Oddly enough just as I think I'm sick of sub fougere nonesense from niche brands, this comes along and actually turns out to be one of the better ones in this collection, if not only for the fact that it's bold and lasts on skin, and not even all that well. Jeez. What has come to? Right so the opening is a mass of fresh citrus (assuming elemi) & orangey stuff (assuming that's the orange blossom accord?) and a great wallop of custardy, ethyl vanillin driven, fuckery. However it's encapsulted in a fougere warmth, a kind of medicinal, balsamic effect which is HEAVY. It's hard to know what to make of it really? Sickening triffle of vanillic notes or in actuality quite a rough, dense, hardcore coumarin fougere thing. I'd say this is more of a tonka fragrance than anything else, leaving a slightly coffee infused, spun sugar aspect, certainly more and moreso as it dries down. I can say that at least this has some balls to it, without totally annoying me, but in truth is, I can take it or leave it. It is the one in this collection which I found had a bit of tenacity, but it;s a twisted, dirty vanilla tenacity many folks won't like.
Eau the Audacity… Penhaligon’s does indeed have some audacity to release a fragrance which is nothing more than something heavily inspired by an already cloned-to-death scent profile. If you couldn’t tell already, it is none other than the scent profile of Dior’s Bois D’Argent. It’s that same combination of a sweet, creamy vanilla, frankincense and leather, and an overwhelming barrage of pepper attacking your nostrils. The thing with these sorts of fragrances is they’re never as good as the original version, which could not be more true in this case. It’s a nice scent, it smells pleasant and I can see why people enjoy it. But there’s no creativity here, no originality, this was simply made for a quick buck and Penhaligon’s will milk it relentlessly. Just buy Bois D’Argent and be done with it.