Thoughts on Burberry London

I bought this a few weeks back and had to swap it.. it's a pretty nice, sensual fall weather scent.. unfortunately..no joke.. it lasted no more than 15 minutes on my skin..... And this is after 5-10 sprays... an hour later.. it was undetectible... even with nose directly pressed to my wrist.. the gentleman I swapped it to.. had the same experience and passed the bottle along to the next.. a very well travelled bottle in Canada, I must admit...

I suppose in this day and age... it's not surprising to see that a lot of of the longevity of the recent fragrance releases have been suspect.. but for those who love the scent, I guess it forces one to go through a bottle much quicker..

I was disappointed..I was really looking forward to sporting the New London this fall, but halas.. it wasn't meant to me.

a.

Just sampled it yesterday. I found the drydown very similar to Vera Wang.......which i guess...is not a bad thing.

Bought myself a 3.4oz bottle of this fragrance couple weeks ago. I find it very pleasent autumn fragrance (has great booze note), but as ''nearfantastica'' mentioned, it doesn't last too long. I'm spraying it on my shirt along the skin, which helps a bit though.

I went into Holt Renfrew a week ago to test this fragrance out and after 2, 3 hours on my skin, I knew I had to buy it. It's boozy, spicy, woodiness was just too delicious. Now that you've (perfectfeet) mentioned it, I do detect a soft tea note in the background! I think this fragrance would be perfect for Christmas, but also very, very suitable for autumn, as well.

I guess I'm the lucky one out of this bunch because I don't have a longevity issue with this scent. Sure it's not a long distance runner like, say, Opium EDT (I don't have the EDP ) but it lasts - on me, at least. Goes for a good 5 - 6 hours - which is usually what I prefer because if I apply in the morning, by the evening, I have a choice of either a) applying more to continue wearing it, or b) apply a different fragrance without any clashing.

I picked up a sample of this last week and I have to agree, its wonderful.

I need to get a bottle very soon!

I really dig it in a big way.

I think of it as contrapuntal to Burberry Brit. To me, Brit is the quintessential Christmans Morning scent. The excited bergamot is waking up and running downstairs for presents, the cinnamon is all the candy and gingerbread sweets you eat, the somewhat over-sweet tonka at the end is the toothache you have by noon. Brit's great, but a bit juvenile, IMO.

By comparison, Burberry London is Christmas Eve. It has a rich, smokey, "fireplace" feel to it. Its still sweet, but not in an artificial sweetener way, more like homemade pumpkin pie and deep red fruits candied on the stove. Its a restive but heady mix: the taste of a nice cordial with a pipe or cigar by the fireplace after the kids have gone to bed, when its just the adults som kose seg ("cozy-ing themselves"), as they say in norwegian. It comes on a bit strong, but to me the plum dominates the heart notes. Not sure what this reminds me of.... one of the fruit & leathers' date accord I think (maybe Varvatos or DK Fuel). Cranberry maybe? It soon becomes boozy, but not overly so (As I find Michael to be). Maybe like FdA, but in a less herbal way, more leather going on here, and a silky tobacco note.

Burberry London feels very high class, very mature and exclusive. It should have been more expensive than it is, by the smell of it. I think they should have left Burberry Classic as London, and called this new one Burberry Prorsum, but what do I know.

I cannot relate whatsoever to people reporting longevity problems.

Prefectfeet: In terms of the longevity problems, I was sure to ask a variety of people around me.. and after half an hour.. not one of 4-5 people I asked could detect that I was wearing any fragrance whatsoever..

I admit, my skin for whatever reason <maybe lack of oils> often rejects fragrances.. but this certainly wasn't a case of "numb" nose.. the stuff did "not" last on me..

This isn't to say that others shouldn't sample it, or give it a whirl..I am just relating my experiences regarding the fragrance and must report that unfortunately.. this stuff vanishes on me.

a.

Very nice scent....Lasting power is good. not something I would use every day but a very nice classy fragrance indeed for that special occassion.
Gary

Does anyone know when this will release in Norway or Scandinavia?
All of the other fall-releases are here except for this (and Antidote)..
If not, has anyone got their e-mail address?

Just want to chime in and say I've had great experience with the frag and simiarly do not have any longevity issues...getting an easy 8 hours out of it. It definitely does evolve, but that base is still there at the end of my day. I guess it just reconfirms what is so often said here, that any fragrance experience is simply something unique person-to-person.

