Review - Blenheim Bouquet (Penhaligon's)

Originally posted on Dreamwidth on 12th January, 2010

HEAD NOTES
Lemon, Lime and Lavender

HEART NOTES
Blenheim Bouquet has no heart notes

BASE NOTES
Pine, Musk and Black Pepper


Created in 1902 and taking its name from Blenheim Palace the seat of one of England’s most respected bloodlines, Blenheim Bouquet is a bracing mix of citrus oils, spices and woods. Inhaling Blenheim Bouquet today it is hard to imagine it was created over one hundred years ago. It is a fragrance that has continually adapted to every twist and turn of its existence. Blenheim Bouquet is discreet, sensual and immaculately turned out with a flash of heritage flourish.


Starts with BIG citrus/lavender hit, very sharp, astringent. Almost immediately I can smell the black pepper and pine too. This is *gorgeous*! Luca Turin said that could do with better quality raw materials, and that its unremarkable. Of course there are many citrus/woody masculines jostling for position and I don't know bigger and better ones to compare it to, as yet. But this smells good, well made and achieves what it sets out to do.

Pine/citrus scents are a weird one, get it wrong or have the wrong body chemistry and you end up smelling like Flash. But the blend here is good, the pepper tempers it quite a bit. I had to sniff BPAL's Christmas 2009 scent, Faunalia, to remind me of other sucessful pine fragrances. Faunalia has a much bigger pine hit, like being in a forest and nearly walking into a pine tree. Blenheim Bouquet is nowhere near as bold, if you weren't looking to smell it, then maybe you'd miss it altogether because of the general woodsy/fresh/peppery smell.

(At around the 2 hour mark, I had several packages delivered. One of them had Anubis by BPAL in it... it leaked. This fubar'd my nose for HOURS, so don't ask me what this scent did for the middle part of the day!)

As it settles and fades, this is just a lovely musky, peppery smell that sits very close to the skin. You could do an awful lot worse than buy this, or at least sample it. Penhaligons do have a twitter feed and are lovely at sending out samples. Worth investigating if you're curious, and although its marketed as a masculine this works well for women too.