Penhaligon's
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Fennel seed and bergamot collide in sharp, almost peppery flourish—bracing rather than welcoming—whilst green tea immediately tempers the spice with a delicate, slightly grassy astringency. Within moments, you're caught between the herbal-aromatic and the citric, as though standing in a medieval spice merchant's stall filtered through pale morning sunlight.
Myrrh and liquorice emerge as an unexpected conspiracy, the former's smoky resin playing against the latter's subtle root-sweetness with fascinating tension. Cistus blooms into this conversation with honeyed, almost floral warmth, transforming the composition from sharp and intriguing into something more enveloping—still dry and resinous, but now tinged with amber-gold tonality that suggests autumn dust and weathered stone.
Benzoin's vanilla-powder softness dominates whilst Belambre provides woody structure, creating a skin-close, almost textile quality—imagine expensive linen worn close to warmth. The liquorice sweetness lingers faintly beneath, preventing the vanilla from becoming candied, leaving a sophisticated amber-woody finish that feels less like fragrance and more like a scent memory.
Legacy of Petra is a fragrance that builds its narrative through restraint and architectural precision. The fennel seed and bergamot opening establishes an almost savoury quality—sharp and slightly peppery—before the green tea arrives to soften the composition into something more contemplative. This isn't a fragrance that shouts; it whispers in a crowded room, confident in its knowledge of ancient spice routes and desert stone.
The heart is where Nathalie Gracia-Cetto's vision truly unfolds. Myrrh and liquorice create an unexpectedly harmonious pairing—the myrrh lending biblical solemnity whilst the liquorice root injects a subtle licorice sweetness that borders on savoury. Cistus (rock rose) arrives like dust catching golden afternoon light, resinous and slightly honeyed, anchoring the composition in place. This is the scent of archaeological expeditions and ochre-coloured cliffs; it's intellectual rather than immediately sensual.
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4.0/5 (295)