Ormonde Jayne has launched a new limited edition fragrance, Seraphim:
‘Seraphim’ is something very extra special – a unique scent created in only fifty 50ml bottles. Those lucky enough to own one of these 50 may re-order supplies of ‘Seraphim’ from Ormonde Jayne. 50 people in the world therefore will own their own unique scent forever.
The fragrance notes include bergamot, rosewood, ylang ylang, rose, violets, iris, musk, amber, vanilla and coumarin.
Ormonde Jayne Seraphim is £450 for 50 ml, concentration unknown (but I would assume from the price and packaging that it is extrait), at 20ltd. The refills will be sold directly from Ormonde Jayne. (via 20ltd with thanks to prettyangelface at MakeupAlley for the tip)
Note: if it sounds expensive, do bear in mind that when Miller Harris launched a special edition of Fleurs de Sel at the same store, it was £500 and you only got 30 ml. So Seraphim is actually a bargain.
Mily Perfume is the latest from Melissa Flagg, owner of Clementine Perfume:
Composed of plumeria & pikake blossoms with a hint of Hawaiian ginger. Reminiscent of warm balmy nights in Kauai. A tropical fragrant escape, from perfumer Melissa Flagg.
Mily Perfume is $42 for 3.75 ml perfume oil at beautyhabit.
Hi Robin!
D you think the price on the Seraphim is even remotely related to the actual contents of the perfume, or is one entirely paying for the 'privelige' of being one of only fifty people in the world to own it? (Not that it's going to make a difference to my purchase of it, LOL, that won't happen either way!
But just curious….and has anyone smelled it??
Well, Robin, looks like one of your fragrance wishes for 2008 has come true already: a new and much-anticipated release from Ormonde Jayne. Hmm. Are you thoroughly thrilled — or do you have mixed feelings, considering the rather extreme exclusivity factor?
Well, from what I read on MUA, the refills go for around £270, so that gives you some idea of what you're paying for privilege & packaging. Bearing in mind that with ANY perfume, what you're paying is only very remotely related to the contents, the markup here may well be no worse than elsewhere, how do I know? There is at least one review on MUA, and some other board mentions if you do a search.
I haven't smelled it & doubt I will
Um, this isn't what I had in mind
This is pretty disappointing from Ormonde Jayne – Linda's prices are already high (although the fragrances are completely worth it, in my opinion) and this just sounds like more “I'm so special, you're so special” pretentiousness. I find the “exclusivity” trend so boring and self-important, and I'm upset to see one of my very favourite lines bow to it – so no interest in sampling it! (Not that anyone rich enough would give some to some plebian like me!)
Welcome, fellow stage-5-er.
I was thrilled until I saw the price. There ought to be a word for that feeling when you realise a scent you covet is waaaay out of your price range. Scentenfreude, or something. *Pout* Hope it smells awful, she says churlishly.
Oh, see, I'm just gonna pull a “sour grapes” on this one and be done with it: None of the notes here tend to work on me, and they're neither new nor that exciting, so I bet this perfume smells like hell. Take that, “unique scent forever”!
Scentenfreude!!! Perfect.
Unfortunately the few mentions I've seen are very positive. BUT, it doesn't sound any more exciting than her regular line, so I'm not feeling like it will kill me to give it a miss.
Wow, you all are really hard customers. I have read so much on the blogs about wanting to highlight the art and artist-status of perfumeurs…that this reaction seems like hyperbole or just pure jest. Yet it doesn't seem like it. In all probability, 20ltd.com went to her, asking that she produce something for them. She has never advertised it. It has been available for most of 2007, yet you've only just heard about it. It isn't even on basenotes. I would imagine that the profits she makes on this will be so much less, even over time, than the profits for her other works. Imagine, as a business owner, delaying the execution of another perfume that will reach a great many more people in order to do this–and then not advertise it on one's own site. In the age of blatant commercialism, Linda and OJ can hold their heads high.
