halfwhiteboy

Regardless of the Bridgerton-esque stories Penhaligon's churns out with their Portraits Collection , I'm a fan of the bottles, the caps in particular. And with Much Ado About the Duke , I can't help but think, "Good boi!" because of the canine head. Really, it's cute.

  I haven't written about a fragrance from the Penhaligon's Portraits Collection in a while, so I thought about giving The Blazing Mister Sam a spin. I'm a fan of the bottles from this line although I don't really care about the stories the house pushes with each release. I feel like I need to get them all to complete my little zoo.

Penhaligon's Cornubia is such a beauty. It's almost criminal how it's not often talked about, how it's seemingly lost so easily in today's never-ending wave of new releases. Cornubia first came out more than a hundred years ago in 1910, so it predictably has an old-fashioned flair to it. On the flip side, however, it also carries a youthful exuberance, albeit prim and proper, as opposed to wild and carefree.

I nabbed this some time ago because I have a thing for incense fragrances (just as I have a thing for almost anything). Penhaligon's Elixir delivers right away with a very prominent incense, gorgeously mentholated with some eucalyptus. The result is instantly calming, as if putting you in some meditative trance. I don't find it churchy by any means, though, judging at least from the opening. That distinction I would have to give to my bottle of Jovoy's La Liturge des Heures .

There's really something about these bottles from the Penhaligon's Portraits Collection that draws me in. I may not be a fan of the paper label but I adore the heavy glass bottles and of course, the ornate, gold-plated animal head stoppers. There's the menacing eagle (or is it a hawk?) of The Uncompromising Sohan , the utterly regal rooster of Monsieur Beauregard , and above all, the very imposing deer—complete with antlers—of The Tragedy of Lord George . With Roaring Radcliff , it's a lion.

I'm a sucker for the intricate, animal head bottle cap designs of Penhaligon's Portraits Collection . Never mind the not-so-chic paper label but the bottles do make a handsome-looking collection nonetheless. Banking on my overall positive experience with this house, I blind-bought Monsieur Beauregard .

This is part of a scent library sample pack I got from Penhaligon's from way back. After trying out Sartorial and Blenheim Bouquet , now it's Quercus Cologne that's up for testing.

This one is my wife's actually and is in fact listed as a woman's fragrance on Fragrantica . I tried it and was surprised to find it quite masculine. The classification is definitely off in my opinion. I've worn it a couple of times now to test it, and I must say that Alizarin EDP by Penhaligon's is a love for me.

Vial Trials  are my reviews of sample fragrances given out by sales people from various store purchases. Compared to my posts about full bottles--which are mostly positive because I already like them in the first place, that's why I bought them--Vial Trials are hopefully less one-sided since they were just given to me; I didn't pick them. As with my post about another Penhaligon's fragrance-- Sartorial --this blog post is a little different because the fragrance I'm reviewing here isn't a sample but part of a scent library trial pack I bought containing five men's and five women's scents. So Blenheim Bouquet was apparently launched over a hundred years ago in 1902, an enduring classic, with a whole range of men's grooming products to boot.

Vial Trials  are my reviews of sample fragrances given out by sales people from various store purchases. Compared to my posts about full bottles--which are mostly positive because I already like them in the first place, that's why I bought them--Vial Trials are hopefully less one-sided since they were just given to me; I didn't pick them. This entry is a little different, however, because the fragrance I'm reviewing here-- Sartorial by Penhaligon's --isn't a sample but part of a scent library trial pack I bought containing five men's and five women's scents. Sartorial is love at first sniff for me. Right off the bat there's this delectably sweet and warm accord, tempered by a pleasantly light, sort of mentholated, spicy-floral blend. I realized the mentholated effect emanates from the metallic note, which is something I normally despise but surprisingly in this case I love.

Vial Trials  are my reviews of sample fragrances given out by sales people from various store purchases. Compared to my posts about full bottles--which are mostly positive because I already like them in the first place, that's why I bought them--Vial Trials are hopefully less one-sided since they were just given to me; I didn't pick them. Here I'm writing about The Uncompromising Sohan from the Penhaligon's Portraits Collection . I admit that I was taken aback by this fragrance when I first tested it. I felt like it didn't agree with my body chemistry that it smelled pungent on my skin, like BO. I tried it again, same reaction. Then I finally decided to wear it one Saturday out to the mall and only then did I start to appreciate it. It helped that Kwittiegirl said it definitely does not smell like BO.

It is light and fresh, a fragrance that only reinforces my fondness for the Penhaligon's brand. Although I tend to gravitate towards warm and woody scents, every now and then I try on something on the lighter side and fall in love with it. Such was the case with Penhaligon's English Fern , an old-school scent some liken to an aftershave or something that reminds them of barbershops of yore. While both exude freshness, Penhaligon's Castile is different. English Fern, being a fougére, is more "green" and earthy while Castile is a little more vibrant with its pleasant combination of citrus (petitgrain and bergamot) and floral (orange blossom and rose), with a little bit of wood and musk thrown in.

What a gorgeous-looking bottle, don't you agree? Admittedly it's part of the reason why I bought The Tragedy of Lord George , a 2016 release from Penhaligon's for its Portraits Collection . Yes, it is such a lengthy name for a fragrance but then again this collection has entries like The Revenge of Lady Blanche , Much Ado about the Duke , and The Coveted Duchess Rose , to name a few. They all come in identical bottles but are differentiated by their dedicated animal head cap.

English Fern is my first bottle of Penhaligon's. Despite my penchant for fragrances, I still know very little about them, brands included. Case in point: my discovery of  Penhaligon's , which I've never heard of prior to that time I walked into Adora in Greenbelt 5 and caught a few sniffs. I guess the fact that their fragrances are not as ubiquitous as the likes of Ralph Lauren, Davidoff, or Bvlgari explains my ignorance. But just a couple of spritzes and I already fell in love. Penhaligon's is a very old brand, dating back to 1870. It's also been awarded two Royal Warrants that they proudly display on their fragrances's packaging. With such a wide selection available, it was hard to pick my first bottle. Eventually, though, I settled for English Fern .