Ormonde Jayne — Gatsby 22
Essence
Gatsby 22 is a 2022 unisex Eau de Parfum by British niche house Ormonde Jayne, composed by founder Linda Pilkington as a jazz-age-themed citrus-floral-woody musk. Despite a “leather” family tag, it reads as a bright, dry, urbane cologne-style scent: a sparkling Sicilian-lemon-and-bergamot opening over an osmanthus-violet-orange-blossom floral heart, anchored by a clean woody-musk base with vetiver and a soft leather accord. It is an abstraction - “a jazz riff on Jay Gatsby” - prized for elegance and refinement but criticized for being understated, ambroxan-clean and short-lived relative to its niche price.
Scent Profile
The notes - bergamot, Sicilian lemon and pink pepper up top; osmanthus, orange blossom and violet in the heart; musk, vetiver, leather and tonka in the base - manifest as a fresh-citrus-floral that a published review’s Lauryn Beer captured almost beat-by-beat. The opening (first 10-20 min) is “a mouth-puckering squeeze of lemon, green-tinged and bitter, rounded out with bergamot blaring like an olfactory brass section,” with a “frisky, fruity pink pepper” foxtrotting behind it; osmanthus arrives quickly, lending its characteristic apricot-and-suede fruity-floral nuance. Into the heart (1-3 hrs), the signature Ormonde Jayne osmanthus - “high-end, peach fuzz suede,” as the takeonethingoff reviewer described it - joins a cool, slender violet that “adds a slender quietness,” slowing the tempo from staccato citrus to something more deliberate; orange blossom and a clean woody material (often read as ambroxan/Iso E-style) fill it out. The drydown (3+ hrs) turns to “aromatic classic barbershop vibes with the arrival of some soapy, clean musk,” gradually giving way to “a transparent woodiness” with violet lingering; vetiver and a soft leather accord provide a dry, tailored finish. Which notes are actually perceptible: lemon/bergamot (dominant opening), osmanthus and violet (the floral signature), and a clean woody-musk (the through-line) are clearly readable; the catalog “leather” is faint-to-imperceptible (multiple wearers say they don’t smell classic leather at all), and vetiver is subtle enough that one reviewer asked “why am I not picking up on the vetiver?” The most pointed critique comes from takeonethingoff, who found the florals “drenched in, and partially obscured by a woody musk material that screams eau de department store,” making the natural notes read as “glossy magazine inserts rather than the real thing.” Linearity: it evolves from bright citrus to soapy-woody but stays within an abstract, “clean, androgynous, Ambroxinated” register. Signature accord: sparkling citrus over osmanthus-suede and clean barbershop musk.
Performance
Gatsby 22 is a light performer - its chief and most consistent criticism. Multiple fragrance wearer and fragrance wearer wearers report limited longevity and modest sillage: “Longevity is limited, but still a successful creation”; “Don’t expect a full day’s wear out of this. You’ll need to spray on a ton to get any kind of longevity out of it. It should really come in a big bottle since it’s on the weaker side.” Realistic expectations are roughly four to six hours on skin (Perfume.com states “the fragrance can last for four to six hours or longer”), with one a published review reviewer more optimistically reporting it “last[s] well into the night with the lively use of jubilant musk” - projection and persistence clearly vary by skin and quantity. Projection is light-to-moderate, sitting fairly close after the citrus burst fades; this is a “come close but not closer” scent, as a published review put it, with a deliberately remote, tailored quality rather than a loud trail. Longevity improves markedly on clothing, where the musky-woody base clings longer than on skin. In heat, the bright citrus-floral profile is pleasant and airy, making it more summer-friendly than the leather tag implies; in cold it can feel thin. Best application strategy per wearer: spray generously and consider hair/clothing to coax out longevity. No published measured testing exists; figures synthesize a published review, takeonethingoff and fragrance wearer/fragrance wearer reports.
Wearing Context
Gatsby 22 is a daytime, warm-weather, versatile-leaning fragrance despite house framing as “edgy.” Best seasons are spring and summer; its zingy lemon-bergamot-osmanthus profile reads as fresh and “perfect for summer” (one fragrance wearer wearer keeps it for “short errands, lounging around the house, after showers/before bed”). Time of day skews daytime, though the soapy-musky drydown works for low-key evenings. It shines in professional and casual daytime settings where an understated, elegant, clean-citrus-floral signature is welcome - a published review imagined it on “a present-day Jordan Baker” and behind the wheel of “Gatsby’s Rolls-Royce.” It falls flat where presence/projection or a distinctive statement is expected, given its lightness and abstraction. Social-perception skew: clean, androgynous and inoffensive - takeonethingoff explicitly tied it to the “clean, androgynous, Ambroxinated vibe” of Glossier You and Baccarat Rouge 540 admirers, i.e. aimed at “the young professional or cool girl/gal.” Some find it leans subtly masculine via the leather/vetiver. It is a “smell expensive but quiet” scent, not a crowd-turner.
