From their archives, Penhaligon's brought us some special creations, now available in their Paris boutique. They come in a very beautiful black box with the history of the perfume written in black. I do not know the vintage versions but they seem very faithful to a classic style of perfumery.
Gardenia (1976) is a sleeping beauty, a flower so delicate, nostalgic and special that I can only regret that it was not available so many years. It is also a moment of history because the creation stands somewhere between 2 periods - it is a perfect balance of 2 styles, the classic traditional gardenia note and the more modern example. In fact, the gardenia is wrapped with magnolia petals, lily and lily of the valley and a very soft ylang. The gardenia - magnolia reminds the idea of Un Matin d'orage but it is not so contrasted and opulent. I would say that the perfume is a perfect balance between the green top note of gardenia (with a strong styralil acetate), the creamy lactonic side, the jasmine-white flower petal note and the mushroom effect that is very well dosed. The drydown of the perfume is even more spectacular, very lily and musky, sensual and slightly woody mossy. To me it has an effect recalling Anais Anais but remember that Cacharel's fragrance was launched after. The very soft and almost cosmetic drydown shows a delicate beauty.
Extract of Limes (1963) is a classical note very popular in UK and USA where it had a great reputation since the XIXth century. The lime note dominates the cologne accord in a very pleasant, fruity-green-citrus context. The drydown is very soft with crystalline orange flower - neroli notes, some light balsams and maybe even a woody-mossy effect. It is a creation built in the pure XIXth century style like the lemon eau de cologne in France, and the additional notes are here to fix the evanescent crisp freshness.
Eau de Verveine (1949) Verveine was again a very popular cologne in the XIXth (with Melissa) but also it can be found in the catalogues of some XXth century brands under this name or just as a major note (before the 70's). The fragrance from Penhaligon's is not the evanescent fresh lemony cologne but a perfume, light but long-lasting, built on a fougère almost chypre base. It belongs to those creations before 1960's when gender was still not so clear. I feel inside the jasmine-soft chypre elements from some popular perfumes (like one Italian creation I will soon review) but also the herbal-coumarine-oak moss note from the chypre perfume Chanel pour Monsieur (1956). If Penhaligon's had a wider distribution and the fragrance a different name, I believe that this would have been great success. The drydown is sweet, woody and milky-musky. It is less a verbena note and more a metaphor built around this beautiful note. It reminds already the first masculine colognes that later, after the 60's became successful notes in aftershaves and deodorants. I would say that this creation is almost an archetype and I was happy to discover it.
Night Scented Stocks (1976) is a curious and strange perfume that is less the image of a very popular British note based on cloves and more a "fantaisie" creation. Some would see in it an ancestor of Cuir Améthyste and other soft leather modern patchouli notes. The orris - iralia note is well present inside, wrapped in lily of the valley, sweet woody notes with a soft musky trail. It's rather a soft violet-heliotrope and very light clove fragrance. But those notes are very well blended and would not stand out. The scent of stocks was a type of floral (Matthiola sp.) close to carnation often a mix of mimosa-violet-heliotrope with some anisic notes and sometime with a tobacco flower elements or hawthorn.
Gardenia (1976) is a sleeping beauty, a flower so delicate, nostalgic and special that I can only regret that it was not available so many years. It is also a moment of history because the creation stands somewhere between 2 periods - it is a perfect balance of 2 styles, the classic traditional gardenia note and the more modern example. In fact, the gardenia is wrapped with magnolia petals, lily and lily of the valley and a very soft ylang. The gardenia - magnolia reminds the idea of Un Matin d'orage but it is not so contrasted and opulent. I would say that the perfume is a perfect balance between the green top note of gardenia (with a strong styralil acetate), the creamy lactonic side, the jasmine-white flower petal note and the mushroom effect that is very well dosed. The drydown of the perfume is even more spectacular, very lily and musky, sensual and slightly woody mossy. To me it has an effect recalling Anais Anais but remember that Cacharel's fragrance was launched after. The very soft and almost cosmetic drydown shows a delicate beauty.
Extract of Limes (1963) is a classical note very popular in UK and USA where it had a great reputation since the XIXth century. The lime note dominates the cologne accord in a very pleasant, fruity-green-citrus context. The drydown is very soft with crystalline orange flower - neroli notes, some light balsams and maybe even a woody-mossy effect. It is a creation built in the pure XIXth century style like the lemon eau de cologne in France, and the additional notes are here to fix the evanescent crisp freshness.
Eau de Verveine (1949) Verveine was again a very popular cologne in the XIXth (with Melissa) but also it can be found in the catalogues of some XXth century brands under this name or just as a major note (before the 70's). The fragrance from Penhaligon's is not the evanescent fresh lemony cologne but a perfume, light but long-lasting, built on a fougère almost chypre base. It belongs to those creations before 1960's when gender was still not so clear. I feel inside the jasmine-soft chypre elements from some popular perfumes (like one Italian creation I will soon review) but also the herbal-coumarine-oak moss note from the chypre perfume Chanel pour Monsieur (1956). If Penhaligon's had a wider distribution and the fragrance a different name, I believe that this would have been great success. The drydown is sweet, woody and milky-musky. It is less a verbena note and more a metaphor built around this beautiful note. It reminds already the first masculine colognes that later, after the 60's became successful notes in aftershaves and deodorants. I would say that this creation is almost an archetype and I was happy to discover it.
Night Scented Stocks (1976) is a curious and strange perfume that is less the image of a very popular British note based on cloves and more a "fantaisie" creation. Some would see in it an ancestor of Cuir Améthyste and other soft leather modern patchouli notes. The orris - iralia note is well present inside, wrapped in lily of the valley, sweet woody notes with a soft musky trail. It's rather a soft violet-heliotrope and very light clove fragrance. But those notes are very well blended and would not stand out. The scent of stocks was a type of floral (Matthiola sp.) close to carnation often a mix of mimosa-violet-heliotrope with some anisic notes and sometime with a tobacco flower elements or hawthorn.
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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
