Reviews of Opus 1870 (2005)
by Penhaligon's

An okay but, largely, faint and nondescript eau de cologne that comes across as one big sissy, when placed amongst so-called EDTs masquerading around as EDCs.

[Original submission date: 24 November 2008]

Opus 1870 has a more modern feel to it than most of the fragrances I have tried from this house (e.g., Blenheim Bouquet, English Fern and Douro come to mind). It is about woods; primarily cedar, a bit smoky, a touch of spice. The opening has a bit of sweetness which diminishes in the development. A pleasant, classy masculine.

A great ,balanced ,smart and evocative scent ! Bright and discreet at the same time ,traditional and modern ,so, very "british". It takes me into english gardens (roses),london's clubs (wood) palace's chapel (incense)and grocery(spices).Unfortunatly it doesn't last too much on me...

An excellent formal fragrance, that evolves beautifully from the application onwards. A sharp astringent opening with a feint citric and clove blend that continues to tighten into the drydown. A fabulous Cedarwood and Sandalwood medley awaits the wearer from the third hour onward, and it continues to develop until its demise several hours later. Decent longevity, and sillage, I found this to be a delightfully balanced formal fragrance.

Very nice sweet scent with cedar and pepper - complements most anything anytime

The opening comes to me as a sophisticated black pepper / citrus note. It’s refined, it’s excellent, and within about eight minutes it is already well into its spicy / floral heart. I like the heart even better than the opening. It’s rich and full ranged with the sweet delicate cinnamon, the deep dark red rose note, and the touch of resinous brought about by the incense. The woody base emphasizes cedar and includes a bit of sandalwood – I don’t get much musk, but I still get incense and rose. I feel that the base is the least effective of the levels in Opus 1870. I find the fragrance quite discreet – it doesn’t project much at all from my skin and it is short lived. The lack of projection I can accept and even enjoy… the limited longevity I have a harder time with…

When I wear Opus I imagine myself on a Fall evening, Scotch in hand, recounting grandiose tales of adventures in exotic and faraway lands in my wood paneled trophy room with a group of fascinated, giggling, evening-gown-clad lady callers.

After I slap my face to bring about consciousness after such a hallucination, I am present, but still wrapped in the slightly sweet, spicy, jovial glow of my dreamy egoism.

Opus 1870 is a great balance of the old and modern that just exudes class. The sweet boozy, peppery notes evoke the spice trade, the rose brings more spice with it and the cedar is stoic and ever present, keeping things grounded. This scent will appeal to cedar and spice lovers and those looking for a well balanced masculine scent.

This is very subtle at first. It's herbaceous and spicy. I just tried the new Davidoff Adventure and it reminds me of 1870 but turned up a lot. I also detect a hint of tobacco in the cedar note. Similar to RL Romance is that you have to wait until the drydown to get anything real substantial from it.

My favorite Penhaligon scent, Opus 1870 is indeed for the true cedar lover. At the same time it is a balanced fragrance, evocative of an older-style masculinity without crossing the line into self-conscious parody or kitsch. It somehow manages to straddle the boundary between warm and cool, classic and modern. The cedar is indeed dominant and unmistakable, and those for whom that aroma conjures security and comfort will be pleased. The dry down is long and persistent; in fact, my only quarrel with this scent is its persistence: it lasted an extraordinarily long time on me, even after an afternoon in the California sun and a long hot bath, the scent remained, clear and distinguishable as the same one that I had applied hours earlier.

Opus 1870 is definitely one of this house's best scents. Penhalligon's older fragrances remind me a lot of Caswell Massey's in that they tend to smell like recreations of older fragrance formulas, which end up becoming more like caricatures of themselves, and smelling rather hokey. Opus 1870 on the other hand is obviously a modern scent with traditional sensibilities, rather than a direct attempt at a recreation. From its lovely spicy opening you know that you are smelling quality. The rose heart note is lightly spiced with clove and cinnamon along with some olibanum notes. The base is a moderately rich woody musk. This is a very well done fragrance and the first one from this house that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

The emperor's new scent - in that I cannot detect anything at first, then a very very light blend of spice/celery/clove - hardly detectable despite a sizeable dose. This may work better on other skins, but alas to my nose and hide it has no credentials.

