Reviews by Harvitz81
Juniper Sling by Penhaligon's
This has an upfront blast of juniper and citrus rinds. Quite a powerful initial burst. The Juniper and Gin like notes quickly dissipate though and you are left with a very light musky/soap dry down. Longevity is rather poor and the very promising opening leads to an immediate let down.
Zizonia by Penhaligon's
A spicy, woody, floral concoction to my nose. It starts with some black pepper, but immediately I detect some floral accords that may be geranium. Some other spices enter into the mix and it develops that house Penhaligon's note of dusty, powdery accords that I don't like in many of theirs. Some slight woods and vetiver in the base, but the dusty notes carry through. Longevity is not all that great and I find this one overall pretty middle of the road.
Opus 1870 by Penhaligon's
This is all about spicy (peppery), woods (cedar), and rose. The cedar is prominent from the get go and is supported by the pepper and some coriander. There are hints of some rose after a couple hours, but they are more supportive than a front liner. A bit of musk in the dry down, but overall a very nice, refined British scent. Of the Penhaligon's line, this is the most modern based scent to what is coming out today and it is well done.
Castile by Penhaligon's
This is a great summer scent in the lines of a classic EdC. Starts a bit citrusy in the same veins as AdP, but quickly settles into a very nice orange and neroli throughout. There is some hints of florals in their (rose?), but overall a very nice and pretty much linear classic summer cologne fragrance that wears pretty light.
LP No.9 for Men by Penhaligon's
I get the citrus and bergamot opening that lasts for about an hour before it starts to morph into a spicy oriental. To this point it is wearing quite nice, but then the clove note starts to come through. I can handle clove in small amounts, but this is a bit much. After awhile the clove mixes with vanilla, which I think turns this one even more for the worse. This is quite strong stuff so you don't need much, but ultimately is not something for me.
LP No.9 by Penhaligon's
A very green and floral one. Starts with a little citrus notes, but the green and floral notes take over quickly. The green tarragon and floral jasmine are the two notes that stand out most to me. Settles into a slight spicey and vanilla accord towards the end, but overall not that interesting and not my cup of tea.
Eau de Verveine by Penhaligon's
A very promising opening of citrus containing elements of lemon, lime, bergamot and petitgrain. After 30 minutes to an hour the cirtus notes fade and you are left with something floral with really the only prominent note to me is a heavy sage one. This persists for a couple hours before everything disappears. Overall it really isn't a bad fragrance, but doesn't really have a wow factor or longevity. Probably pretty reminiscent of the time period it is from.
Elixir by Penhaligon's
This is a somewhat disappointing woody oriental. Starts out ok with a hint of some florals and spices with some deep woods in there. It then fades rather rapidly and you are left with a prominent rosewood note throughout. Longevity is rather poor and overall this one just doesn't seem well executed.
Extract of Limes by Penhaligon's
This has quite possibly the best opening of any lime fragrance I've encountered. I think it tops GFT's Lime in that department. Really like sticking your head in a bowl of freshly cut limes. However, like GFT, the longevity is very poor and after 30 minutes there really isn't anything left. If this were an aftershave and about 1/3 the cost it would be fantastic, but as a cologne at the given price I just can't give it a thumbs up.
Sartorial by Penhaligon's
I won't bother describing the notes on this one as it has everything and the kitchen sink in there. This is a classic aromatic fougere that evokes images of businessmen in suits sitting around an office hashing it out. It is a very refined and sophisticated scent that bespokes a classic British feel to it as many of Penhaligon's offerings do. If you are a fan of the fougere genre you must check this out. Classic, refined, sophisticated and simply great stuff.
Esprit du Roi by Penhaligon's
This one opens up with a standard woody, citrus accord. Some tomato and raspberry leaves join in and later a littler geranium. There are some aldehydes in there and some florals join in the heart as well. In the base, some hints of vetiver, sandalwood and musk come through. There is a lot going on in this fragrance from start to finish and overall it comes through as sophisticated and easy wearing.
Hammam Bouquet by Penhaligon's
This one reads as a classic, Victorian British fragrance all over it. Which is why it may be difficult for me to wear. This is a very powdery floral and rose fragrance from the get go and throughout. It wears pretty linear on me. It might sound feminine from that description, but I think it is totally masculine, but something I don't think I can pull off. I appreciate it for its classic notes and reigning from the Victorian era, but all in all just not the right rose for me and I generally love rose based fragrances.
Bergamote 22 by Le Labo
This is a nice summer scent, but not an eye opener great one by any means. It has hints of bergamot and petit grain throughout and is quite lone lasting. Still though, for the price it is essentially a well composed, clean, crisp citrus that you can find similarly or better done from other houses.
Labdanum 18 / Ciste 18 by Le Labo
This one reminds me an awful lot of Lutens Ambre Sultan. It has that oriental amber/vanilla thing going for it. It gets a bit powdery after the resinous top wears through and overall just doesn't do a lot for me. Definitely left me wanting more and I don't find this one all that great.
Oud 27 by Le Labo
As with a lot of Le Labo's, the name on the bottle is not characteristic of the scent. This one opens with some animalistic accords, medicinal type oud notes, and some sourness. The medicinal aspects and animalistic notes fade rather quickly and you are left with a slightly incense and woods scent that wears very close to the skin. If you are looking for a synthetic analogue of the Arabian oud's, I suggest you look elsewhere.
