Ormonde Jayne is thrilled to announce the new Perfume Portrait – the innovative way to discover your perfect scent. The art of bespoke perfumery is to appreciate which oils evoke a positive sensation. The Ormonde Jayne Perfume Portrait takes you on a voyage of true discovery using exceptional oils to help you find your very own signature scent.

The Portrait focuses the mind by allowing you to take in the scents of individual raw ingredients, guiding you on a sensual adventure to unite you with your perfect Ormonde Jayne fragrance. Linda Pilkington has created the Ormonde Jayne Perfume Portraits to be a new journey to find your scent, “The perception of smell consists not only of the sensation of the aromas themselves, but of the experiences and emotions associated with them. Smell can evoke strong emotional reactions and this is not an invention of poets or perfumers”. Ormonde Jayne also debuts in the Perfume Hall on the ground floor of Harrods.

Perfume Portraits – The Process

Seated at a beautiful bespoke testing table, trained staff take notes about the client’s likes and dislikes, favourite perfumes and other aromas. The customer is then invited to smell three raw ingredients from seven different families; hesperedic, light floral, intense floral, balsamic, oriental, woody and atmospheric. The scent of each raw ingredient is embedded in a unique black and gold ceramic stone especially created for Ormonde Jayne’s new Perfume Portraits.

At this stage they are only asking the client to say if they like the aroma or not, and not to try to relate the scent to a perfume they might wear. Perfume Portraits is simply about letting personal taste be guided by your mind’s limitless scope to decipher the aromas around you. Concluding the experience, they suggest two or three Ormonde Jayne perfumes that may suit by summarizing the favoured oils. Again, the favoured perfumes are presented on a second collection of black and gold ceramic stones. You will then choose the perfume you like best. Sometimes this could be two or three perfumes and they then spray the chosen perfume onto the wrists.

While waiting for the perfume to develop, they discuss your personal Perfume Portrait. This is something you can take home and keep for future reference and they also keep a copy in case a loved one should drop by and want to know what you have chosen in the past.

Perfume Portraits is available at the flagship store in The Royal Arcade 0ld Bond Street and at the new Ormonde Jayne counter in The Perfume Hall on the ground hall of Harrods.

Linda Pilkington of Ormonde Jayne Perfumery London interview with Marta Walsh