Qi
Ormonde Jayne (2012)

Another ugly tea scent. This tea note is the vomited type of tea. I have seen the same in Oltremare Bois 1920, Blue Tea The Merchant of Venice and Wulong Cha Nishane. Their perfumers have worked to rule because a ready-made molecule that apparently smells like tea has been provided to them. But this molecule does not provide an interesting smell of tea at all. Very long lasting but unattractive scent.

A perky but light little number...deceivingly light at first until you realize it really projects rather well...perfect for a nice summer evening...a flowery aromatic tea...little traces of lemony flavoring...pleasant, polite , fresh and very enjoyable to my nose...

My wallet dispairs a little every time I discover a new Ormonde Jayne fragrance, because more often than not I end up loving them. I never would have given this the time of day, as it sounds a bit too polite and light for my tastes, but my interest was piqued when I visited the OJ store to sniff their candles (which are fantastic, by the way).

I ended up getting a sample because I could not get this delicate beauty out of my head; a breezy tea and citrus affair with, to my nose, plenty of apricotty osmanthus. It's achieves a fine balance between floral, fresh, and bitter and is airy without being unsubstantial at all. It lasts and projects impressively for such a delicate fragrance; I get addictive, mood lifting wafts of it all day. I find Ormonde Jayne one of the most consistently impressive houses out there and will be saving up to add this to my collection. I bet it will be spectacular in spring.

I'm a sucker for tea-based fragrances and this had me well, suckered. The QI simply flows from the zesty neroli top, to the balmy heart of floral-infused mate before segueing to a warmly resinous base. If I were to nitpick it would be that the transition from top to base progresses a little too quickly. Like a thrilling joyride on a roller coaster, the fun is over before you knew it. Which in this case may not be all that bad as I find the drydown thoroughly enjoyable.