I had the opportunity to sample the the first four of the 12 fragrances which will be released under the Penhaligon's Anthology series.
As previously noted, they are Eau de Verveine, Gardenia, Night Scented Stock and Extract of Limes.
And there's a lot to look forward to here.
Extract of Limes will be familiar to Basenoters as it's been available exclusively through Harrods for a while. I've always thought of this as the Lime equivalent of Habit Rouge, with that very sherbet-like sweetness, citric tartness but with a lime flavour as opposed to a more traditional lemony citrus. It is slightly too sharp for me in the opening, but has a lovely creamy lime dry down which stays fresh without being too soft.
It is the other three of the series that have particularly drawn my attention however.
Eau de Verveine is just lovely. It is redolent at times of Blenheim Bouquet, but like a friendly, less austere version. It has an approachability to it which I have always thought Blenheim Bouquet lacks. As it dries down there is a warmth of vanilla and has a light musk to it which I think men or women could wear with aplomb. It is at once warm as well as being light enough to be refreshing.
Night Scented Stock is very possibly my favourite of the four. I don't know whether it was intended to be a particularly female fragrance, these days I don't much care. What I do know is that this is beautiful. What is odd though is that I had to apply it twice before I started getting the best out of if - an experience I have had with other fragrances, Eau de Cartier being an example that springs to mind. The heliotrope in this is beautifully executed and blended well with clove, violet and tonka. It's floral but not necessarily done in an overtly fussy feminine way - any man who likes floral orientals will love this. It has two levels too, the first is what's next to the skin and the second is a kind of aura casting an enchantment around the wearer. For hours after application I kept getting wafts of something that caused my olfactory lobes to light up. When I tracked down the source, it was the Night Scented Stock.
Gardenia
The Gardenia is arguably the most feminine of the four, but I say that guardedly, because I really felt comfortable wearing it. It has a woody undercurrent to it underneath well, the scent of Gardenias. It reminded me for some reason of Richard James Saville Row. Indeed I liked it slightly more than Saville Row. I will write more about this when I get more of a chance to sample it in full.
Penhaligon's are scaling back the other product lines they offer in terms of leather, silver and cashmere goods and are ramping up their focus on perfumery. Which I think is no bad thing. Male Basenoters will be delighted to know that there are two fragrances with the male market in mind being developed. More news on these will follow.
Mind you, this is somewhat arbitrary since most Penhaligon's fragrances of late are not labelled particuarly as male or female...
As previously noted, they are Eau de Verveine, Gardenia, Night Scented Stock and Extract of Limes.
And there's a lot to look forward to here.
Extract of Limes will be familiar to Basenoters as it's been available exclusively through Harrods for a while. I've always thought of this as the Lime equivalent of Habit Rouge, with that very sherbet-like sweetness, citric tartness but with a lime flavour as opposed to a more traditional lemony citrus. It is slightly too sharp for me in the opening, but has a lovely creamy lime dry down which stays fresh without being too soft.
It is the other three of the series that have particularly drawn my attention however.
Eau de Verveine is just lovely. It is redolent at times of Blenheim Bouquet, but like a friendly, less austere version. It has an approachability to it which I have always thought Blenheim Bouquet lacks. As it dries down there is a warmth of vanilla and has a light musk to it which I think men or women could wear with aplomb. It is at once warm as well as being light enough to be refreshing.
Night Scented Stock is very possibly my favourite of the four. I don't know whether it was intended to be a particularly female fragrance, these days I don't much care. What I do know is that this is beautiful. What is odd though is that I had to apply it twice before I started getting the best out of if - an experience I have had with other fragrances, Eau de Cartier being an example that springs to mind. The heliotrope in this is beautifully executed and blended well with clove, violet and tonka. It's floral but not necessarily done in an overtly fussy feminine way - any man who likes floral orientals will love this. It has two levels too, the first is what's next to the skin and the second is a kind of aura casting an enchantment around the wearer. For hours after application I kept getting wafts of something that caused my olfactory lobes to light up. When I tracked down the source, it was the Night Scented Stock.
Gardenia
The Gardenia is arguably the most feminine of the four, but I say that guardedly, because I really felt comfortable wearing it. It has a woody undercurrent to it underneath well, the scent of Gardenias. It reminded me for some reason of Richard James Saville Row. Indeed I liked it slightly more than Saville Row. I will write more about this when I get more of a chance to sample it in full.
Penhaligon's are scaling back the other product lines they offer in terms of leather, silver and cashmere goods and are ramping up their focus on perfumery. Which I think is no bad thing. Male Basenoters will be delighted to know that there are two fragrances with the male market in mind being developed. More news on these will follow.
Mind you, this is somewhat arbitrary since most Penhaligon's fragrances of late are not labelled particuarly as male or female...
