Ormonde Jayne Bijou Zafran by Oli
As was evident at this year’s Esxence, tropical fruit fragrances are back. They’re thick, they’re juicy and – in quite a few cases – they’re overstaying their welcome, forsaking nuance and storied evolution for sheer staying power. Which makes Ormonde Jayne Bijou Zafran all the more an interesting prospect considering a) it’s fruity, b) it was released here in the UK a few months ago now and c) it’s not just another saccharine pear fragrance that fades into a pillowy husk of musks.
Ormonde Jayne Bijou Zafran’s perfumer, Elodie Bernard (photo courtesy of Expressions Parfumées) & Ormonde Jayne founder, Creative Director and Perfumer Linda Pilkington (photo courtesy of Ormonde Jayne)
As the name Bijou Zafran suggests, there is an undercurrent of saffron that’s been engineered and exquisitely wrought to work in tandem with the opening crisp pear note. Admittedly, in theory, pear and saffron sounds like a combination that could easily end up being a bit of a mess if the pear is that synthetic, pear drop-type candy note or if the saffron is too sharp, too bold or in any way too metal. Perfumer Elodie Bernard works to present the pear as soft and natural and uses the saffron more as a background bridge that fuses the fruity aspects with the mineral tones of the cypriol, the patchouli and the ambery molecules. It’s the olfactory equivalent of the red string on the police noticeboard that connects people with times and locations – like, it’s not the most important information you’re looking at, but it’s a very necessary tool to visualise how such a particular scenario played out.
Ormonde Jayne Bijou Zafran by Oli
The ionones cushion the pear as it evaporates before the appearance of benzoin and a dark tinged vanilla, which altogether provide a thickness and the velvet touch on skin that is necessary so that Bijou Zafran can sit amongst the rest of the Ormonde Jayne range. I say that because Linda Pilkington has built a brand that has long displayed a cohesive quality regardless of the individual olfactory directions. Working with perfumer Geza Schoen they created a string of bold and contemporary creations like 2001’s Ormonde Woman (a Cafleurebon Modern Masterpiece) Tolu, Nawab of Oudh and Montabaco that have properly stood the test of time and now, whilst exploring a slew of new and different directions with different perfumers, she’s keenly maintaining that same level of quality control.
Ormonde Jayne Bijou Zafran by Oli
For example, the latest collection that Bijou Zafran hails from, the ‘Four Corners Reimagined’ collection, manages to recalibrate oud and patchouli, alongside saffron, in new and interesting ways that don’t feel trite or well tread. Patchouli d’Atlas neatly twists patchouli, through a cedar grove adding layers of dry wood and elements of fougere-y foliage, lifting the attention from the forest floor to the air that flows above it. Similarly, Oud Liaisons takes a rather intense and unpredictable ingredient and asks the question, “what if we made this the smoothest thing possible?”
And whilst the whole collection succeeds in reimagining its chosen ingredient(s), Ormonde Jayne Bijou Zafran does something far more unexpected and wonderfully unique.
Notes: saffron, pear, cypriol, iris, benzoin, patchouli, musk, mineral amber, vanilla, leather
Disclaimer: a bottle of Bijou Zafran was provided by the brand for review, opinions are my own.
– Oli Marlow, Editor
Ormonde Jayne Bijou Zafran courtesy of Ormonde Jayne
Thanks to the generosity of Ormonde Jayne, we have a 88ml bottle of Bijou Zafran available for a reader in North America/EU/UK for a giveaway. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Oli’s review and where you live. Draw closes 6/24/26
All photos by Oli unless otherwise noted
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