Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet

Recommended if you're an aristocrat with plenty of money to burn, because that's exactly what you'll smell like wearing this. Fragrantica's listed notes are what you get, nothing more and nothing less. BB features a strong citrus opening with a clean pine drydown. My understanding is that in its day this scent was a novel thing and the first of its type. It's not particularly complex, but it is well blended and the ingredients are of an obvious high quality (at least in my bottle, which is circa 2006 or so). Very little lasting power, and looking at prices today this is massively overpriced, however it was my first real love in fragrance and it will always hold a special place in my heart as it's what I wore for my wedding (even though I'm not an aristocrat, and neither do I have plenty of money to burn).

The clearest, brightest citrus notes lead Blenheim Bouquet off. This citrus is light and pure and not as full bodied and energetic as some citrus. It’s more like early morning sunshine, very gentle yet beautiful and completely present in a soft way. It’s a round, buoyant citrus that feels lighthearted and joyful. After a while this citrus lightens even more and is joined by a pleasant musk base interlaced with the fresh and aromatic feeling of lavender and the lightest touch of pine. Everything about this is tasteful, fairly minimal and yet still sprightly. Even though this perfume is more than 100 years old, to me it has a youthful feeling. It also feels unisex, at least in this modern age. It may have been marketed to men originally but there’s nothing in this that feels overtly masculine.

I do like this fragrance, however, I cannot get past the opening scent being very comparable to lemon hand wipes, or a lemon scented dish soap. So I was very glad that the top notes seemed to die down quite soon after applying, revealing the beautifully elegant and masculine pine and pepper undertones, with the citrus remaining very subtly in the background. As of the lavender, I do not get too much of it however you can definitely acknowledge its presence and I do appreciate it for not being too overpowering and letting the pine and pepper being the main face of the fragrance, overall, i really enjoy the smoky, piney and citrus themes and find it to be rather unique, and very British smelling, reminiscent of the English countryside.

This smells very clean, without being neither powdery nor soapy (I especially do not care for powdery). The opening citrus notes do not last very long, although they're wonderful for the time they're there. Then, the woody notes come through. I smell a wonderful cedar note, whereas most smell pine. Regardless, it's magnificent. No wonder Blenheim Bouquet been around so long. It's not a predator fragrance, begging for everyone to notice it, and I doubt most would consider it sexy. It's super fresh and clean, and all phases of the scent are wonderful. It's a masculine scent in my mind, except for maybe the first 30 minutes or so, where I believe it could be unisex.

This is a timeless fragrance. It definitely shows its age compared to the modern fragrances that are popular today, but it has its own unique charm to it. In the opening I'm hit with fresh citrus, primarily lemon. As it dries down, the pepper and pine start to come through and it becomes very green. I was honestly surprised by how much the scent progressed from the opening to the middle. As it continued to dry down, I get more of the citrus coming through blending with the pine and pepper to take away from the sharp edge of the pine specifically. I don't think I'll be purchasing a full bottle, but will most likely finish the sample.