Burberry
Burberry
968 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Cinnamon and black pepper immediately dominate, with a peppery bite that feels almost defensive, whilst bergamot wrestles for control, providing Mediterranean brightness that softens the spice's severity. Within five minutes, the fragrance settles into an elegant sparring match between heat and citrus.
Port wine and leather emerge as the composition's emotional centre, creating a genuinely intoxicating sweetness threaded through with dry, somewhat aged leather that smells like vintage cognac and well-worn gloves. The mimosa adds a subtle honeyed quality that prevents this from becoming too austere or masculine-dominated.
Gaiac wood and oak bark take command, infusing everything with creosotic, tobacco-tinged warmth whilst opoponax provides a soft amber backdrop that's neither synthetic nor aggressively sweet. By the fourth hour, you're left with a sophisticated woody-leather skin scent that feels deeply personal and utterly refined.
Burberry London for Men arrives as a deliberate contradiction—a fragrance that smells expensive whilst simultaneously feeling like it's been lived in. The opening assault of cinnamon leaf and black pepper creates an almost culinary sharpness, one that threatens to veer into spice-rack territory before bergamot swoops in with citric restraint, anchoring the chaos. This is where Antoine Maisondieu's craft becomes apparent: rather than allowing these top notes to scream, they're calibrated to feel sophisticated, almost austere.
The heart reveals London's true character. Port wine emerges with surprising richness, lending a boozy, slightly fermented warmth that feels distinctly grown-up—this isn't a fresh fruity accord but something with genuine depth and grape-skin tannins. Leather arrives not as the clean, saddle-soap variety but as something drier, more worn, partnering with the wine to suggest an old gentleman's study rather than a tailor's showroom. Mimosa threads through with a honeyed, slightly aldehydic sweetness that prevents the composition from becoming oppressive.
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3.8/5 (130)