Penhaligon's
Penhaligon's
121 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Sage and lavender arrive with almost medicinal precision, their herbaceous bite tempered by bergamot's honeyed citrus. Within minutes, your skin becomes the setting for a classical apothecary smell—sharp, clean, and vaguely aromatic, as though you've just run fingers through dried herbs.
The top notes soften substantially as geranium and suede emerge with surprising intensity. The geranium adds a peppery-rose quality that humanises the composition, whilst suede lends a powdery, leather-adjacent warmth that bridges the fresh opening to the heavier base that's beginning to creep forward.
Frankincense and leather dominate entirely, creating a dusty, resinous skin scent with persistent spice undertones from the nutmeg. The fragrance becomes quieter, more intimate, clinging close with an almost ecclesiastical quality—contemplative, slightly austere, undeniably complex.
Endymion Concentré inhabits a curious liminal space between barbershop heritage and contemporary leather studies. The fragrance opens with a crisp sage-lavender accord that feels almost medicinal in its clarity, though bergamot's citric warmth prevents it from tipping into austere territory. What's genuinely compelling is how Penhaligon's deploys this classical top as mere scaffolding for what lies beneath: a suede-geranium heart that leans distinctly animalic, with the geranium contributing a subtle rosy-peppery edge rather than floral sweetness.
The real drama unfolds in the base, where frankincense and leather engage in a tense dialogue. The leather here reads as processed and slightly dusty—more aged jacket lining than raw hide—whilst the frankincense adds a resinous, almost liturgical gravitas. Nutmeg circles underneath like an undertone of warmth, preventing the composition from becoming austere, though it never quite softens the spicy leather's angular character.
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4.1/5 (163)