Yes, some of us are VERY hard customers, I agree entirely! I adore Linda's work, and not for a moment do I assume that she is in the business only to grab a buck, so I don't see why she should not hold her head high (and I'm sure she would do so no matter what I said anyway).
But I do not see how this sort of project highlights the art and artist-status of perfumers. There is no special artistic merit in contrived scarcity/exclusivity. Nor does it warm my heart to think that the execution of a perfume that more people could afford and enjoy would be delayed to amuse 50 ultra-wealthy buyers.
Just my opinion, and obviously not everyone agrees with it
In my resolution to find more positive things to say in the New Year…
I will add that I like the box it comes in. It looks like cream colored shagreen.
Forgive me R, but my immediate thought, like Robins, was “Well, she DID say she wanted a new Ormonde Jayne fragrance.”
Positive chuckles from my end.
-MD
The packaging does look lovely, doesn't it? But I said INCENSE. And I'm still waiting for it, LOL…and may have to keep waiting for the rest of my life
In all truth, I don't know what I think of the mention of “art” or “artist” in discussions of perfume. This may be because of my long, heavily-fraught relationship with the fields of contemporary art history, art theory, and art. As art becomes increasingly “democratized” post-1968 (and well before that), art also increasingly becomes more exclusive and directed by the hands of the most wealthy. That's just what is developing–or has always been. Exclusivity is a part of the artworld, despite the radical mantras of Beuys and others. Does this have anything to do with perfume–or this perfume? I don't know. Probably not. Philosophers are starting to dig into the sense of smell used in the fine arts, and they certainly wouldn't call any of the perfumes mentioned on the blogs/boards as art. But they do acknowledge that the perfume industry has the only established vocubulary for exploring this aesthetic dimension. I just threw out the “art” word because I've seen it mentioned often enough on these sites. I'm interested in the discussion around these perfumes as much as, or more than, the perfumes themselves.
Myself, I simply have an immense bias toward Ormonde Jayne. I admit it. I would rather have her work–or even this one perfume–than a handful of others. Her work fits me–it's the only reason I have for justifying the expense. I am certainly not one of the ultra-weathy. But if wishing could make it so…
Well … I was longing for another OJ, but this isn't what I was looking for. Not at that price, and not a rose/ylang/etc. I am a little disappointed she's entered the LE game.
I am going to continue to worship at the altar of Champaca and hold my breath for an incense.
I have an immense bias towards OJ too. I would not like to live without the perfumes. Frankly, many other smaller niche lines could disappear into the sea for all I care. So we agree on that!
But the whole contrived scarcity = high prices = luxury kind of hyper-aspirational marketing is a real turn-off to me, and I think it alienates many “regular” customers of small niche houses (not just talking about OJ here, but generally).
LOL — we'll both go down holding our breath, no doubt! Actually, I have a whole list of scents I'd like OJ to do, just as soon as they're done with the incense
(Somewhat) luckily, iris makes me gag, roses often turn to unpleasant dust, and violet is nothing I want to wear on a regular basis. I'll wait until there's an absolutely irresistible spicy/woody oriental. Come to think of it… oh nooo– it was until this very moment that I had forgotten all about Annick Goutal's Les Orientalistes. Now I'm reminded to spend outrageous amounts of money when I'd been so good lately. CURSES!
This is going on my shelf, right next to the $62k Guerlain lippy. Riiiight. When do we need to start sending CVs, previous years' tax forms and ancestral records for these bottles?
LOL!
Lucky for me, the AGs are apparently not coming to the US for quite some time, so my wallet is safe for the moment
I agree, she should sell some stickers too, so you can stick it on your neck together with the price and everybody can read it. This is disapppointing and probably created for the clients who like to point out what an expensive thing it is.
Hi Robin, you do come with very “exclusive scents” so that is fun read.
Think the price is outragious. Producing only 50 doesn't automatically make them a perfume work of art. Just a hard to get bottle of something.