Marlborough (1877)
by Geo F Trumper

A hint of citrus opens this one up, but quickly becomes a smoky scent for a couple hours. The review hinting towards pencil shavings hits this part of the fragrance spot on. The geranium is there from the get go, but becomes more pronounced in the heart. Some musky/woods pop up towards the end. This is a very classic masculine scent and surprised me in a good way.

24th September, 2011.

Not the worst fragrance or the best by any means. Trumpers all seem to be of middle of the road quality and this is certainly true of Marlborough. The opening is an ashy lemon with a little geranium and an ultra-thick cedar heart and base. I get nothing but stale ashy cedar from this unfortunately. Sounded like a promising fougere, but I would go with Wild Fern or Penhaligons English Fern. Even YSL Jazz is much better.

3rd April, 2011.

Today I am briefly testing Trumper's drier, more leathery offerings Astor, Curzon, Eucris and Marlborough together. It took me a few tries to distinguish them.
Marlborough is different...cleaner and floral without getting too sweet, but somewhat powdery and with a bathroom cleaner spray aura. Drydown is masculine, slightly leathery florals like a much lighter VC+A or the floral side of Aramis.

26th March, 2011.

Bright, astringent geranium yields to Trumper's signature blend of masculine spices. Like a greenhouse, or smelling the stem of a flowering plant. I find this fragrance rather smoky and bitter, so I was surprised to read so many reviews touting its sweetness. It's a lovely, sophisticated scent nonetheless, extremely natural smelling, excellent longevity.

10th October, 2010.

Cedarwood completely dominates and overpowers any other scent for the first couple of hours. Once that wears thin, the Geranium notes begin to come out, which is pleasant for a little while. But then it decays to a single-note floral. I feel this scent has some potential during the mid-part of its lifespan, but I was clearly disappointed overall.

16th September, 2009.

This is certainly clean and sweet. Reminded me of Trumper's Skye, but a bit more sophisticated. Although Trumper only reveals lavender, geranium and cedarwood in its make-up, I detect neroli as the top note, rounded by another ingredient. Frankly, I can't detect any of the three identified ingredients.

As I recommend Skye for a fresh summer fragrance for the younger man in his twenties, I recommend Marlborough for that same man once he has turned thirty.

Marlborough has very little lasting power on me. After two hours it is gone entirely, but to splash on of a summer morning on one's way to work certainly can set up the day in a positive light.

17th December, 2007.