Comparisons & DNA
Critics and wearer anchor Gatsby 22 to several references with clear deltas. a published review’s reviewer noted that worn on the air it “smells like a richer version of Cartier Declaration d’un Soir.” takeonethingoff ran it side by side with Byredo Bal d’Afrique - “a scent that goes for a similar sparkly champagne-lemon-vetiver vibe” - and found Gatsby 22 “much drier, more urbane, and far less literal,” while Bal d’Afrique “suddenly seems quite ostentatiously gourmand-ish in comparison.” The same reviewer grouped its abstract clean-musk effect with Glossier You, Maison de Violet Tanagra and Baccarat Rouge 540 (MFK) - perfumes that “smell like nothing at all but also like crushed gemstones, fresh air, sexual confidence.” fragrance wearer wearers offered their own: “a lighter version of Creed Erolfa… very very similar to Erolfa, note wise, and less aromatic” (Gatsby is softer, weaker); “the masculine counterpart to Armani Prive The Yulong”; and a passing nod to Prada Infusion d’Homme for its soapy-clean character. Within Ormonde Jayne, it shares the house’s signature osmanthus and clean-musk DNA (one wearer compared value unfavorably to OJ Evernia, which “lasts longer”). Lineage: Gatsby 22 sits in the modern “clean ambroxan/osmanthus” niche current rather than starting a trend; it is a refined, citrus-forward expression of Ormonde Jayne’s established osmanthus-and-Iso-E house style. Genuine designer dupes are not specifically documented, but its abstraction means cheaper clean-citrus-musks approximate the effect; for the osmanthus-suede signature specifically, other Ormonde Jayne osmanthus work is the closer reference.
Reception
Gatsby 22 has genuine published coverage. a published review (Lauryn Beer) was warmly positive, framing it as an Art-Deco “abstraction, a jazz riff on Jay Gatsby,” praising its tempo-shifting citrus-to-leather structure and calling it “zingy, yet smooth.” The Scented Hound was enthusiastic (“a perfume that keeps on giving… an easy wear. What’s not to love?”). The most analytically critical voice, takeonethingoff, was candidly mixed-to-negative: she admired the craftsmanship of the citrus, geranium and “peach fuzz suede” osmanthus but disliked the “sour, rubbery musk” that “screams eau de department store,” concluding “Gatsby 22 isn’t something I can see myself ever leaning into” while acknowledging it’s “perfect for a modern-day Daisy Buchanan.” wearer sentiment (fragrance wearer, fragrance wearer, wearer reports) is divided and often lukewarm: praise for elegance, freshness and an “understated,” “fresh, floral, elegant, unisex” daily wearability (“a modern Ormonde Man… impresses in the high school/office”); criticism that it is “insipid,” “common and uninspiring,” “nondescript,” underwhelming for the house and price, with weak longevity (“something similar can be picked up for a fraction of the price”). A recurring complaint is that it doesn’t smell connected to its Roaring-Twenties / Gatsby concept at all. Axes of polarization: lovers of clean, abstract, ambroxan-musk freshness vs. those who find it generic and weak; OJ fans expecting niche complexity vs. the reality of a light citrus cologne. Blind-buy verdict: sample first - the lightness, abstraction and divisive musk make it a risky blind buy at niche price, despite its real elegance.
Versions & Reformulation
Gatsby 22 launched July 7, 2022 as an Eau de Parfum at 110 GBP / 135 USD for 50 ml (per a perfume blog and fragrance wearer), and was also offered in 10 ml format within an Ormonde Jayne “Travel Lab” boxed set. fragrance wearer and fragrance wearer both flag it as “apparently discontinued,” though it remained available via retailers and backorder (e.g. listed “from $150” on backorder at one stockist) as of recent listings. No concentration variants beyond the EDP and no reformulations are documented; treat it as a single composition that has moved toward limited/discontinued availability.
Acquisition Notes
Gatsby 22 is niche-tier pricing - 110 GBP / 135 USD for 50 ml at launch, with current third-party listings around $150 and up given its discontinued/limited status. Commonly available size is 50 ml; a 10 ml travel format existed inside Ormonde Jayne’s limited “Travel Lab” five-fragrance set (now sold out). Decant availability is thinner than for mainstream designers - it appears at niche-focused decanters and OJ stockists rather than the big splitter catalogs, so sampling may require an OJ sample set or a specialist decanter. Twisted Lily) or reputable niche boutiques.
Notable Facts & Lore
- Gatsby 22 is documented as a personal passion project for founder-perfumer Linda Pilkington.
- In her own words (carried by fragrance wearer and stockists): “What fun I had creating a perfume to personify a stylish and sophisticated era - nostalgic for a time of jazz, pearls, well-tailored dinner jackets, cigars and Rolls Royce cars,” adding that The Great Gatsby is “My all-time favourite book and author.” Stockist copy elaborates a striking biographical detail: Pilkington “even stayed in the hotel it was written in and re-read it and married on the same day the book was published” - an unusually personal launch story.
- The house pitched it as “confident, edgy and sophisticated” with “a boisterous burst of Sicilian lemon and bergamot.” The chief irony of its reception is the gap between this elaborate Jazz-Age narrative and a finished scent many found pleasant but understated and disconnected from the theme.
- No celebrity associations, viral moments or controversies specific to Gatsby 22 surfaced in major sources.