Aspects of this are good. The opening conveys the pleasant citrus fruits, it’s got sharp citrus, ya limes, yer bergamots, but quite muted allowing for a nice translucent veil you can see the rest of the fragrance through, as it were. I get a slight facet of like grapes or pear or something, but immediately levied against dry GnT Sparkle, which continues the dehydrated theme into vetiver territory. Then it goes off the reservation for me, souring down on skin to a dry boring, papery, base which to me is predominantly Iso E Super or Timbersilk. Sure I’ll give you that there’s ambroxan and sandalwood molecules too if you insist but it mainly smells of arid, bready, 🥖 wood, with only shades of the top and heart left after a relatively short period. I’ve kinda been tempted by Morillas’ own line because from memory and although in his ‘style’ I found some of them to be just fantastic. However, this is always my worry that they won’t deliver on the full perfume experience and leave me wanting, like this one does. Sorry Albert lad! I mean it’s okay, but it’s top loaded to make you think it might be good and justify buying, but I’d be disappointed if I bought that fancy bottle and this was lurking in the drydown. UPDATE: okay so I was a little hasty and I found it odd that it went so dry, paper woody and boring, now the musks, woody amber, Ambroxan and stuff is chiming and it smells like a high end designer fragrance. Which is what it is. I actually had a shower and washed it off but the remnant is really nice, uninspired but nice and I can’t deny I do like commercial accords like this, it’s a weakness of mine.
The Inimitable William Penhaligon, from Penhaligon's was released in 2020. The perfumer behind this creation is Alberto Morillas. It has the top notes of Bergamot and Jasmine, middle notes of Cedarwood, Incense, and Vetiver, and base notes of Ambroxan and Sandalwood.
Aspects of this are good. The opening conveys the pleasant citrus fruits, it’s got sharp citrus, ya limes, yer bergamots, but quite muted allowing for a nice translucent veil you can see the rest of the fragrance through, as it were. I get a slight facet of like grapes or pear or something, but immediately levied against dry GnT Sparkle, which continues the dehydrated theme into vetiver territory. Then it goes off the reservation for me, souring down on skin to a dry boring, papery, base which to me is predominantly Iso E Super or Timbersilk. Sure I’ll give you that there’s ambroxan and sandalwood molecules too if you insist but it mainly smells of arid, bready, 🥖 wood, with only shades of the top and heart left after a relatively short period. I’ve kinda been tempted by Morillas’ own line because from memory and although in his ‘style’ I found some of them to be just fantastic. However, this is always my worry that they won’t deliver on the full perfume experience and leave me wanting, like this one does. Sorry Albert lad! I mean it’s okay, but it’s top loaded to make you think it might be good and justify buying, but I’d be disappointed if I bought that fancy bottle and this was lurking in the drydown. UPDATE: okay so I was a little hasty and I found it odd that it went so dry, paper woody and boring, now the musks, woody amber, Ambroxan and stuff is chiming and it smells like a high end designer fragrance. Which is what it is. I actually had a shower and washed it off but the remnant is really nice, uninspired but nice and I can’t deny I do like commercial accords like this, it’s a weakness of mine.