Icon Dunhill (2015)

Bottle Design: Mark Eisen

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8.0 / 10 295 Ratings

Icon is a popular perfume by Dunhill for men and was released in 2015. The scent is spicy-citrusy. It is being marketed by Inter Parfums.

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Perfumer

Carlos Benaïm

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Italian bergamot, Neroli absolute, Black pepper, Petitgrain
Heart Notes	Cardamom, Provençal lavender, Sage, Juniper berry
Base Notes	Iris, Oud, Vetiver, Leather, Oakmoss

Ratings

Scent

8.0 (295 Ratings)

Longevity

7.8 (255 Ratings)

Sillage

6.9 (258 Ratings)

Bottle

8.9 (278 Ratings)

View Video of Icon (YouTube)

Submitted by Michael, last update on 13.03.2019

Interesting Facts

The face of the advertising campaign is model Andrew Cooper, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

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Reviews

12/28/2018

Ernie824

Is it Iconic for Icon

SOTD: Dunhill Icon: As of 12/26/18

It was an office scent, I just love how this fragrance leaves a scent trail, the Néroli, vetiver, black pepper, lavender, bergamot, and cardamom in a whirlwind mixture in a beautiful/unique way. It should be a anyone signature scent in my opinion. I should wear this fragrance more often, to me this is a gentleman scent to my nose. Great release from Dunhill, and the value is superb. Icon is there in my top ten of fragrances. I'm glad I have this in my collection, presentation and design not too shabby either as long you don't use it as a weapon. Lol.

Rating

Scent: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Presentation/Design: 8.5/10
Performance/Longevity: 9/10: lasted on my skin between 12-14+ hrs
Overall: 9/10
My SOTD (Scent of the Day): Dunhill Icon EDP: As of 02/18/19

A Revisted review of this fragrance as it was my SOTD as of 02/18/19, it hasn't change a bit since my posted review back on 12/26/18 being my SOTD that day. Still love the scent it's so unique, and I'm glad it's in my collection. My nose still detects the Neroli, Bergamot, Black Pepper, Lavender and Vetiver which dominates from start to finish. For being a almost a dominant Neroli scent, I put this ahead of Bright Neroli from Ferrari in my opinion. The reason is Icon is very versatile and it can be worn in almost all seasons/all year round. Get this fragrance being the first and original from the Icon line. It is a superb and awesome fragrance and scent. A truly must get.

Overall: 9/10
Longevity/Performance: 9/10: 6-8 sprays: Lasted on my skin as a skin scent around between 10-11+ hrs

12/06/2018

8.0 7.0 7.0 8.0/10

Schoork

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Schoork

Greatly helpful Review 91

Sounds weird, but it's so....

Today I will tell you the difference between young and old.

Actually, this is only a biological thing, sounds strange, but it's like this.
Even if you're over 40 today, you can still be young, while there are probably 19 year olds who are total snoring bags.
Those are the ones who use the internet to be cool, because they are not in real life.
Then there are the older ones who didn't have the internet before and didn't have anyone to tell them what was good and what was bad in this world, with the exception of the parents, because that was their job and called themselves education.
This usually resulted in a person with his own taste and a sense for the right and wrong things in life.

The good thing back then was that you knew what you liked and didn't like by trying things out. Something that's good and something that's bad.
If you put your hand on the hot stove, you knew it was bad.
If you were allowed to lick the last cake dough from Grandma's bowl, you knew it was good.

You don't have to bother anymore today, because there is Youtube. Every morning you can watch a video and see how to tie your shoes. That's very convenient. You are also told what to buy, which takes the trouble out of making a decision, which is also quite practical. But it also has disadvantages.

If you don't like a perfume like the icon, it's perfectly understandable. It's not as sweet as for example. Eros, not as hip as La Nuit de L'homme, not as trendy as Sauvage, not to mention Ultra Male. At the latest after 3-4 weeks registered on this page you have also an Aventus, because of the Pantys and so ... and because you know now fully and are the total checkers.

Well, Icon's male. For this you need some hair on your chest (ladies who wear this may forgive me here).
It deceives you at first and it starts pretty fresh, peppery, with bergamot, neroli and pepper, you still think oh yes and maybe you can also be there with your heart when it gets spicier by the cardamom, what you know from La Nuit, but then skin off ... then Vetiver and oakmoss use and the thing becomes mighty spicy, very masculine and the pepper remains.