I have leaned that there are indeed fragrances with true longevity issues (e.g. when 100 people post here and say the same thing about a certain Hermes citrus) and at the other end there are staying power monsters (e.g. overwhelming volume of reports of Joop and A*men.) Everything else for me falls somewhere in between, with no way to reliably know other than through personal test drives...

After loving the sample, I bought a bottle this past weekend. It's just great.

smelled it in GQ and it smells like christmas! pies and mulled cider -- anyone think its too overpowered by cinnamon?

i just smelled it in a magazine strip so that might affect how well the other notes settled but all i got was the smell of spice sacks

nope. much less cinnamon than Brit

JoelCairo - your post upthread regarding Christmas Eve is spot on, and nicely written to boot.

I'm wearing London today - still using the sample before I crack open the cellophane on the bottle. The sample seems to be at least twice as large as some others.

I don't have any problems with longevity either. It's funny, because London is one of the few frags where I can smell it on myself. Most of the time I can't.

London is very long lasting on me. The drydown is superb, easy going, fresh and exhilirating. Potpourri, tea, leather, candied fruit and smoke.

What's not to like!

So its nothing like the orig Burberry then? I hope the answer is yes.

so i sampled this the other day on my skin and all that xmas spice and woodiness was the top notes for me. its drydown smelled just like Love Potion No. 9 by Penhaligon's

Tried it yesterday. Stylish bottle, promising pyramid, smells wonderful, though very light, gone in 15 minutes and I mean sucked-into-a-black-hole gone. I'd love to wear this bit I'd need full-time irrigation

I tested this fragrance. It's smells like: Carolina Herrera for men or Hugo by Hugo Boss. Last notes like Heaven Chopard (i love it)
I like it and I buy it very soon.

Tried it today. My first impression is of a mellower, less harsh, more rounded out version of "Burberry of London". Good enough to try again.

What does the 2006 version look like (box and bottle)?

I love this stuff. The bottle is awesome as well!!

For the longevity of this one, i have to say its really bad. U guys know what ? When i come in the store to test this, i sprayed 3 times on my wrist, and i can HARDLY smell anything ( just a bit but not that obvious ). Then after 1 min i cant smell ABSOLUTELY anything ....

Nothing but compliments from all sides with this one.

Not a longevity issue for me. Good enough to spritz again a few hours later if required although I still smell it nicely at day's end.

A playful beauty, this fragrance (IMHO) should not be taken too seriously. Anytime, anywhere. Like Antidote, its notes were meant to tickle and tease, not to overwhelm.

But when I want more depth and richness, I reach for....others.

I'm with you. I love it, and it lasts pretty well. Perfect scent for this time of year.

No longevity issues for me, I tested it today a good 9 hours ago and can still detect it on my skin. It is much much different than Brit, but just as enjoyable. Perhaps even more so. I will be trying it again soon before I decide if I shall purchase it though.

I dont smell any of these here.

And I have to reiterate, I cannot relate whatsoever to people reporting longevity problems. I sprayed 4 times 10 hours ago, and both the girlfriend and I can smell it now.

This one seemed to last quite awhile on me, unfortunately, I preferred the top considerably more than the drydown.

TNMA

I sampled this today.I can see that this is manufactured by the company that produces Brit (which I like more and I find more versatile).And it is not not very different if compared to Lagerfeld's Liquid Karl.

Liquid Karl! OMG!! I thought I was one of the few to know this one. I don't think it was released in the states. I got a bottle in a swap from a European Bnotes member...it was marketed as unisex but definitely skews towards masculine, IMO.

OK here's my London story. I went to Nordstrom several weeks ago and got 1/4 oz decants of Prada, London, Varvatos Vintage and Antidote. They are all better than average mainstream releases, but London was by far my favorite.

I used to reject immediately scents that didn't last on me...traded 'em...but now I just haul around the bottle to work and reapply...no big deal. I was rejecting far too many good scents before just because they didn't last thr whole day. London is not a powerhouse...I'd describe its longetivity as average, but it's too good a scent not to just reapply.

Burberry scents sometimes seem to get short shrift around here, and I agree that some are hit and miss...but the original London is a KILLER scent...pears and tobacco...who knew?... and I agree that Brit comes dangerously close to being too sweet, but it's good for the right time, place, weather and mood.

I felt bittersweet seeing the mention of Chopard's Heaven. I had a negative experience with the person I traded with to get it and traded it to someone else just because of the negative association...how I wish I had it back...

