Halfeti (2015)
by Penhaligon's

My trouble with Halfeti is I just don't like it. Extremely spicy woods with leather and oud all wrapped up with a few florals thrown in. I've tried countless times to find some redeeming quality about Halfeti and I just can't. It made my eyes water and dries down to a lingering cigarette ash note like the bitter end of the party. I've given Halfeti the benefit of the doubt and worn it several times more than I should have to find the silver lining in this cluster of notes, but sadly there was none to begin with.

Halfeti smells good, it’s quite blue and floral with a lot of leather which makes it project as a typically masculine perfume, specially because of the added spices.

Smells really similar to Acqua di Parma's Oud. It lasts just as long too. I don't have any previous history with Penhaligon's and I found this very impressive.

A luxurious, heady, spicy affair that literally blew my socks off. Very Un-Penhaligon's if you catch my drift? Penhaligon's are usually associated with light and airy old school type scents. This is the polar opposite. This really should come in a Black bottle and the juice should also be Black. It is a dark spicy fragrance. It smells very expensive and actually smells better in the air than it does directly on skin. Completely seductive and enchanting. Unisex but leaning masculine. Lasts well in excess of 10 hours with great projection. Will turn heads for sure.

UPDATE: Please note that Hafelti has been reformulated. It still smells decent but not quite as good as the original stuff. Doesn't project as much but longevity is around the same.

A refreshing but spicy roses, woods and dry leather barbershop fougere style fragrance straight from the shipping receiving docks where Turkish spice traders unload their wares. Yes, there are dark Halfeti roses plus green lavenders added to a Ras-al-Hanout spice blend of saffron, cumin, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon - but nicely done and layered over tonka, amber, woods, patchouli, oud, and leather base notes.

At it's simplest this is a barbershop fougere fragrance warmed with some dark rose, a peppery spice array stirred and aged into a warm woods base. This is almost an incense, but definitely a rich masculine scent that derives an influence from Turkish trade routes on the high seas. This is not an oud fragrance or a saffron rose fragrance, although it has those things in it as well. I find Halfet to be a refreshing fougere with prickly spices and warm woods along with a creamy warmth from rose and amber made to splash on skin after a good clean up. I like this scent much more when I don't try to overthink it or categorize the fragrance for more than what it might be. It smells good. I think this is one of Penhaligon's best new fragrances and appropriately illustrates historical and cultural discovery through trade in far away and exotic ports of call. A very Penhaligon's theme and well done.