Special No. 127 (1910)
by Floris

An Eau de Cologne with heavy emphasis on the components that I prefer to avoid. It has a sharper, more sour lemon than usual, sitting on top of a more powdery base than usual, so I assume there's probably a fair amount of iris. Starts out too sour, ends up too floral. It's a bit too feminine for me, though I would still call it unisex from a marketing perspective. Buy their Cefiro instead, which is fresher, with a crisp airiness. Also, Cefiro starts out weaker but has a slightly stronger base which disperses farther.

23rd April, 2011.

Looking at the pyramid of notes I suspected that this may well be similar to No.89, composed some four decades later. Actually using No.127 confirms that they are not only comparable, but that No.127 is actually the chassis on which No.89 is built.

Now that No.89 has become a shrieking halfwit following reformulation, No.127 becomes a viable alternative for lovers of Floris antiquities. It works wonderfully well in cooler weather, but the rose note that works so well, wilts miserably in warmer climes.

I probably won’t be forking out for a bottle in the near future, but it remains an interesting etching from the Floris archive.

8th April, 2011.

Top: bergamot, lavender, orange, petitgrain
Mid: geranium, neroli, rose, ylang-ylang
Base: musk, patchouli
I like this a lot. It has a really gorgeous orange blossom opening. It develops a pleasing chord of citrus – floral – soap. The tone is a deep “orange”, and it is burnished and mellow rather than acidic. It evokes the image of a very natural orange liqueur. There are even hints of bark and wood. I also appreciate the geranium-rose note, which adds what I think is a British flair to the proceedings. The florals are not sweet, and the musk-patchouli closer is very restrained and suitable.

4th August, 2010.

Do not listen to these negative reviewers, even though I am no expert in Fragrances I believe No. 127 to be the best fragrance (for men) Floris has ever made. It is very pleasant, elegant, masculine and probably most appropriate for formal occasions though I am still unsure about that, it is just as perfect for day wear if you can pull it off. Real Gentlemen wear Floris No. 127!

14th May, 2010.

Great first half minute: Bergamot, orange, and petit grain. Then the lavender begins to grow and the opening loses a little of its appeal for me, but not to the extent where I think the lavender is overdone. The open breaks speed records in getting to the heart notes, and the supersonic movement to the heart accord brings on the geranium and, to a lesser extent, the rose note. The geranium turns out to be the dominant element of No. 127, and with it the ambiance of the fragrance goes back about two centuries. It is old-fashioned but kind of in a good way… especially if one is a fan of geranium, which I am not. As a fragrance from the past, Floris’s Special 127 is interesting, enlightening, and well done… but I’m not so sure that its role as a curiosity has very much value as a fragrance for my current use… I’m not very interested in it, but it is a quality, geranium-laden fragrance that’s well worth a testing. Sillage is powerful for a few minutes but lessens considerably and soon turns into a somewhat long lasting skin scent.

10th May, 2010.

Very sharp and bitter citrus opening with a large dose of rose and neroli. The neroli doesn't smooth out the rose so that's why it gets very sharp. Dries down into a green floral. Overall, very sharp! Did I say that already?

4th November, 2009.