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Helpful Review
5
A gentleman's exquisite slow-fade tobacco
Before even trying a single spray, it is obvious that this fragrance from Dunhill's Signature Collection cannot possibly be anything else but masculine: that's one serious monolith of a bottle. It could very well be a substitute for the leg of lamb in Roald Dahl's murderous masterpiece of graveyard humour 'Lamb To The Slaughter'. Sometimes, one is tempted to affirm, size does matter.
What matters also, if not more, is what's inside the flacon, sizeable or not. And what's inside the pillar-like edifice of Egyptian Smoke is as seriously masculine as its housing. The liquid's moody colour wonderfully conveys what the fragrance smells like. Imagine a gentleman's club situated somewhere in the heart of London circa 1890. You know, the kind of establishment where botanists, archeologists, ornithologists and such reside in regal Chesterfields, puffing away at their costly Coronas, contentedly sipping burnt-sienna Armagnacs and talking shop with fellow explorers of exotic faraways. Tobacco leaves of various origins, a soothing sweet smoke swirling about the chairs, that particular smell of old, well-worn leather, a hint of resins. And Ceylon tea. Or, when evenings lengthen, things darken and melancholy enters the premises, Darjeeling. The distinct black tea note harmonises perfectly with the dried tobacco leaves and, contrary to those in many a tea-forward scent, manages to hold its ground for a surprisingly long time. The rose de Grasse mentioned in the brand's official description I do not pick up on at all. Which in this case is a plus for me, as it does not distract from the sweetish-smoky tobacco leaves experience I specifically sought Egyptian Smoke out for.
As with most fragrances in which tobacco leaves are playing the lead, the subtle sweetness has the added pleasure of a certain spiciness. Nothing harsh or obtrusive, mind you, but very smooth and soft, as if a lighter pepper, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon were ground in a mortar and then set apart for a few nights with a closed lid, to be used in preparing a rather special oven dish (there's that leg of lamb again). Neither cardamom nor cinnamon are listed in the note pyramid, yet to me they somehow seem to be part of the exquisite mélange that is Egyptian Smoke.
Now with a name like that one would expect this perfume to contain a kyphi note. It does not. Which probably is a fortunate thing, as kyphi arguably is the most pungent of incenses surviving from the ancient Egypt of the pharaohs. To be honest, my nose does not really detect an incense note in the composition's base. In fact, Egyptian Smoke's Egyptian smokiness is more of an allusion to an atmosphere than a recreation of the actual scent of smoke, be it incense-like, pipe-tobacco-sweet or otherwise.
As the fragrance experience progresses, the scent almost inevitably moves into amber and tonka bean territory; not the caramel or dessert liqueur sweet, of course; this is Dunhill after all. No, after circa four to five hours it has a late dry-down phase of a restrained ambery vanilla, so it's a slight bit resinous. And that's how Egyptian Smoke slowly and beautifully fades away on my skin. On a shirt it remains present until that piece of clothing is put in the wash.
One would surmise that to most fragrance afficionadi this might seem to be an autumn and winter affair exclusively. For me it fits any season, albeit for evening and past-the-witching-hour wear mainly. Above all, Egyptian Smoke gives the impression of being very 'Britannia Rules The Waves' in character. It is a most elegant treat for the distinguished, courteous fifty-something gentleman who is well-read and knows how to dress (and is perhaps enough of an individual to wear a fez whenever the whimsical mood strikes him). Indeed something for a man who holds an old-fashioned yet youthful charm for women his own age, and eyes the world of ever-erring humans with a certain disillusioned detachment. That is not a bad thing per se, quite the contrary: it's just the harvest of half a life's experience. So: what better scent to go with more than half a novel of personal history than Dunhill's alluring Egyptian Smoke?
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
TonkaTommy
Maxelis
Topfpflanze3
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