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| Linda Pilkington |
When I first fell down the perfume rabbit hole in 2008, I started sampling designer brands by buying carded samples on eBay, and it wasn't long before I discovered Jo Malone, which acted as a gateway brand - or "back of the wardrobe" brand, if you will - to the Narnian land of niche fragrance beyond. And my first properly niche love was Ormonde Jayne, whose Signature Collection I likened to a capsule wardrobe (wardrobe metaphors abound!). I said to friends back then - and still stand by the comment - that if I had to pick one "desert island niche house" it would be Ormonde Jayne, whose original yet eminently wearable stable of scents nicely covers every season and occasion, compact as it was. I wrote a post on that theme, in which I paired each of ten original scents with a specific outfit. I am no fashion writer, but it's quite a fun piece if you are new to Bonkers, familiar with the OJ line, and curious to see if you agree with the looks / ensembles I have gone for!
Then I don't recall exactly how it came about, but somehow I had arranged to meet Linda Pilkington, the founder of Ormonde Jayne, in London at the Old Bond Street store...14 years ago almost to the day. It was not to be, however, owing to a mysterious lack of crew on my designated train, so I had to ring up and cancel at a couple of hours' notice. Fast forward to last November, when I was one of many people mailed by Linda's PR, with an invitation to chat to her on Zoom. She was setting aside a couple of half days, split into 20 minute slots, in which to try a particular scent "live" with her, or simply chew the cud about perfume - there was no fixed agenda. I wasn't quick enough off the mark to catch the first batch of dates, but due to popular demand Linda kindly released another half day not long afterwards and I was able to bag a slot then.
In preparation for this call, I had typed up a questionnaire, just as though this were a work project!, but ended up flitting around and going off-piste, only covering a fraction of what I had hoped to. And so at the end of the call Linda suggested I pop into their new flagship store (still in Old Bond Street, but in a different spot), and in the New Year I set up a date in late January. But before getting to that in-person meeting, here are some highlights from the Zoom call...
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| Royal Arcade, Old Bond St |
ZOOM CALL - 26/11/24
Company overview
Linda was clearly proud of the fact that Ormonde Jayne remains 100% independent, with a loyal customer base, including different generations in families! She explained that the company had grown quite a lot in the last 18 months, but in a controlled way, keeping the same philosophy and team, such that she felt ready to go to the next level.
Most asked question in the Zoom calls? (I was one of the last participants)
Her favourite perfume in the Ormonde Jayne line! Answer: Ormonde Woman. "It speaks to me because hemlock put me on the map - it's my precious bottle of perfume. Makes me feel confident and one notch up." I remarked that Cristalle had historically fulfilled that "perfume as armour" role for me, and Linda replied that it is also a favourite of hers, and was the inspiration for Tiare, no less. "What did I enjoy smelling like when I was younger?"
"Retired" scents aka "sleeping beauties"
The discussion of Tiare naturally led us to consider reasons why perfumes had had to be discontinued or "retired". Linda likes to call these her "sleeping beauties". It turned out that this has always been due to regulatory or (occasionally) supply reasons. In the case of Tiare, the supplier of the tiare ingredient stopped growing it; mostly, however, the suspension of a perfume was because the formula had suddenly become non-compliant eg Sampaquita, Orris Noir, and Zizan (to take the original Signature Collection as an example). This is almost always - somewhat perversely, you could say - because of the luxurious quality of the composition, with higher percentages of perfume molecules, which on aggregate across the various notes exceed the new permitted amounts.
Linda explained that sometimes they are able to recreate a discontinued perfume with the right certificates and keep the same name - "we are 99% there with Orris Noir" - but with others it wouldn't be possible eg Sampaquita. "If I can't hit it perfectly I don't try."
She spoke of the perfumes they had made in the past for retail partners around the world, such as White Gold and Rose Gold. "They are great perfumes that all took a long time - I am not prepared to let them go. They too are sleeping 'in the library'." She also mentioned True Love, a scent with iris and rose I had not heard of - but having looked it up it seems very much the sort of thing I'd like - and said she definitely wants to bring that back.
Are these Zoom calls a bit like the fragrance PR equivalent of speed dating?
Absolutely!
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| Source: Ormonde Jayne |
STORE VISIT - 23/01/25
The day of my visit was wild, wet and windy, yet the train was running, unlike the previous occasion - and was even on time. I arrived at the boutique with a sodden umbrella, but Linda's assistant whipped it away to dry somewhere and settled me at the table in the window you can see in the photo above, where Linda joined me shortly afterwards. I was struck by how pretty she was, and how petite and youthful and vivacious, a bit like a brunette version of Amanda Holden. She was positively fizzing with energy, and we quickly picked up the thread of our previous conversation, touching again on the retired scents, and what IFRA was so concerned about to have instigated these regulatory changes.
