D’ORSAY
TONKA HYSTERIA

2024

PERFUMER
Jordi Fernandez

mandarin
pink pepper
frankincense
cinnamon

orris butter
orris resin
lily-of-the-valley

tonka bean
benzoin
vanilla

Tonka Hysteria is a tale with two parts for me, with ultimately, a positive conclusion.

The opening is not what I expected. As usual, Jordi Fernandez style reminds me instantly of Quentin Bisch. In this case, you get a a tiny hint of Ganymede influence throughout; sweet, spicy, synthetic. They smell very different overall though.

The tonka doesn’t properly reveal itself in the opening. Instead, an overdose of cinnamon stands out, with a nice hint of pink pepper. And the other big reference for this is that sort of plasticy, band-aid vibe from YSL Babycat (and others have also mentioned Rosendo Mateu No. 5). This persists for quite a while.

It’s pretty nice, but frankly, I was a bit let down at this stage. Mostly, because I don’t love that Babycat style of sweetness and despite listing many high quality natural ingredients, it didn’t smell like it to me.

But it gets better as it dries. Tonka Hysteria manages to become more of it’s own thing. It gets very sweet, with more pronounced tonka. I think the use of natural ingredients starts to shine through and you really get a mix of richer, more beautiful sweetness, combined with the more screechy, airy style from the opening. It reminds me a bit of some Guerlain’s, like a hint of Spiriteuse Double Vanille with more tonka (I have not smelled the Shalimar Millesime Tonka, but this is what I would picture that smells like).

In the end, I liked the latter hours of Tonka Hysteria quite a lot. And I have a feeling I would like it more on subsequent wearings.