In other words, the fragrance is a bit oldschoolig, but without loss of quality, it is very elegant and wears better on a shirt than on a hoodie (by the way, we used to say hoodies), but you have to go with the times.
Yes its durability is good and that can be fatal if you don't like it.

But the bottle's awesome, isn't it?

Maybe he's something for chauvinists, but you don't know that anymore, this year it's more from sauvaginists.
I'm not all there on the subject, but I don't think Jeremy's introduced it yet, have I?
He wouldn't do that either, because otherwise he would have done better here last time, because what Jeremy says is true, too, or?
There are some science fiction movies (these are the ones that mostly play in the future) that use TV and video to suggest what to consume or to recruit, like in Starship Trooper. The way there is not long anymore.

A little individuality gets lost because it is so much easier to get shown what the way is. Quasi Googlemaps instead of Falk Plan. Sounds weird, but it's like this.

I think it's stupid not only not to go your own way, but also not to be self-critical with yourself, because whenever I read from you, you don't allow criticism, let alone nicely meant hints are immediately dismissed for worst. I don't want to give examples here, because I don't want to denounce anyone, but there are enough.

Why are there so many stupid people today? Well, my theory is called bicycle helmet theory.
In former times there was the natural selection, who was too stupid and who fell on his head while riding a bicycle, he just didn't make it. Ever since those helmets came out, everybody's coming through. Sounds weird, but it is. At least you look stupid on that one.

I've all been talking about the same thing now, that's true and there are certainly some who aren't the same, I might see that in the feedback, otherwise I know that the cliché is definitely confirmed.

Last but not least I would like to talk again about the scent and I am happy if it accompanies me and I know that it will not appear on every corner. A really nice fresh spicy companion, whether in the office or on occasions.

Sounds weird, but it's like that.

54 Replies

12/03/2018

8.0 5.0 10.0 4.5/10

Haise

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Haise

Less helpful Review 4

The long durability is here a clear disadvantage

I would like to say in advance that I don't want to talk badly about this fragrance and everything I write should not offend anyone, it is my own subjective (very important!) opinion.

The bottle of the perfume is really beautiful, you have to admit that. A simple cylinder is for me personally the most beautiful form for a bottle.
The durability is also very good, under the shower I had to work on the place where I have applied the scent for a long time and even after that you could still guess the scent.

The durability is a plus point for wearers and lovers of this fragrance, but for me it was a disadvantage, because when I applied this fragrance, an indescribable, for me associated with older men who only once a week with the help of a shower can take and otherwise only twice a week change the clothes, stinging sweat stink came to me. This welding stench with a hint of 4711.
That's exactly what I feel with this perfume, old man's sweat that has just rubbed a touch of 4711 on the neck.

I hope no one here feels personally attacked.

12 Replies

11/26/2018

9.0 8.0 8.0 5.5/10

Tima

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Tima

Less helpful Review 3

Disappointed

The best thing about this fragrance is the bottle. A bad buy for me, not suitable for blind buying. Too high rated here on Parfumo. An unpleasant pungent citrus scent that causes headaches, comparison with WC duck is good. Oldscool Grandpa fragrance, which is absolutely unsexy... I sent it back.

10 Replies

08/25/2018

10.0 9.0 9.0 9.0/10

Byronia

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Byronia

Very helpful Review 13

Here the fragrance follows the bottle

In one of the comments I read that the bottle would make the most noble paperweight. Well, it is. Noble, valuable, monumental. Like the scent that I personally feel is "sacred." Spicy at the beginning and it comes with a "bang". What remains is a depth that never becomes heavy, but rather remains with an elegant lightness. Those who love Eau de Sauvage Parfum (both 2012 and 2017) will find a brother in spirit here, albeit from a different planetary system. It's nice to discover scents that will blow your mind. Like Icon.