Why the concern about molecule quantities in a fragrance formula?
Because of perfumes having too many allergens is the short answer. [I am reminded of cholesterol testing: mine was 6.5 about 15 years ago, which was considered normal back then, but my current reading of 5.3 raises an eyebrow because the goalposts have changed. Surely no one in either the medical or the perfume sphere can really know the exact point at which something becomes a risk to health? Same with our weekly units of alcohol guidelines. Plus we are constantly warned that this or that (insert your favourite drink or food ;( ) increases your risk of some quite dire diseases, though the increase in absolute risk is rarely if ever stated, and sometimes not even the nearly meaningless relative one. But I digress...]
Ormonde Jayne perfumes and home fragrances "in the wild"
Linda said in passing that she applies perfume liberally three times a day, including before she gets on the Tube, so that commuters might get a whiff of what she is wearing...in the spirit of spreading the love, ;) (And doing a spot of ambient advertising to boot, why not?) We also talked about the generally high quality scents you can "eavessniff" on the Metro in Paris - Linda fondly remembered one with a "vanilla-y amber-y" vibe. I also learnt that The Mandarin Oriental hotel in London uses an Orris Noir "parfum d'ambiance" (though I didn't catch where exactly), while Brown's Hotel opposite the boutique has Levant in its lobby, and Frangipani in its bathrooms. Linda also spoke of dinner parties at her house, where she was touched to note that all the guests had thoughtfully chosen to wear one of her perfumes. It must be rewarding to know that your creations have brought such pleasure to so many - as with artists and authors - or bands, indeed.
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| Source: Wikimedia Commons (Author - CVB) |
Are any Ormonde Jayne perfumes vegan?
I told Linda that this is the question I get asked most by friends. Turns out there are 3-4 scents in fact, though they are not vegan by design. Linda didn't have their names to hand, but I could perhaps pursue this through her office if it was important to anyone.
What is behind the move to parfum strength?
As people may be aware, the whole of the Ormonde Jayne stable is being relaunched in extrait strength, and the 50ml bottle has been upgraded to 88ml, though a 10ml travel size and a set of 4 x 10ml in each scent are also available. Obviously the bigger bottle and greater concentration have meant a price increase. Linda explained the move by saying that she wanted the perfumes to last longer and offer better value for the consumer. I must admit I will miss the 50ml bottle, as it is a handy size, especially for those of us with big collections, but 88ml is still quite compact compared with those bumper 200ml sizes of the Chanel Exclusifs, say.
Who are some of Ormonde Jayne's celebrity clients?
Goldie Hawn ~ Tolu, Bryan Ferry ~ Ormonde Man, Emma Thompson ~ Ta'if, David Coverdale (Whitesnake) ~ Isfarkand.
How are your cats?
As readers may know, Linda has two cats called Teddy and Freddie. Teddy is a bold, very outgoing ginger cat, who regularly wanders onto the set of a local film company, where he is petted by the cast of whatever is being shot that day. He has even featured in a couple of ads by nonchalantly photobombing their shoots, eg one for M & S, and a poster ad for clothing company Uniqlo. Freddie meanwhile, most worryingly - and unusually, as he was not a wanderer - went missing recently. He was eventually spotted in London Zoo, and after concerted searches by the family in the grounds (aka "small game hunting") a rather dishevelled Freddie was found hiding out, and reunited with his owners.
Miscellaneous interesting facts I gleaned
Linda's husband speaks six languages(!), while Linda is learning German (doubtless with a bit of input from Geza Schoen, her co-nose, with whom she is in regular contact). Oh, and she is a big Woody Allen fan. Also, she wipes her desk down every Friday afternoon, to ensure a clean and unscented slate for the week ahead.
Speaking of Geza Schoen, he came up a few times in the conversation, and Linda spoke warmly of their collaboration. I mentioned having met him in Berlin and how, at the gig he came along to that evening, the band leader happened to be wearing Ormonde Man, without having any idea that someone very closely involved with its creation was in the audience...
After our session, which was about an hour and a half but simply flew, Linda generously picked out some scents to go into a goody bag for me. Then it was time for her to leave for an in-store event at Selfridge's, while I was meeting an old friend - but not before I had my dry umbrella returned to me, and Linda had insisted in a charmingly motherly way that I close my handbag and zip up my coat in case the rain got in...
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NB I deliberately didn't consult this wonderfully in-depth interview between Undina and Linda P, (conducted over Zoom in 2021) in advance of either of my sessions with her, so as not to be influenced by her earlier responses. Having just looked again at Undina's post, I see there is some crossover with my post, but we each covered different areas as well. And to be honest, when I got to meet Linda I realised that because of a multiple pairs of glasses issue I couldn't see both her and my questionnaire properly at the same time, so ended up ditching the latter and just shooting the breeze.
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