10 notes:

Top: Bourbon Black Pepper, Yuzi Fruit, Coriander
Middle: Clove Rose, Cinnamon, Incense
Base: Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Clarawood, Musk

The only cedar-heavy frag I've ever encountered that can best be described as opulent. This is a rich Oriental, but without the usual heavy florals and sweet vanillas so commonly encountered in that family. Appropriate for both office and formal wear, with very good sillage and marvelous longevity. Probably not the best casual frag in the world; however, that may be just my own judgment that doesn't work for you.

This frag has many detractors; however, I am not among them. While I won't be rushing out to buy a bottle anytime soon, I certainly have to sing its praises.

If you are a cedar fan, you cannot pass this up. The dry down is beyond amazing...the best cedar I have ever smelled, putting to shame offerings by Givenchy.
The opening with its pepper and ambery flirtatiousness is quite a sophisticated approach to 'amber' IMHO, giving it a character that is familiar yet satifying. You want to keep smelling it. Then you get the warm dark mids from the vibrant 'sours' in the opening which transition well into the aforementioned awesome cedar wood. LOVELY. At least try it!

This would be woody then. And lasts all of 15 minutes. And also overpriced. If this is the what they chose to commemorate their founding then hooray for new fragrance companies.

Opus 1870 succeeds where many others (Rocabar, Tuscany, Bijan Black for Men) fail. Others have a feeble or simple wood tone that surrenders to and becomes lost in a simple, sweet vanilla base. Opus 1870 flirts with sweetness and richness (it is an oriental, after all) but remains slightly reserved (perhaps a British style). Here is cedar which is deep, true, haunting, and evocative! Instead of heavy vanilla, the similar but more sophisticated balsamic notes of amber resins are employed. I did not find this to be peppery, and its spice is woody and very moderate (probably coriander). The dry-down of Opus 1870 is a real treat, it gets drier, woodier and more interesting. Excellent, very masculine and self-confident.

Starts of very Britsh, with notes of herb and citrus.Nothing suprprising by now, but the drydown was much more complex and even a little unexpected- it suddenly turned into a rather French-made note of moderate sweetness, leather and spice. Rich, almosdt gruondbreaking daring yet discreet, understated sweetness, partly woody, partly spicy, partly even fruity. An interesting answer to today's male fragrances where sweetness is far to overdone, not added sparingly, like an extra touch of class and individuality like in this one.

Wonderful fragrance, rich warm and musky.

To my nose the top notes are problematic. I experience them as bergamot & lavendar; sour, bitter, turpentine, with a little sweetening. The combination always puts me off. I wonder if anyone else experiences top notes like that in this fragrance. I find that many men's fragrances have this citrus & lavender character. After the top notes dissappear, there is an oriental wood fragrance "tainted" with residual top notes.

1870 provoked a childhood flashback that I couldn't place at first. Penhaligon's describes the scent as "spiced black pepper gently infused with a luxurious accord of English clove rose amid warm woods and musk." The pepper is immediately obvious and is a delight, but during the dry down, I kept smelling a memory. Finally, I remembered how clothes smelled every fall when my mother would take the winter things out of the cedar closet in the attic. Until they aired on the line for a few hours, they would have this deep, rich aroma of cedar. ( I only get these days with shoe trees). It is a lovely smell and lovely scent. In actuality, 1870 is far more subtle and complicated than the closet ever was and continues to dry down to a very pleasant, light woodsy finish. I recommend it.

An utterly sublime scent, a light peppery note gives way to a rich oriental background. This should not be missed!!!!