06/04/2020
FvSpee
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Colonia instead of Corona, No. 16: We in Europe.
Now, after the first Spanish cologne, there is also a first English cologne in this series, and although "Penhaligon's Eau de Cologne" was chosen rather randomly (many thanks to Mörderbiene for the rehearsal!) the transition couldn't be better. For this scent, created in 1927 (I'll base my comments here on the pre-commentary), is hardly English and very common European. I think he didn't want to be particularly original and not very british indeed, but simply took up the Franco-German tradition of light colognes and rooted in the island. So the British gentleman, who had learned to love the classic 4711 in Cologne or Guerlain's Eau de Cologne du Coq in Paris on his educational journeys or possibly as an officer in the course of the "Great War", was able to reproduce the fragrance experience at home in his at least equally beloved "Penhaligon's" shop and did not have to resort to imported goods; especially since customs barriers went up everywhere in the interwar period.
The cologne-appropriately very volatile fragrance features the complete classic 4711 accord of lemon, bergamot, neroli and rosemary, but (which isn't very difficult) comes across as somewhat softer, rounder and more lemony than the original (and in this respect is reminiscent of Maravilla's "Feines Kölnisch Wasser"). Possibly the indicated orange content also contributes to this. I'm quite sure that I can hear a slight lavender note here, although much more delicate than in the last colognes tested in this series, and possibly also traces of other green herbs than rosemary.
Not directly unmistakable, but a little bit special, this cologne has a darker, woody or maybe even leathery note after a few minutes, which makes me think of the diffuse animalistic element in the "Coq" or even more of the bubbling underground of Habit Rouge, but these are really only the most delicate echoes.
With this I am completely on the line of the two esteemed pre-commentators, who classify this fragrance as a solid, successful and therefore also successful cologne, which however neither represents a peak of its genre nor does it add essential new nuances.
The fact that Penhaligon's has now discontinued this fragrance for the second time represents another of England's farewells from the continent, but it is less epochal and easier to get over than the retreat of the Roman legions in 440 AD (because of the stress at home and the annoying incursions of the Angles and Saxons), the fall of the English Church of Rome in 1531 (because of the Henrizian marriage problems) and the withdrawal from the European Union in 2020 (because... yes, why...).
The cologne-appropriately very volatile fragrance features the complete classic 4711 accord of lemon, bergamot, neroli and rosemary, but (which isn't very difficult) comes across as somewhat softer, rounder and more lemony than the original (and in this respect is reminiscent of Maravilla's "Feines Kölnisch Wasser"). Possibly the indicated orange content also contributes to this. I'm quite sure that I can hear a slight lavender note here, although much more delicate than in the last colognes tested in this series, and possibly also traces of other green herbs than rosemary.
Not directly unmistakable, but a little bit special, this cologne has a darker, woody or maybe even leathery note after a few minutes, which makes me think of the diffuse animalistic element in the "Coq" or even more of the bubbling underground of Habit Rouge, but these are really only the most delicate echoes.
With this I am completely on the line of the two esteemed pre-commentators, who classify this fragrance as a solid, successful and therefore also successful cologne, which however neither represents a peak of its genre nor does it add essential new nuances.
The fact that Penhaligon's has now discontinued this fragrance for the second time represents another of England's farewells from the continent, but it is less epochal and easier to get over than the retreat of the Roman legions in 440 AD (because of the stress at home and the annoying incursions of the Angles and Saxons), the fall of the English Church of Rome in 1531 (because of the Henrizian marriage problems) and the withdrawal from the European Union in 2020 (because... yes, why...).
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