For a good while, I’ve made no bones about the fact that I’m not the wildest Ormonde Jayne fragrance fan, despite desperately trying to be and almost feeling guilty because of it. I somehow feel it’s possible due to a lack of my own sophistication rather than a brand flaw.

The founder and creative director of Ormonde Jayne, Linda Pilkinton’s scents feature some of the most sought after ingredients sourced from around the world yet, said with a dipped head, I often find them very flat, verging on insipid and lacking an arse. In fact that’s it! They’re the Rihanna to my J-Lo and I’m not ashamed to say I like a fragrance with a good arse.

Linda is an absolutely inspirational figure in the fragrance world and last year I was able to sit and chat with her over a cup of tea in her London office; she knows her craft and can keep you hanging on her every word. She puts so much of herself into her creations.

Black Gold really took me back. Smelling a small press-sample in the PR offices of UPPR, I put my nose to my wrist with a pre-emptive scrunched face. Well didn’t I just feel like a tit. Ormonde Jayne Black Gold is one of the most intoxicating, full bodied and euphoric scents my nasal passages have ever clapped hold of. This is something special.

With amber, clary sage, carnation, water-lily, vanilla, rose, orchid and juniper berries (and many others but these were by far the most prominent notes) all on a base of oud agarwood and ambrette. The balance Black Gold strikes between heady, chocolatey rich oud and delicate, fresh-cut florals is almost indescribable; it simultaneously warms and refreshingly cools the soul.

The exact breakdown is as follows: Top notes of lemon, bergamot, mandarin orange, juniper berries and clary sage. A heart of orchid, water lily,rose,  carnation and jasmine. Finally a base of agarwood oud, sandalwood, pink pepper, patchouli, vanilla, vetiver, labdanum, moss, cedar, ambrette, amber and musk.

Being an oud, it’s wildly long lasting and if you go for more than a single spray, you’re a fool. It doesn’t have the furthest throw in the world but remember this is essentially an oud – people are going to notice.

It’s sophisticated androgyny perfected; like an 80’s fashion icon (I would say singer but I don’t want things to go all ‘BBC’). There’s shoulder pads, eyeliner and big hair but soft jawlines, bright eyes and warm smiles in this embracing and non-conformist statue of a fragrance.

Ormonde Jayne Black Gold is bottled confidence.