Ormonde Jayne Zizan

They had me at “Omigod it’s an entire bottle!”

I mean, when a company contacts you and tells you that they’re sending you their latest release for review, you’d assume they’re going to send some sort of small sample, right? So imagine my surprise (sprinkled with delight, pleasure, joy, happiness, gratification, enjoyment, thrill and glee — the value of a good thesaurus should never be underestimated) when I opened the box from London and pulled out a full 50ML glass bottle of Zizan, a bright, golden juice that fairly sparkles in its container.

Despite the latest fashionable disdain for gender labels on fragrances (or anything else, for that matter), Ormonde Jayne has no problem coming right out and stating that Zizan was developed specifically for men.

In an interview with Fragrantica, Linda Pilkington (founder of, and perfumer for, Ormonde Jayne) stated that she quizzed all the men who entered her London boutique about their favorite perfumes and scents. Dior’s Eau Sauvage was the hands down favorite perfume, while the smell of vetiver root came in a close second. Zizan is a creative blend of both — “opening with an oil called “Special Citrus Cuts” from a company called Charabot in Grasse” combined with herbs, subtle florals and three different vetivers at its heart for balance.

You know how you always hear that citrus oils are used as top notes because they burn off quickly? Well, that’s because every single other perfume company apparently uses cheaper citrus oils with little to no staying power, because this “Special Citrus Cuts” oil in Zizan — it lasts for the entire life of the fragrance, which is seven hours so far, and counting.

When I first sprayed the fragrance on, it was a serious tumble of lime, lemon and bergamot backed by a light herbal chorus line — like a genuine traditional men’s cologne with that typical bracing bite of citrus and spice, except this time it wasn’t bracing, it was fresh and almost edible. Then the muskier, earthier elements start singing and the whole thing breaks it down into Nine To Five Office Man Land, smooth and buttoned down and Mr. Suave with a drink in his hand by the time the clock hits Happy Hour.

Zizan is a welcome addition to the Ormonde Jayne line, and I’m happy to see a perfumer take her professional male clientele seriously enough to craft a fragrance that deals specifically with their needs. Don’t get me wrong, the brand’s Ormonde Man is a very nice fragrance, but it borders on pretty and flowery, which isn’t necessarily what a white collar man needs for his white collar world.

Zizan has both the bite of a masculine aftershave (citrus, juniper berry, pepper, bay leaf) and the earthy warmth and staying power (jasmine, cedar, musk, amber) of a high-quality niche perfume. I don’t know how well it will go over in the new Ormonde Jayne boutique they recently opened in Dubai, but I’m pretty sure it will be a bang-up best seller with all the financial types in London.

Me? I’m extremely happy they sent me an entire bottle as a sample. I’ll gladly use this stuff up to the last drop — and here I thought Bois 1920 Vetiver Ambrato was the only Vetiver that owned my heart. Silly me.

***Note: A commenter suggests that the incredible staying power of the citrus in Zizan could be due to the use of a synthetic aldehyde to extend the citrus notes, or maybe the use of other woodsier citrus oils that might serve to enhance or extend the notes of the “Special Citrus Cuts” oil that Ms. Pilkington used.

Photos of the Ormonde Jayne Zizan bottle below:

They also sent me a candle in the same box with the bottle of Zizan. I never burn candles, unless the power goes out or it’s some Armageddon type emergency, but I’m burning this one now as I sit here and type this. It’s pretty darn potent. The BF walked by and said, “Is that citronella? That’s really strong!”

But like I said, we don’t burn candles (or incense), so any scented candle is going to come across as fairly extreme in an unscented household.