I got the Ormonde Jayne Discovery set about half a year ago. Right away I started trying on the scents. They smelled good, really really good but I just couldn't bring myself to love them. And it was worse that that, I didn't even like them. They just did not feel comfortable and I wasn't enjoying myself wearing them. I didn't understand, if something smells good, you DO like the scent, don't you? Every now and then I bought them out, tried one on, but no go. WTF?
But I persisted and eventually, many many tries later, it dawned on me. The Ormonde Jaynes have a very special energy about themselves. Right away when opening that box of samples there is this cloud of a certain type of person. A very self confident person. Someone who knows his or her place in the world. Someone who steps into a room, immediatly becomes the center of attention and just OWNS the room and everything in it. Someone that I'd very much like to be but I know I'm not and that made me feel like a miserable failure. Yes, that was the feeling that came with the scents.
When I had that realisation, the spell was broken. I realised it's very two-year-odish to believe that you're a success only when everyone else is looking at you. I think most people would agree that it's much more fun to just cruise the rooms of a party, sometimes talk, sometimes listen and just interact with the other guests, exploring their worlds as they get to explore mine. To "own" people is just a very bizarre notion and doesn't belong in a modern, adult mindset.
And the Ormonde Jayne scents, they went from being something that made me feel bad about my very irrational shortcomings into a set of perfumes that smell very very good.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, who needs a shrink when there is perfume like this?
Sigrun, I'll never be the type of person who steps into a room and owns it either, and like you, I sometimes struggle with those feelings about being inadequate in that regard. It does get easier to accept yourself for who you are as you get older, though.
ReplyDeleteI want to tell you, very sincerely, that when I see your gorgeous face and read your very intelligent posts, I think that you could step into a room and own it. And if you didn't own it right away, you would win all kinds of people to you by the time the night was over. I really do think that quiet beauty attracts the most discerning people, and I have a feeling that you are one of those quiet beauties who would do just so.
I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying the Ormonde Jaynes now. I find that most of them are a little too light for me, but I do quite enjoy Ormonde Woman and Frangipani. Tolu is probably the strongest scent in the line (the one that has the kind of depth that I'd have thought would make it my favorite) but somehow it didn't grab me like the other two I mentioned. Which ones are your favorites?
What a beautiful, personal post. Thank you for sharing your feelings. I have a similar relationship with the OJ line. I like them so much and I find all of them so much "to the point" but I can't see myself owning a full bottle and I do not know why. Maybe it is worth examining the situation under the light you have shone on it.
ReplyDeleteI love Ta'if and Woman. And of course Frangipani, who doesn't?
Owning the room... For me it's something either from Victorian literature or at least from the late teens - early college times. But, most likely, it's not the situation itself but an internal perception. For that - listen to Suzanne! ;)
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a single perfume in OJ's line I didn't like (either on me or on my vSO). My absolute love is Ta'if (not only from this line but in general). I own several travel bottles/decants and will buy at least 1 FB this year.
Suzanne, your very nice comment made me break out in tears, in the best possible way. I had a very shitty day yesterday and what you were saying was exactely what I needed to hear! Thank you so much :)
ReplyDeleteOrmonde Woman is my favourite right now, it works amazingly well with the extreme cold we're having at the moment. And I also love Tolu and Osmanthus as well.
Christos, thank you too fot writing me such lovely comments. I really needed those yesterday. I'd love to hear more about your experiences with the OJ line. I find perfumes so amazing as they seem to have a "direct line" into the reptile part of your brain at times. I love Fragipani as well but I think I might be a little bit anosmic to Ta'if, or my sample is a bit off. Not that it's bad but I seem to percieve it a lot weaker than other reviewers are.
ReplyDeleteUndina, you are so right :) Sometimes one needs to step outside oneself in order to notice whatever bizarre notions are going on in ones head!
ReplyDeleteI must get another sample of Ta'if. I think I'm anosmic to something in there, ot else my sample just isn't right. The way I perceive it is like there is something missing compared to how other people perceive it :(
Sigrun, hopefully by now that crappy day has faded. Sometime when you get a chance, tell me how you are liking the house that you recently bought and moved into. I've been thinking about you, as I know you've had a lot on your plate this winter, with your return to work and the move.
ReplyDelete(Also, I hope you'll write a review of Poivre 23 in the near future, as I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on it. I thought they were spot on.)
xxoo,
Suzanne
I just loved this post, Sigrun. Not because I want you to feel inadequate (I second what Suzanne said), but because you are the kind of introspective, smart person who would have this realization through a sample set of perfumes. And that makes you a very special person, in my book. Thanks for writing this.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all those kind words! It's funny how perfume can at some times be a direct line to the reptile part of the brain, bypassing whatever is there in between :)
ReplyDeleteAgreed in full with you. Just like my relationship with this Ormonde Jayne perfume. Great post with a great read in here. :)
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Thank you Eula! There seems to be quite a lot of us, having this type of relationship with the OJ line.
ReplyDeleteOMG, your last line made me laugh out loud. To all those people who don't understand this obsession, here's one more reason to love perfume, it is our shrink! Lol
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because the OJ set was my first perfume purchase just over a year ago when I started my perfume journey, and I really understand now why I didn't relate to those scents at first, and also why they've grown on me since. Thanks, doc!
I didn't like Ormonde Jayne Woman when I tried it. But after reading your amazing review, I'll try it again.
ReplyDeleteSujaan, yes, I use perfume therapeutically a lot, some scents when I want to feel more happy, some for drama, in order to get me through a long and boring day ahead. Honestly, I've no idea how I could get through life without it :)
ReplyDeleteJoan, it took some time, but now I feel Ormonde Woman is one of the bet scents around. How do you feel about the other OJs? They might be more accessible as they are not so greenishly dark, but they still have the same base as OW.
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