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11/29/2020
Elysium
815 Reviews
Elysium
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2
The Urban Smellscape Of The British Capital
There is a distinct and unique smell in the London Underground. Not the sweaty smell of the cramped carriages, but the whiff of the earthy engines that hover across the platform as they approach the underground trains approximating the station. What makes London smell like London? Or any city for that matter? There is a heady aroma of car exhaust, fuel and dust hanging over the nostrils of Londoners, and perhaps unsurprisingly. But not far behind, the smell of the natural world - flowers, plants, trees and grass - envelops our noses.
Dunhill London smells so good, modern, bitterly sweet, something unusual in between a fougère, aromatic, and oriental. It is a little powdery, but far tamer than most in the oriental category with vanilla and tonka as the two leading ingredients. I have never really heard of this cologne until I came across the other Dunhill offers and decided to try a few things that I've seen around. It is a cheapy, and I blindly bought it for less than 20 euro. It smells so great, and it's an easy step to add to my morning routine. The fragrance captures all the good smells into a cologne.
To begin with, the packaging is top-notch, the box has a modern Union Jack splash colours style printed on a silver background. And the bottle is well-designed, surprising, minimal, squared, the heavy glass that is grooved at the left and right side showing a pleasant optical illusion. The juice has a light grey nuance that leads towards green, a Card Room green that takes its name from the colour often used in gaming rooms in the Victorian period and is incomprehensibly "masculine" in appearance, and is in line with the London atmosphere. A heavy metal cap completes the outfit, hiding the massive and generous sprayer. There all the promising for something good.
Right off the bat, London greets me with a sour and aromatic blast, fresh, full of fruity and spicy nuances. There is a pinch of mentholated cardamom that accompanies the brilliant bergamot and a sweet red apple juice. It is the smell of the fresh air on your face when you leave your home in the early morning after you had your breakfast, and walk toward downtown.
As London continues its journey, it offers us a heart full of flowers with green accents. The dark note of geranium leaves intertwines with the more delicate tones of the rosebuds and the brighter ones of the indolic nocturnal jasmine. However, here we find a masculine floral, there are no too sweet, honeyed accents, but a tangy, spicy, almost herbaceous bouquet.
And then comes the dry down. The initial fruity accord tones down, and I firmly get the musky and woody aspects, white musk and sandal are overstanding. Brittle patchouli adds a smidgen of earthiness and avoids stickiness, whereas roasted tonka and lovely soft vanilla keep the base a bit creamy, not sweetish, just fluffy and spicy. When the tonka fully arrives, it makes London a bit too powdery and creamy, but still wearable very delicately that may not appeal to everyone. Still, this is pretty decent stuff all things considered.
Ultimately, London has a zesty kind of freshness with a warmer floral but light powdery finish that is not too overpowering or too woody or musky like some of the colognes out there. Maybe it's not unique, I caught a few similarities with Montblanc's Presence, not a clone of one another but the same vibe, although I found it very pleasant and ideal for these autumn days. The shades of the perfume blend very well with the cold air outside and the warmth inside the house. Perhaps too heavy for hot summer, and not too heavy for chilly winter. The sillage is close to my arm and does not project too far, it is not intrusive, and the longevity is moderate, it holds up for half a day, I would say. All these features make it ideal for the white-collar, to wear to go to the office, perhaps reapplying it after lunch, but also at the weekend for shopping, to go out with friends, or for an informal lunch away from home. It can also be suitable for a late afternoon, an aperitif, but it's a little too weak for a night out, clubbing, or a social evening. To me, London is a decent fragrance at an affordable price.
This review bases upon a 100ml (3.4 fl. oz.) I own since November 2020.
-Elysium
Dunhill London smells so good, modern, bitterly sweet, something unusual in between a fougère, aromatic, and oriental. It is a little powdery, but far tamer than most in the oriental category with vanilla and tonka as the two leading ingredients. I have never really heard of this cologne until I came across the other Dunhill offers and decided to try a few things that I've seen around. It is a cheapy, and I blindly bought it for less than 20 euro. It smells so great, and it's an easy step to add to my morning routine. The fragrance captures all the good smells into a cologne.
To begin with, the packaging is top-notch, the box has a modern Union Jack splash colours style printed on a silver background. And the bottle is well-designed, surprising, minimal, squared, the heavy glass that is grooved at the left and right side showing a pleasant optical illusion. The juice has a light grey nuance that leads towards green, a Card Room green that takes its name from the colour often used in gaming rooms in the Victorian period and is incomprehensibly "masculine" in appearance, and is in line with the London atmosphere. A heavy metal cap completes the outfit, hiding the massive and generous sprayer. There all the promising for something good.
Right off the bat, London greets me with a sour and aromatic blast, fresh, full of fruity and spicy nuances. There is a pinch of mentholated cardamom that accompanies the brilliant bergamot and a sweet red apple juice. It is the smell of the fresh air on your face when you leave your home in the early morning after you had your breakfast, and walk toward downtown.
As London continues its journey, it offers us a heart full of flowers with green accents. The dark note of geranium leaves intertwines with the more delicate tones of the rosebuds and the brighter ones of the indolic nocturnal jasmine. However, here we find a masculine floral, there are no too sweet, honeyed accents, but a tangy, spicy, almost herbaceous bouquet.
And then comes the dry down. The initial fruity accord tones down, and I firmly get the musky and woody aspects, white musk and sandal are overstanding. Brittle patchouli adds a smidgen of earthiness and avoids stickiness, whereas roasted tonka and lovely soft vanilla keep the base a bit creamy, not sweetish, just fluffy and spicy. When the tonka fully arrives, it makes London a bit too powdery and creamy, but still wearable very delicately that may not appeal to everyone. Still, this is pretty decent stuff all things considered.
Ultimately, London has a zesty kind of freshness with a warmer floral but light powdery finish that is not too overpowering or too woody or musky like some of the colognes out there. Maybe it's not unique, I caught a few similarities with Montblanc's Presence, not a clone of one another but the same vibe, although I found it very pleasant and ideal for these autumn days. The shades of the perfume blend very well with the cold air outside and the warmth inside the house. Perhaps too heavy for hot summer, and not too heavy for chilly winter. The sillage is close to my arm and does not project too far, it is not intrusive, and the longevity is moderate, it holds up for half a day, I would say. All these features make it ideal for the white-collar, to wear to go to the office, perhaps reapplying it after lunch, but also at the weekend for shopping, to go out with friends, or for an informal lunch away from home. It can also be suitable for a late afternoon, an aperitif, but it's a little too weak for a night out, clubbing, or a social evening. To me, London is a decent fragrance at an affordable price.
This review bases upon a 100ml (3.4 fl. oz.) I own since November 2020.
-Elysium
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