Dunhill Icon
Dunhill (2015)

So disappointing. I was in love with this fragrance for the first 30 minutes - neroli, bergamot and black pepper making a nice contrast, with a green bitter kick. A little sweet, a little spicy, a little zesty. Along came the mid, and the lavender came in to add a nice aromatic element. But a suggestion of something chemically-bitter began to emerge - it smelled like the old PABA-based unscented sunscreens. It was just a little background accent, so the scent was still in positive territory.

Then came the drydown. At 5 hours, the sunscreen smell was still radiating at arm's length, and it was 95% of the entire scent. This may be a personal chemistry thing, but I don't understand how no one else seems to notice this. Usually fragrances get better during the drydown, but this one works the other way. Very sad.

This fragrance has a lively, upbeat feel with its green opening notes. I detect a subtle spiciness in the background, which I think comes from a blend of black pepper and cardamom. The neroli note is present but not overpowering, and I can see how some may draw comparisons to Neroli Portofino. However, this fragrance adds a green, spicy twist to the basic neroli recipe. Overall, it's an inoffensive and pleasant scent, and I have no complaints about it.

A young man's bubblegum smelling fragrance. The neroli notes are there and there's nothing unpleasant about this fragrance - it's a easy one - but there's no deep character and saying power. I just can't get over the overly playful bubblegum note.

A masculine, fresh, citrusy, and peppery neroli opening gives way to a leathery vetiver dry-down. Surprisingly versatile, unlike Terre d'Hermes, which it is often compared to, even though they're nothing alike in my opinion. I feel the perfumer Carlos Benaim tried to one-up his CK Eternity with this one - same versatility. Good performance, wearable up to 30 degrees Celsius.

Masculinity Level: Patrick Bateman brown-nosing his way to the top of the corporate ladder by day, but also murdering homeless people by night.

Dunhill Icon, a little spicy, fresh, woody and floral. It's a great scent but I'm not really sure how to classify it, probably a fougere, but maybe a chypre. There's nothing not to like about the scent. On the opening I detect neroli tempered with a sweet bergamot. As it dries down it becomes more floral with the lavender coming through and slight cardamon, there is also that woody note. I don't get any distinct leather or oud notes in this. It's a beautiful fragrance, masculine, refined and sophisticated. My main criticism of Dunhill Icon is it's so-so performance. Dunhill Icon lasts about 4 hours on my skin. It projects moderately well for the first two hours and then becomes a more intimate scent. If only the performance were better then this would be an outstanding fragrance. This fragrance is versatile, suitable for work/office or for a social occasion. Overall I give it a thumbs up for a worthy and enjoyable fragrance to wear, even though the performance could be better.

I knew nothing about Dunhill fragrances before I bought this...in fact I'd always been rather put off by their stuffy logo and graphics. It was their generous 2ml sample bottle that got me hooked.

This is so easy to wear. It has a soft, white musky, hazy, sweet, powdery warmth to it and a vague, orangey, soft fruit citrus that makes it perfect for work situations and general everyday use. The dry down is mildly woodsy and very nice.

It's not my 'usual' type of fragrance but the quality of the composition and blend attracted me. Look for offers and reductions and pick up a bargain.

Oh, and the bottle is astonishingly beautiful.

I own and love Icon Absolute but then again, I love leather and oud. I have heard a lot about the original icon and decided to blind buy it. Not bad but I was hoping for more. I get hit by a big candy-like, sweetness in the opening. Almost bubble-gum tone that reminds be of the original Joop that I loved back in the 90 when I was younger but now I find very sickly. The bubblegum tone goes away and I am left with a pleasant but indistinguishable floral tone. I get no oud or leather on this at the end. I was hoping for more mature sophistication but this did not deliver. Not unpleasant though, will wear it.

There's a style connection with Cartier Declaration and Terre d'Hermes, but unlike both - I kind of don't really like Dunhill Icon. It's trying to be fresh, fails at it. Trying to be warm, fails as well. It's very mature, not that the younger crowd will dig this one, which is positive in a way.

Dominant notes to me are black pepper - and intrusively so, vetiver, bergamot, oakmoss and sage. Overall impression it gives off to me is - clumsy. Like an overgrown organism whose limbs didn't follow the growth of the rest of the body. It can be too cloying if overapplied. That being said, I can't rate it negatively because Dunhill Icon in itself is a good idea, but simply doesn't sit all too well with me.

Originality 3/10
Scent 5/10
Longevity 8/10
Projection 6/10
_____________________
math grade 55%
subjective grade 5/10

What an enjoyable and delightful cologne! There's nothing more I can add here that hasn't already been said. The 2nd paragraph in Zealot's review details the accord notes and development of this great fragrance par excellence.
From the fresh, juicy Neroli opening, which disappears within an hour, to the smooth, suave lavender, cardamom, juniper berry, iris, oud, and soft suede leather dry-down, this is a smooth and enjoyable fragrance.
The notes here are blended together so well. This, too me, is the way iris should be done - in a supporting role, rather than being up-front-and-center in the staring-role, as it is in many popular colognes of the previous decade, which I didn't care for.

Good longevity, and moderate sillage.

Enjoyment of this frag also led me to try two of the Icon flankers: Icon Elite, a more incense emphasis, evening version, which is also nice; and the oud-heavy Icon Absolute, which I found quite cloying and synthetic smelling. Neither are as good as this original blend.

This is just a lot of fun. Nice, juicy opening and a soft, dapper dry down with a hint of pepper. Feels buttoned down and classy but has a nice, uplifting energy to it.

Looking at the note pyramid, I would have expected a slightly drier and more bracing opening, but Carlos Benaim went in a different direction than I expected and gave it a really bright, rich and juicy start that puts a smile on my face, then married it to a very smooth, comforting dry down.

As many have said, the bottle is just fantastic and for its price point its hard to really dislike this. It's agreeable and people pleasing without feeling boring or completely derivative. Big thumbs up.

A fresh-woody scent for men (rather, unisex) that's been given a nice twist by adding a lot of neroli, and a touch of pepper. The issue is that the budget appears limited. That's why the neroli is rather synthetic (though not screechy by any means), and at times the composition does smell quite close to grape soda and orange popsicles, especially in the initial and mid phases. It could've been more abstract. The base is mostly soft woods, with hints of the earlier neroli. The dry-down is rather faint and light, which could sometimes be a blessing rather than the blaring synthetic woody-amber masculine perfumes that have proliferated in this market segment. At no point of time in its development is it loud or cheap. Perhaps good for people in college or at their first job, if they buy it at a discount.

3/5

Enjoyed the opening, very nice and fresh. Not too familiar with classic neroli scents so not much to compare it to. However after about an hour I got the "grapefruit" note I get from Invictus and Dylan Blue that I can't stand and can't get past. Not as strong but still there. This goes to the sample graveyard.