4 Replies

03/08/2018

8.0 6.0 8.0 9.0/10

Muotarek

Very helpful Review 6

A Touch of Modernity

Underrated beast, it's very clean, bright, citrusy in a modern way, And neroli balanced the composition, a composition that will leave you feeling elegant and sophisticated

A fresh, creamy fusion of bergamot and neroli in the opening. Then after an hour the heart notes really take over as the lavender and pepper notes support the neroli.

Perfect for all seasons and occasions. Works best in warmer weather though.

FANTASTIC!

06/10/2017

10.0 8.0 8.0 9.0/10

SamuelGustav

Sophisticated Gentleman

I tried this fragrance 2 years ago, didn't like it much, then after that I think my taste has changed with time, now I not only like it, but love it! The best description is sophisticated gentleman in a bottle, no more to say about this one, for 30+ year old gentleman. Fresh neroli complemented so well with all the other notes, it has a modern barbershop feel to it. The oud note really plays so well into this one, barely there but gives more deep to the fragrance. Amazing fragrance indeed!

04/29/2017

10.0 7.0 8.0 9.0/10

Manscents

Helpful Review 5

Eligant Fragrance and Bottle

Icon is a great release from the house of Dunhill. A very classy masculine and clean fragrance with some warmth provided by the cardamom and leather notes. I think this would make a great scent when wearing out on social or casual occasions day or night. It could also be a work place scent but go easy on the spays as it is fairly strong. It bares some similarities to terre d'hermes but I find this more refined with more depth. Its been very well put together by perfumer Benaim. The bottle design is also excellent and has real weight to it and it really stands out with the turned metal effect casing. A great classy design. There is some clear glass at the bottom so you can gauge how much of Icon remains,

I get good silage / projection for the first couple of hours then maybe starting to sit a little bit closer to the skin. Also it has good longevity on my skin. I have the odd compliment when wearing this and you will get noticed with the scent trail from the silage.

This would be a good addition to any collection whether an avid collector or just wanting a good quality aftershave.

Overall 9/10 Excellent !

03/16/2016

10.0 6.0 7.5 9.0/10

Lucian

Very helpful Review 3

Lovely

Manliest neroli fragrance I ever smelled! This is my ideal spring fragrance, every time I smell it from de bottle, with my eyes closed, the scent it's instantly teleporting me in Liguria (Italy), in a spring rainy day, taking shelter under a blossomed orange tree. What an awsome experience!

I agree the scent is comparable with TDH and Guerlain Homme Boisee, are not the same, but definitely is in the same genre as those. I had to sell the Guerlain and the Hermes from my collection because love this Dunhill so much more.

The bottle is fenomenal, the performances are great and the scent is top noch.

9/10

09/07/2015

ColinM

Helpful Review 4

Good job!

Finally something able to stand up to Dunhill’s reputation. They aren’t Kilgour or Anderson & Sheppard, but they definitely deserve better than that Custom, Black, Xcentric rubbish they’ve been releasing for the past dozen of years or so. Icon finally marks some difference, starting from the bottle, a heavy – and I mean, physically hell heavy – piece of great design, not some usual random glass bottle with some lousy chrome-plastic cap. Coming to the juice inside it, well... it isn’t a groundbreaking fragrance and it doesn’t aim to be so – except for the vaguely megalomaniac name, but it’s surely miles above the abovementioned mediocrity which Dunhill has been getting us used to for the past years. Nothing overly exciting, but it’s good.

Basically Icon is an elegant, clean and laid-back everyday fragrance built on a conventional, yet always pleasant structure of classy neroli – that means a zesty mandarin note tinted with some floral-leafy muskiness – blended with cardamom, lavender, crisp woods, tangy peppery notes (I smell quite a bold note of juniper too) and a subtle sort of smooth, dusty, slightly sweet vibe all over, which I guess may be due to musk, tea (as usual, a generic sort of mellow sugary-green note), some amber and a touch of powder, well contrasting the fresh head notes. A fresh, spicy-floral and orange-y take on a “barbershop” scent with a really enjoyable soapy freshness. At first, as other reviewers mentioned, it smells a bit like Declaration due to the initial blast of cardamom on a fresh, aromatic “eau de cologne” base, just with a sharper and fresher feel; then it slowly becomes woodier and slightly soapier, with a warm and slightly smoky base keeping the distinguished “mature” vibe going on, also adding a whiff of synthetic leather.

