Ormonde Elixir
Ormonde Jayne (2019)

To me, Ormonde Elixir is quite close to Ormonde Woman, and not so close to Ormonde Man. Ormonde Man is brighter, and Ormonde Woman / Ormonde Elixir is a darker scent. If you like Ormonde Man, you won’t necessarily like either Woman or Elixir.

Ormonde Elixir is 45% Ormonde Woman, 45% Ormonde Man, and 10% oud oil. I’m not mad at those percentages. The oud smells like the real deal has been used, and in more than holistic quantities too. The notes say Cambodi, but it smells like a hyper-smooth blend of Cambodi and Hindi oud to me, with the hot, bilious pleather of a Hindi (Hermès saddles buried under dirty straw) rubbing shoulders with the honeyed, berried undertone of a Cambodi (undiluted cranberry cordial) until the platonic ideal of the aroma profile that most people would think of as ‘oudy’ emerges. The oud imbues Woman’s lovely face with a menacing five-o-clock shadow, which is no mean feat given that Woman was already a moody black-green to start with. It punches Woman up a few notches, giving it a pungent, almost feral depth, without sacrificing any of the original’s gym-honed sleekness or its distinctive treacle-tart amber base.

In short, Ormonde Elixir is the Platinum card upgrade to the Gold of the original Woman. And it is absolutely beautiful. If you’re starting out and you want to own just one of the Woman/Man series (and have the money to spend), then this right here is the smoothest, deepest, and more luxe version of the series. However, if you already own either Ormonde Woman or Ormonde Man, then you own 90% of Ormonde Elixir. Personally, I’ve reached the ‘more sense than money’ stage of this hobby, so a sample of Elixir is enough to satisfy the itch.

Balanced

It opens with a tad bit of oud to open up. I've only tried Ormonde Man, and not Woman, but this definitely smells the same as that, if you have tried it. They are the same fragrance, but tweaked. Man is a bit more pine smelling, and Elixir is a bit sweeter. After the oud blends in in like 10 seconds, a bit of some soft cotton candy sweetness is very very present. The drydown of this one is really fantastic. It is strong. It has proper volume. Longevity very good. It just smells so good. I love this fragrance. Even more than my full wearings I spray it on my arm all the time. I just love the smell. It goes a bit powdery in a classy way to end. I could wear this every day and be satisfied. Made it to my top ten, I might even back it up, which is a rarity for me. Presentation is fantastic. Only thing Id say is that if you were not caring about as much subtle nuance, the Ormonde Man would get you pretty close. There is really only a difference with the added 1% of Cambodian oud that makes this so much more expensive. $280 for 50ml is quite expensive. This is refined though, and I love it.

As for the opening oud, its got some tiny foot/cheese to it. I'm suprised its cambodian and not assam. I assosiate assam with cheese.

Starts off with a harsh, medicinal note, reminds me of Chloraseptic mouth spray. Something in this is dry and cool, almost camphoric, like a mothball or a dentist's office. But also, florals are present. Eventually, it dries down to a soft floral-woody base, which isn't great but still so much more pleasant than the opening.

Projection is good and longevity is even better, lasting all day.

In which the cultivated forest ritual of Ormonde Man gets interrupted by someone stepping into a cowpat oud. That's just me being flippant and signalling that the oud is a bit wild and unwashed. But truth to tell it is quite at home in the otherwise lush, cool greens of the signature Ormonde perfume, the fresh breath of cardamom providing a nice point of contrast to the animalic oud. So far I have not come across anything that remotely resembles this marriage of oud with an open, expansive, subtly orchestrated green composition and that in itself is remarkable, but when, as in this case, the result detracts nothing from what was a contemporary classic while transforming and renewing it by degrees, that is worth applauding. A welcome addition that manages to retain the lithe beauty of the original.
Another plus point for those fearful of repelling company – the oud is perceived mainly by the wearer, the sillage is much fresher.

Ormonde Man was a really unique scent, which I quite liked, yet something in it prevented me from buying into it - perhaps it was too much hemlock, to much statement in it. Now I'm amused that this Elixir is a great improvement, and it has everything I ever wished. Probably the best scent ever I've come across.
I have seen the question if it's based on Ormonde Man or Ormonde Woman. I'm convinced that it's rather a masculin scent than a feminine one, so my answer is that Man.