I'm pretty sure it was, but in one of H&M's incredibly limited distribution prestige publicity ploys, like the way they contracted Stella Mccartney and Victor & Rolf to design some pieces, then sent about three items to each of their stores.

nobody is mentioning the pear note, which is prominent I think.

london doesnt' have enough "kick" for me though not sure about the longevity but even when it's still there, I'd like more...something...

Just purchased the Shower Gel and Underarm. Will report.

Love London totally, without reserve, like the original Drakkar I remember from way back when. Can pick it up whenever and enjoy it fully, early morning, day or evening, when a little green and mystery are required.

These days though, I find myself reaching for stuff with more bite like Prada (smokey/burly/M7ish!), Gaultier2 (gutsy/kinky!), Antidote (amusing and bittersweet!), Cerutti 1881 Black (mouthwateringly woody!) and Black XS (for those really serious, one-on-one moments - a power frag if ever there was one).

London's is, albeit the foregoing, one of my faves though and I highly recommend it. A beautiful, fabulous and necessary addition to any arsenal!

Mario

are you sure you are thinking of the new Burberry London, released in 2006, rather than the old Burberry London, now called Burberry for Men or Burberry Classic?

I hate it, I think its so dull and boring. I love the original Burberry for men though, that one is at least interesting

the new one wearing the kilt (I don't like the bottle either) ... as I recall the SA spoke of the pear note... but I'd read about it having a pear note here too. just it seemed ultimately a pretty soft spoken fragrance to me...

^ yeah yeah the kilt one. Hmmm, I never noticed the pear....

Me either, Phil.

I just bought London yesterday and have been wearing it today.

After testing it (on skin and paper strip) I was initially intrigued enough to buy a 30ml bottle, a good size for trying out. It struck me as something that could work well for Christmas and the cold months.

The main impressions I've been getting so far include toffee-apple, cider, mulled wine, dark candied berry fruits, spices and tobacco; very gourmand in character. There's also something musky in there that I can't quite place. Not much in the way of sillage, and it seems to fade away quite quickly, but perhaps that could be my own nose-fatigue.

It's a bit like a cross between Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir and Hermès Ambre Narguilé, but not quite as smooth as either of those.

Overall I would say I prefer Brit for Men (which I also own) to this one. Maybe London will grow on me.

Nah, I don't think it's your nose. That seems to be the big problem with this scent. I think it's fantastic ... one of the best smelling scents over the past few years. But the poor sillage and longevity make it not worth owning (IMHO). I went through my 1.7 oz. bottle in less than a month. I remember being so pissed off at the poor longevity one day that I sprayed it over 100 TIMES throughout my chest, neck, face, and arms. And still, by 10:00 AM I could barely detect it.

They really need to come out with an edp version of this ... so maybe it will last till at least noon!

On me the lasting power was so-so. The top notes were good, but there was something in the drydown that bothered me and I could not pick out what exactly it was.

Judging from all the positive reviews here though, I need to give this one another chance.

Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.

If anyone's in the market to pick up a bottle on the cheap, I recently found one @ Costco for $40. The 3.4oz size to boot! They also had some bottles of Vera Wang princess if your lady needs some good smellin.

Same here. Nordstorm gave me 3 decants of this, and I used a whole decant per application. Gone in an hour. I like the scent but the longevity is really poor.

I can say now for certain it wasn't just 'nose fatigue'. This scent lasts about half an hour and that's that.

Apples, baked apples, dried apples and a bit of candied fruit and spice is what I get. Well, perhaps I should have got DKNY Be Delicious, at least it might last longer!

This was a mistake. I won't buy it again, and I'm glad I only got a 30ml.

The New London, in the chequered cloth? Wow, they don't have a grip on their distribution channels then, do they? Or has it already flopped?

I have to second this, it doesn´t last on me either. A very hefty application (half a mini decant bottle) is good for no more than two hours.
Brit (as well as almost every other scent in my wardrobe) is a completely different story, 4-5 sprays will last almost 6-8 hours. Other than that I really do like the new London but don´t think I´ll be buying it.

I finally got around to trying this one, and I like it a lot! A great tobacco scent, with a nice progression. However, I've had it on for about two hours, and it's starting to fade. When I first put it on, what I mainly got was a very intense tobacco scent. Now, the tobacco has mellowed and receded somewhat, and what's coming through now with the light tobacco and wood is a sweet, slightly spicy, slightly fresh scent...obviously the black pepper and cinnamon, plus mimosa flower and opoponax. And that oakmoss is there ever so slightly.

