Special No. 127
Floris (1910)

Somehow, I felt that there was room for yet another citrus aromatic in my collection, and Special 127 had been recommended to me more than once by those aware of those fragrances for which I tend to gravitate. With No. 89 and Elite already in my possession, I figured, why not have a triumvirate from the legendary house, and here we are today: a hot summer morning and I am doused with the effervescence that is 127.

After the zest of the bergamot and citrus sparkle upon application, there is this effect of the freshly laundered and pressed, attributed to the harmony of lavender, petitgrain, and neroli. It's mellow, but persists close to the skin, making my skin somehow feel insulated from the blasts of heat and humidity. After a number of hours, a soapy musk clings on with nary a ghostly whisper of citrus on the clothing.

I am happy to have this piece of history. Pro tip: overspray for full effect.

Thankfully I can make this quick.

My review: Quite a sad experience. A very light floral with some musk, rather undistinguished, and with pitiful performance. Not a patch on No. 89.

Mrs FWF's review: nice, pleasant, understated scent that's a bit of a grower. It would suit most people.

I'm taking the average.

I loved it before I put it on. As soon as it went on though, all I got was almost exactly D.R.Harris almond shaving soap. A not unpleasant scent, but not worth the premium over the soap.

On my skin I get orange and bergamot with lavender, rose and geranium developing later. It is very well made, pleasant, gentle and not at all sweet. Is wears close to my skin with poor sillage and is very inoffensive. My main problem is its poor longevity of about an hour only, which tilts it towards neutral. Otherwise is is a pleasant scent.

An Eau de Cologne with heavy emphasis on the components that I prefer to avoid. It has a sharper, more sour lemon than usual, sitting on top of a more powdery base than usual, so I assume there's probably a fair amount of iris. Starts out too sour, ends up too floral. It's a bit too feminine for me, though I would still call it unisex from a marketing perspective. Buy their Cefiro instead, which is fresher, with a crisp airiness. Also, Cefiro starts out weaker but has a slightly stronger base which disperses farther.

Looking at the pyramid of notes I suspected that this may well be similar to No.89, composed some four decades later. Actually using No.127 confirms that they are not only comparable, but that No.127 is actually the chassis on which No.89 is built.

Now that No.89 has become a shrieking halfwit following reformulation, No.127 becomes a viable alternative for lovers of Floris antiquities. It works wonderfully well in cooler weather, but the rose note that works so well, wilts miserably in warmer climes.

I probably won't be forking out for a bottle in the near future, but it remains an interesting etching from the Floris archive.