Reviews of Endymion (2003)
by Penhaligon's

This was my introduction to Penhaligon, and I was immediately seduced. Friends, family, and coworkers are united in their praise of this scent. A frequent reaction is, "I've never smelled anything like that," clearly meant in a positive way.

Endymion is warm , approachable, welcoming, soft, and comforting in a way that no other fragrance, in my experience has ever been. Nothing about it says, "I'm a mountain meadow," or, "What's up, good lookin?'" or, "I'm a really important guy, so start scraping." It seems less focused on the wearer, and more of an invitation to anyone around him to come and join the share the warmth.

The house style at Penhaligon seems to be either austere and distant (e.g., Blenheim) or, like this one, accepting and personable. There is a place for both, I suspect.

I'll leave the composition analysis to others. Parsing individual elements of a scent is not something I'm good at or much interested in, any more than I'd care to concentrate on what the woodwinds are doing and miss the symphony as a whole.

I think this is a great 'stepping stone' fragrance, a good example to give to someone who normally wears CK or YSL and is interested in more classic fragrances but isn't yet ready for anything too exotic or unusual.
With the lavender, amber and vanilla, it is almost too soft but the beautifully balanced heart and base notes have a much tighter hold on things than the mass market frags that this resembles. If you think this smells generic, you owe it to yourself to try it again and keep smelling throughout the development to see how really well this is made.

I’ve worn Endymion about 20 times thus far, but somehow I have never gotten around to reviewing it. Unlike most scents in my collection, I think of Endymion as primarily a nocturnal scent – I prefer to wear it at bed time. To me, it integrates sensual and introspective aspects, an unusual mix that comes together here. I suppose the thing that continues to strike me is the coffee note. Reviewer foetidus aptly describes it as a “deep brooding Mandeling-like note. A bit potent for an EdC, the opening can be a bit too sweet if overapplied. I also enjoy tempered presentation of the spice notes (e.g., nutmeg, pepper and sage) and the creamy character of the scent as whole.

The blueprint for a modern cologne appears to be to ensure that the dry down must have that distinctive vanilla edge to it. This is no exception, and I was disappointed to end up smelling as if I had applied Dunhill London or some other cheap confection. Having said that, it does do the confection with a degree of class, and it is kept out of the middle range of fragrances merely by the fact that there is some richness in there, with several layers to this struggling to subdue the vanilla, but with little success. A gallant try by Penhaligon's to appeal to the younger market, but I feel they better served developing their range of conservative fragrances.

After exeriencing Duoro, Endymion proved to be an over-hyped blind buy. Apart from the latte note, Endymion doesn't have much going for it.

It smells like an early Lynx de-odorant spray (circa mid-1980s) or something of that ilk. You know, the cheap body products (like de-odorant sprays and shower gels) that were always associated with the words blue, cool, horizon and ice…

Another hip, mod, up-to-date, "with it", cutting-edge fragrance that IMHO smells like a little old lady's cedar chest filled with cherished memories, such as doilies, ribbon-wrapped letters, pressed flowers and such. I smell the sweetness and the cedar and all I can think of is knitting and the victrola. Maybe I am too retro to be truly modern, but I would run as fast as I could away from this. As John Wayne might have said, "What'a ya kiddin' me?" Considering everything, this could be the signature fragrance of Quentin Crisp, or his ma-,a'

oops, I meant Escada not Hererra . . . doh!

Rather over-hyped fragrance imo. It gives off a rather bland so-so spicy, sage-heavy opening, then am unable to identify any different middle notes, especially any aroma resembling coffee (uh?). However, the base has a pretty good leathery finish. If a fragrance could be described as 'snooty' this is it. If you can find cheaper, but not as fashionable, versions that you like, I would go for them. There are much better alternatives in Penhaligon's range -- Castile and Opus for a start.

Kaern

Well... it does smell quite a lot like generic "cool and fresh" men's cologne. But it's well done and very agreeable, with no harsh or sharp notes. A pleasant blend of citrusy/aquatic, lightly herbal/spicy, subtly floral and smoothly leathery. It's probably the warm leather base that saves it for me, gives it some interest. My girlfriend liked it even more than I did so I gave my sample to her.

If you're looking for the coffee note and expecting real coffee then you'll be pleasantly surprised that this is one of those expensive cappuccinos with a blend of herbs and spices. Soothing and calming, the lavender and sage excite the mentalities. Warming with a vanilla base. I believe this is the best of Penhaligon's more contemporary line.

