Fall-In, originally uploaded by Ya Ya.

Today was unusually hot, and I was wearing Ormond Jayne’s Frangipani Absolute: A light and much less sultry and creamy interpretation of the magical tropical paradise flower.

Frangipani starts with a breath of citrus and with linden blossom which together resembles faintly the unusual scent of pomelo blossoms. The head notes quickly give way to the green-waxy scent of the pure frangipani absolute. You will not find any of the creamy fruitiness that the fresh flowers possess, none of the sun-dreaming coconut Tropicana with lays of flowers and sun warmed exotic skin. Rather, this is a tame fresh floral of a frangipani bush blooming in a Northern garden illustrated by cool bubbling brooks and structured paths – where you can get a muted whiff of the tropical flower and admire its whiteness.

Water lilies at the heart give a modern and watery twist and a hint of jasmine adds just a smidgeon of depth as well as a forgiving impression of narcissus (narcissi can be very cloying to the point of stench when are smelled from a gunpoint). The base, besides the signature Ormonde Jayne musk, consists mainly of cedar, which adds a dry quality that makes Frangipani Absolute so wearable in the hot sun…
Overall, it is a rather light and quite heady floral – however, delicate enough so that those who shriek to the sound of the high pitched floral arias will like or at least be able to listen to the song till the last notes. If you love the seriousness and complex forms of Beethoven you may get bored though with the ease and light heartedness and simple melody of this Mozartesque perfume. It’s fresh and never cloying and is very pretty, however – at the same time also feels distant and a bit too abstract. In Frangipani Absolute, it is almost as if the perfumer describes the whiteness of the flower rather than its scent.

Top notes: Linden Blossom, Magnolia Flower, Lime Peel
Heart notes: White Frangipani Absolute, Jasmine, Rose absolute, Tuberose absolute,
Water Lily, Plum, Green Orchid oil
Base notes: Amber, Musk, Cedar, French Vanilla absolute

p.s. Please note that the flowers in the picture are NOT frangipani. These are jasmine flowers.