfortunately, things fall a bit flat after that. The oft overused synthetic Iso E Super takes over much of the heart of the scent, and to me smells of nothing more than pencil shavings. Too bad.

I'll stick with L'Artisan's zingy number for my lime and woods fix, but some may prefer Isfarkand's rounded edges.

Year:
Perfumer: Linda Pilkington
Notes: Lime, Mandarin, Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Cedar, Vetiver, Moss