While being first appalled during the first try, perceiving it as far too sweet and powdery, up to the point of being repulsive and sickening, the more it interacted with my skin, the more i loved it. Yes, it is sweet, beyond any doubt, but it exhales that refined, moderate, extremely lightful, sparking, blissfull, cutting-edge sweetness, like few other male scents- among whom Roma Uomo, Uomo by Moschino, Escada, Ungaro III, JPG Le Male or Dali's Roy Soleil- were capable to capture. Needless to say, it's beyond any doubt a few degrees more exquisite and high-class than most or all of these scents. <br>Iconic for the notion of winter and/or evening scent- its complex aromatic drydown reminding of the olfactory joys various winter spices can bring. The name stands for British high-end sophistication, reminescent of Keats's literary work about a strangely, innaccessibly beautiful youth. While Blenheim Bouquet stands for the robust, middle-aged, socially, intellectually, personally fulfilled, almost age-and timeless dandy which already has achieved an unquestionable perfection, Endymion is the far younger, more androgynous, effeminate, ever changing and unpredictable dandy. It really smells effeminate like a glam rock superstar, but so stylish and little common, that, while it sparingly reminds of goth or metrosexual elemets, it's so many steps and classes beyond these to youth cultures, that it renders them primitive like parasites compared to an exotic, nearly extinct noble species, or a simple, average Joe-human compared to the Superhuman. It embodies both the British cult for effeminate manhood, dating back to the Elizabethan age, reaching it's peak during romanticism, decadentism and sybolism, and still being carried on by mods, glam-rockers or even today, but also in the showy yet exquisite display of rich and above all costly essences, seasoning, fragrant and edible ingredients dating back to the age when Britain was the flagship of colonial power, importing only the best of the best of the world's riches in order to suit the tastes of a continously eccentric and pleasure-seeking upper class. So, daring in its off-beat, revolutionary ( or rather evolutionare towards the supreme flagship and superhuman of the fragrance world) avant-garde but, for at least two reasons, deeply rooted in British tradition. Tradition and modernity at their best, perfectly combined: tradition opened to modern elements, modernity dwelling on the most worthy traditional values. <br>Endymion is a combination of all contrasts: carnal and provocative like a permanently aroused pubescent, yet more distant than an unnatainable star or diva, elusive and restrained not due to shyness but to a cunning and manipulative way, delicate but domieering and undoutedly superior and impossible to grasp or predict, yet never bossy or arrogant, it exhales the cold, dim yet hauting light of diamonds, demons, stars and the wintertime sun- it sparkles in a cold, distant, yet truogh it's mystery, also challenging, provocative way( the unique, cool but glittering spark of genius and immortality). A youth more mysterious than a Romantic poet, more cruel than Cesare Borgia, more outlandish than Ziggy Stardust, more seductive than Valmont or Sade, more ambitious than Julien Sorel and, above all this, more abstract and idealized than the most non-figurative religion, work of art or philosophical concept. After disscussing the - apperantly redundant, but extremely versatile and relevant- cultural, aesthetic, immaterial subtexts, i feel that the actual fragrance notes only confirm these statements. Uncommon, never too cheap or offensive sweetness, powdery drydown that never smells musty, dirty dusty, stuffy or cluttered. Refined spicy warmth, tough a moderate, armotaic touch of rare essences, exhaling that cold, wintery sparkle of demonic beauty and brilliant intellect mentioned above. These aromatic notes have a subtle, almost ozonic, oothing drydown, reminding of vanilla and other traditional winter spices, also slight touch of wood, but also a moderately bitter and dry edible note- coffee and cocoa combined, yet nothing nearto many mass market scents capitalizing on edible notes: here i never actually smelled a faithfull, 100% percent imitation of coffee, cocoa or vanilla deserts, i just guessed a very discreet hint of raw, unprocessed essence of the most expensive, precious, luxurious vanilla, cocoa or coffee. Also, a certain touch, yet only marginally edible-style of toffee, combined or increased by musky tones, and, as uncommon it might seem ( for this is a usually overtly masculine, sometimes rugged and potent ingredient), touches of leather, but, from the leathery note, only a mild, mellow, full-bodied sweetness and an effusive, but never too strong or heavy, just distant, unnatainable sensation of warmth being kept. The spicy notes also include woody and almost incense-like notes of pepper and other winter spices, which, however, are never too pungent or excessively aromatic, as their are combined into a softer, more balanced background correcting, neutralizing every excessive or overspiced note- it all seems to melt down into a bath of aloe vera, Neroli or lavender, adding a certain aquatic softness to the otherwise to harsh display of too spicy notes- indeed some cooling, watery, airy and almost neutral base. <br>Basically, this scent is also a more modern, more daring, yet never watered down-version( unlike many "eau" or "acqua" versions of established scents, chiefly extremely watered down and synthetic parodies, distorsions of exquisite classics) of Hammam Bouquet or Opus 1870- while it's never a cheap copy of these two, not even a lighter, more casual re-enactement. The similarities don't go further that all the three scents include, in different combinations and differently concentrated sveral sweet, leathery and aromatic notes, but , in my opinion, in Endymion they are at their best and show fragrance notes beyond the most daring, but also beyond the most elitist achievements of perfume-making.