Now I know what it's been reminding me of a little--M7! I MIGHT spring for a small bottle, but the verdict's still out, mainly because of the question mark about longevity.

I adore this scent!!! Just today someone said to me I can smell something amazing all over here..." what are you wearing".....I said i can't smell anything but it must be me......I have had numerous compliments..many and yet i can't detect it on me for the life of me!!!
Women have swooned over this....nothing but praise.....even men swoon!!!

I loved this one, bought it, and fell out of love the same day. Longevity. I simply refuse to have a frag in my wardrobe that will not even last 4 hours for me. Note: I said for me, because there are those that get good longevity out of this one. I wish I could. Great smell. Sigh...

I sampled this one a few months ago and recall liking it, but can't remember how long it lasted on me. I have to try it again tomorrow. Great to read all the reviews.

I usually don't layer, but with the references to Christmas eve, pies etc., I am already wondering how it might layer with Catalyst...or Carven Homme. Could be good.

London - my first Burberry, solely based on recommendations on BN and some quick sampling! Beware of the threads where nobody issues a warning...! I wouldn't be found dead in any of the textiles they line raincoats and hats with. It's all too popular on the continent and it's always the wrong people I meet. No reason to completele ignore a good cologne, I thought, and it does smell very nice at the beginning. 95% of the money must have gone into the top notes. Then London changes it's character into something pseudo-oriental to suddenly break off completely. The balloon has spent it's gas, and l am left without whatever coating...

Funny, I first smelled this in a GQ type of Magazine on one of those folded pages with the scent on it...loved it!!!!! Then went to smell it at Macy's on my skin...now the Tobacco note I can pick up on in an instant in any cologne.....I hate it! lol I hate smelling smoke and tobacco is putrid IMHO especially if it's a woodsy tobacco.

My point is that on the page it smelled great! Burberry Blondon smelled great, but on me and on a sample card it was tobacco-ey.

Now if you see my Wardrobe I tested and will buy Michael for men. It has Pipe Tobacco and suede in it which works for me! Weird. The cherry tobacco is a more sophisticated note with suede which Burberry doesn't have IMHO.

I believe Gucci II had that tobacco note in it and it just killed it for me. lol

Cant do the Tobacco thing unless it's a "Hidden type" of note or weak.

Burberry London is quite nice. . .

It is hard to over spray. . .smells of cinnamon, leather, spices. . .nice for winter when

wearing a nice sweater. Does tend to remind me of Christmas.

People seem to like it . . .I get compliments on it at work and from my family.

I dont wear it often. . .seems only appropriate for winter. . .

disagree with the longevity problems. . .I have no issues with that.

I have a vintage Buberry's navy blazer which I'm quite fond of. But it dates from way before their reinventionas a hp label worn by the wrong people (present company excepted - I do have a new Burberry T-Shirt ). I can't make sense of London. I did buy it, at a very good price, but, like you say, it is the the ghost of Christmas past, a faint echo of the dense opulence it should embody, considering the notes. To me Brit men is by far the better fragrance. And for Christmas, Villoresi's Incensi or Scilla e Chariddfi is more convincing. So I guess I'll just admire the pretty bottle.

Second that. No longevity problems for me too, just spray more!
I love Burberry London. A real winter scent. Spices, portwine and cinnamon. One of last years best releases. Awesome scent.

Today was a really rainy day. I was heading over to my dad's for dinner. Didn't give much of a thought to what I should wear, and being that I just reorganized my sample drawer, I found a sample of L'Artisan's Tea for Two.

Man, I think Burberry London is very similar to Tea for Two! A big difference is that Tea for Two has a big "hay-like" note that takes center stage, and makes it less cologne-y and more dirty and interesting. It's like you wore London and had a roll in the hay. Also I got pretty great longevity from Tea for Two. If you like London but find that it dies quickly-- you need to try Tea for Two!

Though I have not had longevity issues with Burberry London. . .I have had issues with other fragrances. . .

I usually resolve the problem (if I like the scent a lot and feel it is worth it) by purchasing
the deodorant stick and aftershave. . .

I am not sure why. . .but when I wear just the designer's deodorant people can smell it
and I often get compliments when I am just wearing a deodorant!!

Polo Blue is a good example. . .Someone gave me a kit of the stuff. . .included after shave lotion, deodorant, and fragrance. . .

I did not really care for the Blue. . .I used the deodorant stick after working out because
it is a fresh scent and not overpowering. . .

many compliments from girls in a class I was taking at uni. HAHA
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