Ormonde Jayne Frangipani

I've finally found it. This is the smell of our Philippines garden at dusk ... pungent whiteflower, beautiful. Rich, rich deep scent that holds so much memory for me.

To me, Ormonde Jayne Frangipani is the ultimate tropical scent.

Its notes of linden blossom, magnolia flower and lime peel, white frangipani, jasmine, rose and tuberose absolutes, water lilies and green orchid oil have a perfect floral balance with a touch of citric sharpness. A subtle, rounded quality of plum gently underpins the scent.

And it's early in the fragrance. I still have the basenotes of amber, musk, cedar and French vanilla absolute to look forward to.

I'm not much in the mood to rhapsodize about what this scent brings up ... but it includes my darkly tanned, perfectly fifties-coiffed Mother. Loud bright red flowers on the chintz cushions of rattan sofas. A lot of bamboo. Me running around in a sundress, barefoot, screeching at my little brother. Making whistles out of banana tree (or were they palm?) leaves. Sucking the nectar out of some kind of flower in the garden. My Dad, in khakis, coming home from the base. The smell of gin martini on his breath when he put me to bed and kissed me goodnight.

This is what scent can do. Encapsulate your past and present it back to you.