No. 89 (1950)
by Floris

Here's a traditional man's scent: a spicy, slightly floral fougere, with some wood already evident in the opening. Santos meets Azzaro, with a little bit of Trumper's Marlborough. It has the usual anise, but it's well-buried among the other bracing aromatic herbs. Possibly a little violet as well. It hints at heavy floral darkness, as seen in Van Cleef and Arpels, but never fully heads in that direction. What's strange to me about this scent is that I recognize so many parts of it, but I'm not quite sure where to file it away mentally: with the green scents, the barbershop spice, the masculine florals, or even the sweet orientals because a bit of vanilla pokes its head out during the base notes. Breathing warm air over my test spot brings out an amazing orange-blossomy vanilla, which if it were stronger would be as interesting as Endymion, or as Caron PUH's vanilla, minus the powder. The final base notes are mostly just expensive soap, but very convincing and not feminine at all, like a hint of Richard James. Even though I don't like the middle phase so much, I'll give it a thumbs-up for its boggling, chameleon complexity, and for hiding feminine notes so harmoniously in certain places in the base. Intriguing.

15th December, 2011.

If indeed this scent has been reformulated, I can't comment on its latest iteration (as my bottle is vintage) but that said no. 89 is one of my favorites. It has an invigorating citrus opening that wakes you up and gets you ready to take on the world, and then it transitions to a fabulous masculine rose with musk and lavender notes mixed in for good measure at its base. I always wear this scent when I need a confidence boost as it just exudes class and does not smell dated despite its age. Great stuff and highly recommended.

22nd August, 2011.

very very traditional woody aromatic scent.
very english, very conservative, old school, and a bit dated- nevertheless this is a classic fragrance for an older man.
It stands in a line with fragrances of a time where a man smelled a bit of a barbershop : soapy-sandalwood, lavender,musk , citrus etc were allowed as ingredients .If you like the older scents by Creed, Penhaligon´s,etc. you will appreciate this understated, discreet and unspectacular well done fragrance too.
I personally dislike this kind of empty and uninteresting fragrances- they are in a way unique but I miss the vital spark, the glimmer that infects me- this fragrances does not captivate my senses.By way of apology it has to be said that this fragrance does not claim to be captivating , innovative etc.- it´s a classic scent of another time but definitely outstanding in comparison to all the mud which is produced nowadays e.g. the non ending aquatic theme and cheap copies of cool water etc.

25th May, 2011.

Stocked up on this when John Lewis had a big bowlful of samples for like a month and i knew it was the aftershave of choice for 007

Even from the first drops on ur neck or wrist, you can feel and smell that 89 is Suave and sophisticated yet totally understated. Bergamot and flower flavours, the early notes are mostly dominated by the lavender and citrus smell, while moving to rose and ylang ylang.

sophisticated bottle, this defo not for daytime wear, but for a nice black-tie event or date in the evening time, wear your tux and spray this on to take on the world.

El classico

11th February, 2011.

Nice citrus on top that actually lasts quite a while on me. Once dried down, it's a nice soapy masculine rose. The rose it not so prominent that men should be deterred. More of a nice clean everyday scent. 89 seems quite versatile. Longevity is quite good. Sillage is moderate. Definite thumbs up.

18th September, 2010.

This has a lovely opening of orange blossom. It develops soapy-clean and gentle spice notes. The floral notes are not heavy or too sweet; but they are also intermittent. Light musk, mossy notes, and a nutty vetiver appear. The whole thing is very genteel and civilized. In the latter stages of its dry-down it develops an unfortunate powdery aspect which doesn’t appeal to me. At times, it smells like an old make-up case (foundation powder). A bit fusty, in my opinion.

9th August, 2010.