Patchouli 24 by Le Labo
A very powerful and smoky birch tar opening laced with a little tobacco. Some sweet patchouli emerges, but this remains smoky throughout and wears pretty linear from the get go. After many hours I can detect a little wood notes and some sweet fruit notes, but that isn't until well into the dry down. This one projects well and lasts forever. I happen to like this one quite a bit.
Rose 31 by Le Labo
This is a dry, woody rose fragrance from the get go. The rose hits you from the beginning and is slightly floral and green (though not green in the vein of L'Ombre Dans). There is cedar and cumin from the start as well and they play a great supporting cast. These notes persist throughout and this one has great longevity. The rose does fade a bit and you are left with a cedar and cumin dominant fragrance towards the end. If the dark roses are too much for you, then you most certainly need to give this one a shot.
Santal 33 by Le Labo
I wouldn't categorize this one as a classic sandalwood scent. The sandalwood is there, but to me it isn't the major player. This one has a very woody vibe to it, but in a different sense as to me it seems like a bark like note is the major player. I'm not sure how to describe it other than that as I haven't smelled anything quite like it before. Maybe it is the ambrox. Maybe there is some guaiac wood in there, but the cedarwood isn't really what I'm smelling. In fact I get very little cedar from this and it is this other wood note that is the major player. This one is great from start to finish and is quite strong on me. Apply with caution.
Vetiver 46 by Le Labo
Starts off rather dry and smoky. Almost incense like and a little reminiscent of the smokiness in Patchouli 24. There is a bit of wood notes in there and not much real vetiver to begin with. After awhile the vetiver note emerges and again is on the dry side. Not rooty, or raw just a dry woody vetiver note that persists throughout retaining some of the smoky qualities from the beginning. While it is a good scent and sure not to displease anyone, I like my vetivers a bit more interesting and this just doesn't do a lot for me. In the field of wonderful vetiver fragrances available, this one hovers squarely in the middle of the pack.
Iris 39 by Le Labo
This is a very nice iris fragrance. It starts off a little too floral for me with some green notes, but not over the top. After 1-2 hours it settles down quite a bit into a lovely iris note with hints of carrot notes as mentioned by other reviewers. It is a little on the rooty/earthy side, but all in all it is fantastically down.
Rose Oud by By Kilian
This one has a very strong and sharp rose opening. A bit acidic, but quickly calms down. The rose is persistent throughout and is accentuated with saffron and a very small amount of oud. The oud really takes a backseat to the rose here and I guess that is my biggest problem with this one. It wears pretty linear throughout and is basically a rose-saffron-oud fragrance. It definitely is a silage monster and longevity is not an issue at all. While I think it is obviously high quality and well done, I like my oud a little more to the forefront and prefer something more in the Montale line where the oud generates a darker presentation of the rose. For the price I can't help but think you would be much better off going for one of the Amouage attars that are a combination of rose-saffron-oud. But, compared to Pure Oud out of the same line this one at least comes close to resembling what was intended.
Jubilation XXV Man by Amouage
This is simply a fantastic fragrance. Dried fruit opening laced with an ever so slight amount of honey, but lingering in the background is a nice heaedy Frankiscense. Not overpowering in the least and the note that begins to take this fragrance over. The overall incense notes appear in the heart with some slight woody notes as well. There is a lot more there, but hard for my nose to detect. Suffice to say it is wonderful and had me smelling myself all day. After 4-5 hours it dies down a bit and wears close to the skin, but I easily get 10+ hours out of this.
Epic Man by Amouage
Opens up with a blast of exotic spices and woods laced with frankincense. The saffron and pink peppercorn are quite noticeable with an incense vibe. The oud shows up in the heart with a bit of medicinal quality to it. The Frankincense is present throughout. It is very potent stuff and gradually becomes more dry and woody. Very high quality stuff with a lot going on and enjoyable to wear.
Reflection Man by Amouage
Big disappointment in this one. A very sweet, somewhat powdery floral mess. On opening the floral sweetness reigns king. If there is neroli in this, I don't detect it. Instead I get the jasmine/rosemary laced with something very sweet. Sickening really. This persists for hours and maybe later on you can detect some hints of vetiver and sandalwood, but why would you want to wait 4-5 hours of disgustingness to get to this, which isn't remarkable in its own right.
Latest Threads
-
-
-
[Men's] SOTD Thursday 23rd of March 2023- Started by Basenotes Robot
- Replies: 15
-
[Women's] SOTD Thursday 23rd of March 2023
- Started by Basenotes Robot
- Replies: 5
-
-
-
Date night scent but no Oud, booze or gourmand- Started by Sloth
- Replies: 15
-
Guerlain 8ml REFILL Vaporizer. Where to find ?
- Started by SixCats
- Replies: 5
-
What happens if you accidentally inhale perfume?- Started by scentimus
- Replies: 9
-
Whatever your taste in perfume, we've got you covered...
catalogue your collection, keep track of your perfume wish-list, log your daily fragrance wears, review your latest finds, seek out long-lost scented loves, keep track of the latest perfume news, find your new favourite fragrance, and discuss perfume with like-minded people from all over the world...