Nostalgic elegance – Penhaligon’s Portraits collection

Dear readers, do you still remember the previous post about a historic mansion that I wrote about? The dark romantic and nostalgic mansion that reflects the way of how the affluent family once lived and their sense of style, apart from the beautifully furnished rooms and salons, that’s one thing that I have mentioned about that enriches the experience inside such time capsule, that is, the smell! Just like the combination of the attire that you put together, a nice fragrance always adds up something extra that tells about your mood and emotion on a particular day, just like the artistic and historic, elegantly furnished apartment, adding a distinctive scent gives one a deeper sensation about the story and the character of the space who once lived there in the past, that is exactly what reminds me of the sumptuous fragrance – the ‘Portraits’ collection of Penhaligon’s, the nostalgic and elegant fragrance that homage to the old world British aristocracy, and the impeccable style of the Edwardian and Victorian era, luxurious, formal and polished.

One of the noteworthy feature about the ‘Portraits’ collection, is the uniquely designed bottle with the cap in a golden animal head, each fragrance comes with a different animal that represents their unique scent and character, it literally reminds me of the taxidermy display inside a grand Victorian mansion, also the hunting game that takes place in a British countryside with a group of elegantly dressed gentlemen, wearing a biscuits brown windowpane tweed suit with a wool newspaper boy hat, and a pair of polished brown calf leather hunting boots with a loaded hunting rifle in their hand; to me, this beautiful fragrance collection captures another kind of British charm in a very distinctive way, a nostalgic fashion, a respect to the British tradition of formality, with an alluring and intriguing story about the old world romance and heritage of an aristocratic family that lives in a countryside; the fragrance named ‘The tragedy of Lord George’ for example, a rich and powerful fragrance thanks to the woody and ambery scent with a hint of Brandy, shaving soap and Tonka bean, it is a fragrance about the precision and consciousness of a gentleman’s appearance, just like Lord George himself, expresses the power and aristocratic charm of a gentleman that comes from a reputed British family.

On the other hand, giving a bit of dandyism, the fragrance ‘Much ado about the Duke’ gives something sensual and romantic yet maintaining the masculinity of a traditional British gentleman has, the enchanting spicy rose scent with a hint of gin and leathery woods, which gives a little flamboyance and youthful passion, like a ravishing dandy that disperses his charm wherever he goes. For someone who likes a bit of French touch, the fragrance ‘Monsieur Beauregard’ could possibly an ideal one for you, a mysteriously sexy and confident fragrance, thanks to the woody and spicy scent from Orris, Sandalwood and Cinnamon, it is a fragrance for a life’s connoisseur who takes the finest and knows exactly what to do, at the same time, exudes an understated charm of a gentleman who is confident, yet quiet and a sex appeal which one might not aware of his existence, but it will be memorable when one is being around with him.

“When a man smells like heaven, paradise isn’t far.”, don’t you agree?

Image courtesy of Penhaligon’s London

https://www.penhaligons.com/