This is a superb oriental. Although lily is not listed as an ingredient, I detect something similar to it as a sensual undercoating to the whole affair. The spices and florals meld perfectly with the incense and wood notes, making it one of the very best orientals out there. Definitely worth a try.

16 notes:

Top: Bergamot, Mandarin, Lavender, Sage
Middle: Geranium, Coffee
Base: Vetiver, Nutmeg, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Musk, Leather, Sandalwood, Incense, Frankincense, Myrrh

Creamy, sweet and spicy all at once, very much along the lines of Gucci's Envy and Ricci's Ricci Club. A frag better suited for romance than business, though. Excellent sillage; average longevity.

i won't write an essay on this. Suffice to say its fairly fresh, sweet, warm and modern to the point of thinking why pay this price when you can have Calvib Klein for half? Even the so-called established co's sell out to meet what the market wants. Nice, though, for anytime.

The advertisements for Endymion present it as a study in contrasts, and led me to expect a fascinating yin-yang of alternating notes of briskness and richness, light and dark; what has been called a “moiré” effect. I think that would be a great idea, but it is not here. Endymion is a lovely scent of spice and somewhat rich amber. It is very smooth and luxurious and has a powdery dry-down. There is a kind of warm-night glow here, like a stroll in a moon-lit oriental garden at midnight. How appropriate for a scent named after a mythological character who fell in love with the moon goddess. This type of fragrance isn’t my style, so I give it a neutral rating but recommend it to those who like that sort of thing.

Excellent sage / lavender opening—smooth, rich, refined. Both the sage and the lavender are presented with a confident, warm creamy feel and the aromatic contribution of the sage lightens the accord even though the notes are masculine and substantial. There are hints of black pepper in the opening that adds to the richness of the scent. I first missed the coffee note of the middle, because I was looking a Rochas Man type coffee. Then I came to realize that the coffee note is there—it is a deep brooding Mandeling-like note that acts more as a substantial masculine platform to the other notes than as a prominent front stage element. Used this way, the coffee doesn’t fire the appetite but it certainly is seductive. Here is where I begin to feel the sensuality of the fragrance. The nutmeg and geranium of the middle are quite tame, but do their part to broaden and enrich the background. The base notes are also excellent—excellent and sensual. There are a rich leather and vetiver, highlighted by pepper and tonka, that result in an accord that approaches lasciviousness. Wow. I have no idea why this combination of notes should be so, but it is extraordinarily sensual. Unfortunately, even though the opening and the middle have substantial longevity, that wonderful base ebbs out too quickly.

I really think, this is uni-sex. In fact I would like it more on a woman than on a man. Maybe a very young man, a 16 year old James Dean type could wear it - as well as Kate Moss in the early Obsession promotion pictures should have smelled. Maybe it's a perfume for young people up to 35 years. You can hardly imagine a 50 year old man or woman wearing this scent.
But for young people, it's wonderful, soft, light warm and delicious and sexy, wonderfully balanced and very long lasting.

comapring this exquisite fragance with Body Kouros doesn't do Endymion justice. Endymion is a very impressive, sweet and mild modern fragrance. It reminds me of Burberyy's touch in some aspects but it's much better! Endymion is a unqiue and impressive scent.

This is a lovely scent which deserves to be more popular. It is very easy to wear with an initial spicy freshness which is not citrussy at all. The cologne then develops a soft sweetness which evolves into slightly headier but never overwhelming notes of leather and musk. A scent which develops and lingers and refreshingly does not beat you over the head with its notes and hidden depths. I had thought it a scent for evening wear, but the more often I use it the more versatile it seems to me.

Endymion is a really soft and sweet scent. It reminds me of Body Kouros, but doesn't have the dark incense trail to it. Its definitely a romantic occassion scent, and worked a treat with a walk in the park during autumn.