British Sterling (1965)
by Dana

Ahh...British Sterling! My grandmother bought this for me a few times when I was a teenager. That says a lot. It is a very inexpensive cologne and the quality reflects that. It is a neutral hodgepodge of classic male fragrance points, Musk, citrus, mint, maybe a vague note of tobacco? This is a peppy and cheap cologne that's very mild and has little longevity. Perfect for teens starting out, utterly inoffensive. Unsophisticated. Might serve well for a work place where one doesn't want to stand out or offend anyone.

20th October, 2011.

British Sterling (1965) is another quintessential 60s-era masculine that is still chugging along. Aramis, The Baron, Kanon are all teammates in his old school class. Kanon, Pierre Cardin and Jovan's Sex Appeal have a similar character to British Sterling so one's feelings about those oldtimers will probably apply to Dana's stalwart.

I get fine longevity and sillage from this. It's not quite a classic. There are many like it that are a bit better but as an affordable option it's well worth a look. It's a drugstore fragrance that has been around for decades for a reason.

18th August, 2011. (Last Edited: 5th September, 2011.)

I really like both British Sterling and English Leather. They may be cheap, but lets face it, smell startlingly similar to several much pricier Creeds. And have about the same longevity it seems! Very pleasant scents and good for both sexes, in my opinion. Not mind blowing, but just very nice.

21st May, 2011.

Wow another case of cheapening. This was good stuff as late as the late 1980s, they've watered it down a LOT. I picked up a cologne of it around Christmas and it is as weak as the old aftershave. I have no gripes about the scent itself and I'd give it a thumbs up if it weren't watered down and not going down in price to compensate, if anything it costs more now, almost as much as what more expensive colognes cost.

That gripe aside its a rather nice warmer, spicy, powdery scent. It smells clean without being too powedery and doesn't lean towards the typical aquatic either. I don't expect much here, however if a 12oz bottle of Clubman can cost $8 there is no reason this can't either. Longevity is about the same. This doesn't smell of expensive top shelf ingredients either. Pretty soon it'll be in 8oz bottles like Royal Copenhagen and Pierre Cardin, where you literally have to slather yourself in it to get longevity, as opposed to a couple of sprays.

Fragrance gets a thumbs up, marketing/packaging/watering down gets a thumbs down. This equals a neutral. Bring it back to where it was 25 years ago and I'll give it a thumbs up.

Update, I sampled a 2011 Christmas era version. Not quite as weak as last year (ingredients cheaper, economy improving?) over the top though on the floral side. No noticably citrus. I think the floral is a cheap synethetic lavender/aldehyde mix. My god was it strong, but I wore a dose based on last year's colored water of course. The spicy notes dominate the drydown. Clove overpowers most of whats left.

Still smells OK, but it seems there is enough play in the recipe that if it is vaguely similar to the original, that is OK. Seems to be a lot of of year to year varience with the same general presence. If smelled and a distance its pretty similar, but if looked at in terms of longevity and how it progresses there are some noticable variences.

31st March, 2011. (Last Edited: 29th December, 2011.)

If British Sterling was offered in a stronger concentrate I would certainly buy it. As it stands, the composition is extremely weak and too powdery for my taste. The clove is soft, which is good, and the citrus/floral/spice opening is super pleasant, but it begins to collapse almost immediately and then the whole begins to smell more than a little like baby wipes, which simply put isn't my ideal of masculinity. Nice stuff, but sadly that's all.

2nd February, 2011.

My Grandfather used this one. I can see why: its very nice. soft yet spicy. long lasting but not loud. I usually like anything with clove, cedar, or sandalwood in it. Good for any ocasion in my opinion.

30th September, 2010.