Xi'An

A beautiful soft and fresh spicy fragrance. Like most OJ:s is very well blended and hard to pick up individual notes. The rhubarb is gently humming along as a discreet softly tart and fruity note, but the most prominent notes are the airy spices, (of which I definitely pick up cumin) and musk. The musk is not a white one, nor a beastly animalic, but smells of ambrette or my puppy's softly furry neck. A very classy musky scent, a bit chanelesque, beige-tinted. It performs lovely in hot weather. It reminds me of Amouage Epic Woman, this could be her younger, more innocent summery sister. In summary: Spicy but airy, classy but original, elegant but human.

I must have first smelled this a year ago and, via a few free samples, I keep coming back to this and loving it at very particular moments. The opening is like fireworks, all bright and sparkly. At first I thought it was floral but I figure it must be the rhubarb. It's sweet like flowers, not sugary like syrup. It smells quite feminine in a way that I (a male) really enjoy wearing. For me these top notes stay for a long time and project quite far but it's a polite smell that's gotten a couple of compliments. Once it dries down I can smell the cedar and sandalwood but it's very gentle and clean. Very comforting by the evening.

Xian by Ormonde Jayne is a really sweet ‘fresh spicy woody’ fragrance. The rhubarb note is the only note you can easily identify in my view, with the other notes providing the foundation of the fragrance and giving us the spicy and woody feel even though there is a reasonable sweetness. Quite intriguing and definitely not something to blind purchase. But I wouldn’t discount it. It’s really unique and entirely pleasing.

Bright, clean rhubarb supported by pepper (smells pink) and musky woods. Lightly sweet, but not in a candy/dessert-y/gourmand-y way. The mix of notes gives a distinct impression of roses, but there are none here? I think it'd be fantastic layered with a rose scent to take it in a myriad of directions.

This is definitely not an ordinary woody incensy scent. The spicy soapiness adds sparks in the more resinous woody incense scent, making it dance and present a very mystical and serene atmosphere. I tried it in a warm 85F summer night. The scent is subdued but trail and projection is very noticeable.