Portugal (1938)
by Geo F Trumper

This smells to much like washing up liquid that I buy from the supermarket. And because of that it spoils my judgement for this fragrance.

It opens with a spicy citrus orange that turns musky at the end. And I just cannot get washing up liquid smell out of my head. Time to move on.

15th January, 2012.

A very nice classic eau de cologne. A bright citrus opening accented with orange and orange peel. Longevity lasts fairly long on me for this type, though the lemon notes I detect in the opening fade quickly. A nicely done fragrance, but I enjoy C&S Neroli much more.

24th September, 2011.

Portugal is a moderately creamy orange, with initially more blossom, and later more peel, almost like the very top notes of Habit Rouge had been extracted out. Whatever they've added gives it a soapy vibe which is nice and not overdone. Almost as scant in the base notes as their West Indian Limes, but slightly more residual sweetness.

26th March, 2011.

I really don't have much to add, but I have to state that I believe this has been reformulated. I tried Portugal a couple of years ago (I believe it used to be called "Trumper's Portugal Cologne" or something like that). It is now simply called Portugal, and has been restyled as an Eau de Toilette. The cologne version was nice, but lasted all of half an hour. The new version is far longer lasting, and with a very strong musk base. It's basically an oddly hollow, resinous bitter orange followed by a very clean musk and virtually nothing else. After an hour or so, you get a lovely orange soap scent that lasts for around 10 hours with no change at all.

I think Trumper splash bottles are beautiful and totally practical, so no marks for an atomiser but full marks for the bottle! A great office summer scent, but completely "unsexy."

11th April, 2010.

A basic eau de cologne with sweet orange and musk. Nothing exciting here and not worth buying. I would suggest C&S Neroli instead.

14th January, 2010.

On principle, I rarely judge a fragrance by its price. But Portugal is such a total ripoff, it's offensive, and deserves a major league thumbs down. Does the world really need yet another boring Jean-Marie Farina clone, only less long-lasting and a lot more expensive? If this were only $15 or so, I'd leave it alone because this isn't a bad smelling or poorly made scent. But charging $65 for a completely unoriginal, yawn-inspiring eau de cologne that has been done hundreds of times before and has the longevity of a TV commercial is simply insulting. Booooooo!!!

31st October, 2009.