I agree with the reference to Terre d’Hermès and similar scents (just a bit more floral and muskier, and with some richer neroli instead of some more ordinary citrus), but I also think the tart, bracing sort of brightness which persists all over Icon’s life on skin reminds me of Guerlain Homme, especially the radiant Eau Boisée flanker. Finally, I think Icon may sit also somewhere near the current version of Eau Sauvage, just in generic terms of “family”. With these names on the table, you get the picture: it won’t surprise and amaze you, but the quality is good – and that’s the point – and the fragrance smells crisp, compelling, long-lasting and refined, with a persistent, really pleasant feel of clean elegance. Mature and youthful at once, fresh, long-lasting but discreet enough to be perfect for any situation – from the office, to a date. A respectable and unpretentious candidate for a “signature scent”, surely ending straight on top of Dunhill offerings for men – it didn’t take that much for that, though.

The only “con” I would mention is an annoying synthetic, slightly sweet woody-ambery-powdery base... thing, which I get in every, and I mean every single masculine fragrance manufactured by Interparfums. I don’t know what that is, probably some of their standard bases, but at some point on the drydown, here it is – Interparfums’ signature, like a thief signing his robberies. It’s not tragic, that note/base I mean – but a bit cheap, flatly plastic. And Icon didn’t deserve that. But well, it’s nice anyway, and Benaim did a respectable job. The official retail price seems a bit too high for me, but you already find some discounted bottles here and there – at half the price, it’s perfectly worthy the purchase for me.

7/10

05/05/2015

10.0 7.5 10.0 5.0/10

Drseid

Helpful Review 3

A New Direction, But Is It A Good One?...

Icon opens with a relatively sweet juicy orange and green petitgrain primary tandem with hints of black pepper. As the composition moves to its early heart the orange significantly softens, turning dull as the black pepper grows into the key star with odd synthetic, slightly animalic Oud joining it as co-star with slightly sharp underlying vetiver support. During the late dry-down the Oud completely vacates as the black pepper and vetiver control through the finish with hints of green oakmoss late. Projection is excellent and longevity outstanding at over 15 hours on skin.

Word on the street has it Dunhill wanted to signal a new direction for its perfume releases with Icon, drafting a nose with amazing pedigree if not a spotty overall record in Carlos Benaim of original Polo fame to accomplish the objective. New direction strategy in hand, it is time to explore if this is a positive for the line... As soon as I applied Icon on skin I suspected something a bit off was afoot though I did notice it was far removed from the youthful, bland Dunhill releases of the past decade. The juicy orange open smelled nice, but near-immediately there was a black peppery aspect in the general vein of Terre d'Hermes and its many clones that seemed a bit too familiar. Lest no one believe Icon is anywhere near a Terre d'Hermes clone as something Icon features that Terre d'Hermes doesn't is an odd suntan lotion base accord comprised of faux Oud. This is not your tropical suntan lotion smell but rather the kind one sniffs from the unscented Coppertone variety that really isn't unscented at all, just having no added masking perfume to the strange chemical lotion base. I kind of liken the underlying suntan lotion accord to the similar accord in L'eau du Governeur by CSP. When mixed with the slightly sweetened black pepper and dull orange this combination just doesn't smell good. If one can get past the disappointing middle of the composition, the late dry-down is faux Oud (or suntan lotion if you will) and sweetness free, leaving just the remnants of the pepper to combine with relatively transparent vetiver and a touch of green oakmoss through the finish. Now having worn the new Icon a few times on skin it is clear that the new mature direction Dunhill is taking should be commended, but it needs a lot more tweaking and polish before they get to their desired destination. As an aside, while Icon the perfume is a mild disappointment, the super-high quality metal and heavy glass bottle that houses it is a work of art and no picture can possibly do it justice. If only Dunhill would have spent more time on improving its contents we would really have a winner on our hands, but alas it just wasn't meant to be. The bottom line is the $75 per 100ml bottle Icon at discounters signals a more mature direction for the brand, but while its housing is exceptional, the perfume itself is quite unimpressive earning a very "average" 2.5 stars out of 5 and a neutral recommendation. If one collects pretty bottles then Icon is a "must buy," just prepare to be let down by the contents.