“…some we know to be dead even though they walk among us; some are not yet born though they go through all the forms of life; others are hundreds of years old though they call themselves thirty-six.”
— Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Imagine living for centuries and only aging 36 years. Oh, and starting out your existence as a man, then waking up one morning as a woman (thus experiencing “love” — sex — both ways). If that scenario intrigues you, and you are also amused by or interested in Old Queen Bess, cross-dressing, the struggle to write something “worthy,” exotic locales and gypsies..and much more…read Orlando.
Since the perfume, Orlando, inspired by Orlando the book, is by Jardins d’Écrivains (writers’ gardens), I will vouch for Virginia Woolf’s green-thumb connections — both her husband, Leonard, and the woman who inspired Orlando the book (Virginia Woolf’s one-time lover) Vita Sackville-West, were serious gardeners — Leonard on a small scale at Monk's House, Vita on a grand, aristocratic scale (visit Sissinghurst Castle, her house and garden in England, if you’re ever near it).
I like the Jardins d’Écrivains perfume line (I especially admire George), and Orlando has become my second-favorite from the collection.
Orlando starts off with the scent of dried orange peels “revived” by some peppery ginger juice and maybe some honey (warm notes)*; Orlando’s opening is opaque, but lively. As the fragrance develops, I can smell clove, patchouli and one of my all-time favorites, Peru balsam (also used in Jardins d’Écrivains George).
Overall, Orlando's notes create the aroma of an old-fashioned pomander or home-made (and VERY fragrant) potpourri (perhaps scenting a wood-paneled room or wooden trunk, for there is a sweet wood note in the fragrance). No doubt Woolf's Orlando inspirations, travel (as well as time travel) and the people, real and imagined, who influenced the novel, make me think, when I smell Orlando perfume — vintage (an understatement), country house and traveling trunk (with its nécessaire de toilette fully stocked with Eaux de cologne, lotions, powders and herbal medicines). Orlando reminds me of the scents I used to encounter as a child when I would visit Colonial Williamsburg: many of the homes there, stately or modest, displayed beautiful porcelain dishes or ginger jars full of pungent potpourri, and I remember buying spice cookies, ginger cakes and honey-flavored candy at a "reproduction" Colonial-era kitchen. Orlando's sweet ginger, clove and orange peel scents bring back the memories...and my appetite.
The final stage of Orlando smells great: a combination of a (now) liquor-y orange scent mixing with talc-y sweet amber. Orlando is not an “original” or quirky perfume, but a beautifully composed, classic fragrance, one I consider a comfort scent (but not, strictly speaking, a gourmand perfume thanks to the wood notes). Orlando has great lasting power and good sillage; it's (appropriately) unisex and, like the title character in Orlando, it's timeless, ageless in style.
Jardins d’Écrivains Orlando Eau de Parfum is $110 for 100 ml. For buying information, see the listing for Jardins d’Écrivains under Perfume Houses.
*Fragrance notes include orange, ginger, pink pepper, cloves, patchouli, amber, gaiac wood, Peru balsam and musk.
Note: top image of Vita Sackville-West [photo altered] and middle image of Virginia Woolf [photo altered] via Wikimedia Commons.
My brother goes to William & Mary so my parents and my sister are always going to Colonial Williamsburg but I’ve never been there.
I looked through the site before reading the review and I thought the candles sounded the best. This sounds a bit candle-y.
Engelwurz: there’s no smoke…unlit candle perhaps (if you mean it would make a great candle scent — yep)
What great timing, I’ve been wearing my sample of this for several days. At first it reminded me of Amouage Memoir Woman—I think it’s the orange and spice notes in both, although Memoir has floral notes this doesn’t—but more “opaque” somehow. I can also see some similarity with George… I may need more of this one!
Janice: I know…I’ve been liking it more each time I’ve worn it.
This sounds like a great fragrance for autumn and winter. l love spicy + orange – must try it!!
And Orlando is a fantastic book. I rarely care for films of favourite books but Tilda Swinton was perfectly cast and the photography was beautiful.
Bejoux: I’ll have to rewatch it…it’s been so long!
Thank you for such an informative article, Kevin. This is calling to me, as are a couple of the others from this line. I’m going to have to order samples soon. (Right now, I’ve got an awful cold and can’t smell anything.)
I visited their site, and also looked at the descriptions of the notes in their candles. Almost everything sounds worth sniffing and I hope they bring them all out as perfumes in the future. I am not a candle person.
Jonette: I want to try a few of those candles too…how can I resist “Nohant?:” (I’m a George Sand fanatic)
I’ve never found Nohant anywhere or I would snap it right up, just because of the association with George Sand.
Kevin, you’re a GS fanatic because of her life? Or her novels? I find they don’t translate very well for our times. I became mad for her because of a movie! Have you seen “Impromptu”?
Iris: I prefer Sand’s non-fiction writing (the novels, with a few exceptions, seem to be translated by some kindergarden class in France or the US!)
Kevin: you could write about the most disgusting toxic waste dump in the world, and I would want to go there. Beautiful review! This sounds wonderful.
Dzingnut: HA! Thanks! Maybe that’s a career I should explore!
Sounds gorgeous. Thanks for the review, Kevin.
PF: you’re welcome.
Kevin, Orlando is one of my all-time favorite books! I love its magical realism. Unlike most, I was disappointed in the film. It did not capture my favorite images (the winter scenes, the jewels, the transition to the 20th century), and Tilda Swinton, wonderful actress though she is, was far from my image of Orlando. I picture someone who looks like the make-up artist Edward Bess, for example. And now, looking at your wonderfully androgynous image of Vita Sackville-West, I wonder if she wasn’t the original inspiration…
Noz: an Edward Bess look-a-like would have been great!
Vita and Virginia have jawlines similar to Oscar Wilde’s
Not just jawlines. They look very similar.