Penhaligon's
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The quince arrives first, its fermented sweetness cut through by carrot seed's earthy greenness and a saffron note that's more metallic than sweet. Rose water provides a clean, almost aldehydic lift, whilst coriander seed adds a crushed-stem spiciness that prevents the opening from becoming too fruit-forward.
The Bulgarian and Moroccan roses bloom in tandem, one bright and lemony, the other dark and jammy with a trace of clove. Magnolia brings an indolic creaminess that borders on tropical, whilst iris powder settles over everything like fine dust, muting the florals into something softer and more introspective.
White musk and sandalwood create a warm, slightly soapy skin scent, with honey and benzoin adding just enough resinous sweetness to keep things interesting. The tonka's almond-like warmth mingles with the last whispers of rose, whilst cedarwood provides a pencil-shaving dryness that grounds what remains.
Vaara takes the Persian rose garden and renders it through a distinctly modern lens, where Duchaufour's signature precision transforms what could be cloying opulence into something altogether more nuanced. The quince opens with an almost fermented quality—not the bright peel of citrus but the fuzzy, honeyed flesh of overripe fruit, slightly oxidised and beautifully strange. This immediately collides with saffron and carrot seed, the latter adding an earthy, almost parsnip-like greenness that keeps the rose from floating away into abstraction.
The rose itself is rendered in stereo: Bulgarian rose's lemony transparency layered against Moroccan absolute's jammy, spiced density. Peony and freesia provide gauzy support rather than distinct floral identities, whilst iris dusts everything with its signature powdered-root quality. What's clever here is how the Indian magnolia—a note rarely spotlighted—adds a creamy, champaca-like richness without tipping into banana-heavy indole.
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3.8/5 (79)