Tanglewood Bouquet (1932)
by Crown Perfumery

I'm a Crown Perfumery devotee and confess that, for the first time, I can say that a fragrance in their line is not worthy of the Crown on its bottle. It's a trivial, mundane, overly in-you-face floral. What few spices that have been tossed in barely make a dent in the peach-candy sweetness. This creation might work well as a first fragrance for a young lady, but certainly lacks the complexity and maturity those of us whose youth is but a memory.

I own 11 of Crown Perfumery's masterpieces and can understand why one can still pick up Tanglewood Bouquet for a song.

Just the name of this spicym enchanting fragrance is enough to have you waltzing into the evening in a scene straight out of "The Sound of Music." Surprisingly, though, this fragrance is more about an oriental theme than anything else; the florals are ylang-ylang, chrysanthemum and mo-lu-hwa, a "fragrant Chinese flower," and the base is heavy with resins and spices, including benzoin, styrax, cinnaomn, nutmeg and vanilla. The peach and heliotrope notes mainly add more sweetness and a little light, but make no mistake - this is meant to be an exotic fragrance in its own right. It lingers for the longest time - goes on a bit sharp and alcohol-heavy but that fades away soon enough, leaving you with a very unique bouquet and again, that deep drydown. Richly golden in feeling, it's a stunning cool weather fragrance and one versatile enough to actually wear with jeans and sweaters; I find all the Crown fragrances I've used to be "properly British" in their own way but generally a little more lifestyle-geared than, say, some of the weightier stuff from the French houses. As with scents from Penhaglion, Floris and Crabtree and Evelyn, you don't necessarily feel like you're creating a jarring juxtaposition by sporting Crown's fragrances in more casual moments. Sadly, this wonderful scent as well as all of the Crown fragrances are no longer widely available, and seem to be becoming more scarce by the second. If you're curious about this "veddy British" read on an oriental scent, snap this one up ASAP if you ever see it anywhere!