I feel like Diptyque’s Orpheon is a fragrance either everyone wants or everyone has nowadays. Here’s what I think of it.
Orpheon is a woody chypre and has notes of juniper, jasmine, tonka, cedar and “powdery notes.” It’s designed to smell reminiscent of the jazz club connected to Diptyque’s first boutique. Juniper berries and tonka are meant to evoke the atmosphere of the club with gin and tonics and cigarette smoke swirling the air. The perfumer behind the perfume is Olivier Pescheux.
On first spritz this is quite sharp and green with the juniper at the forefront. It soon settles though, and in the middle it softens as the powdery notes come through. Then comes the cedar wood and some slight sweetness from the tonka bean. To me, throughout most of the wear it’s very much a powdery woody scent, with a hint of juniper that just lifts it slightly.
I get about 8 hours wear with decent projection. It isn’t going to fill a room but people close to you will be able to smell it. This is also a fragrance I think you can wear any time anywhere and I can’t think of any setting where it would be inappropriate. It can be worn day or night, and it’s office friendly due to its modest projection. Orpheon is definitely signature scent worthy and an easy wear.
Orpheon also featured in my 6 fragrances to wear in London post and it was one of my autumn perfume picks. I think it’s a pretty versatile scent and definitely something you can wear on the tube without offending anyone.
How I interpret Diptyque’s Orpheon
It took me a while to appreciate Orpheon. When I first tested it, I thought “this just smells like clean clothes.” And it does. It is very much like sniffing a sheet that is drying outside in the crisp air. But it’s also an addictive and familiar sort of smell, even if it’s one of the most unique fragrances in my collection. Something that you love but can never pinpoint the exact moment you fell for it. It’s the comfort you get from wearing your favourite t-shirt colliding with the confidence you get when you’re dressed up and going to a fancy cocktail bar.
That’s what Diptyque’s Orpheon is to me. It’s a contradiction in the feelings it evokes, and indeed the experience of wearing it with the sharp green opening and powdery woody dry down.
Orpheon retails for £160 for 75ml. I think that’s fair for the performance, quality, versatility and uniqueness of the scent. Especially when you put into perspective a 30ml designer fragrance now costs £70+.
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