Dunhill Icon Absolute, from Alfred Dunhill was released in 2015. The perfumer behind this creation is unknown. It has the top notes of Bergamot and Pepper, middle notes of Jasmine, Rose, and Saffron, and base notes of Agarwood (Oud), Leather, and Tobacco.
Unfortunately the tester I managed to locate a few weeks back had been broken the previous day according to the SA. Frustratingly although the bottle was full I only managed to eek out a minuscule amount of fragrance. I can't base a review on it unfortunately but what I deduced was a complex scent which definitely has elements of the original. The main thing I got was a spicy, white floral thing with a woody base, kind of interesting in the way Icon was. I will update when I get a proper sniff and some samples to wear.
Finally I've found a tester that worked, I was beginning to think I was cursed and doomed to never actually find a properly working tester or samples but luckily I found both. As I suspected from my first review this is a complex beast, mainly comprised of a warm but synthetic Oud accord which is surrounded by opulent earthy saffron, musk and a fresher peppery accord from the original Icon. I genuinely think it's clever the way Absolute still has this nod to Icon while being a totally different fragrance in many ways and a new direction for Dunhill a brand I already like. Lasts okay on me but not great thing is it just smells right up my street in terms of slightly Arabian in flavour with the synthetic vulgarity of Montale then with the modern, western elements of a masculine fragrance. My only minor criticism is the price and I'm not normally someone to quibble about such things but £90 is a little steep. Having said that I will probably still get it and the factor that pushes me over the edge is the wel crafted bottle. What a fantastic design in either silver or gold.