Did anyone else notice that The Perfumed Court describes Pen's Elixir as a women's fragrance? Well, they do, and in case anyone cares or was confused I thought I'd let you know that I actually confirmed with Penhaligon's customer service that it is indeed a men's fragrance (just as we discuss it here and as it's listed on Basenotes).
confusion over at TPC
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Yeah. Hamman Bouquet is the one that should be labelled a women's fragrance. <runs for cover>
Poking around a lot on the web with frags, there are a lot of those kind of mis-labels in different websites.
Fragantica tabs Elixir unisex. Basenotes tabs it for men. Pens site is vague on it...why limit themselves I guess.
TPC does that a lot. They also have Lalique Encre Noir as unisex and that's purely for men every place else I've ever looked.
Possibly a way to sell more samples....
Silly if I really like a frag, but it bugs me when they do that.
Fragantica tabs Elixir unisex. Basenotes tabs it for men. Pens site is vague on it...why limit themselves I guess.
TPC does that a lot. They also have Lalique Encre Noir as unisex and that's purely for men every place else I've ever looked.
Possibly a way to sell more samples....
Silly if I really like a frag, but it bugs me when they do that.
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You may be right, but at least they did specifically tell me by e-mail that it's intended for men. (Which is good, because obviosuly I can't ride the subway worrying that the person next to me will identify the obscure cologne I'm wearing and wonder what gender I am.
)Yeah, just shopping for a little 4711 on Amazon is an adventure in itself.
TPC has a huge and complex site, and there are occasional mistakes. If you find one, drop them an email. They will either correct it or let you know why they disagree.
I missed this earlier, O. Must be a zeitgiest thing. Yesterday I was exchanging e-mail with Chuck at Badger Decants concerning this very thing!
What TPC actually says is that Elixir is "the best Pen's women's scent." And it is one glowing review!
I know that I have seen Elixir listed on EBay as a woman's scent, and I have a slight recollection that Pen's may have had separate men's and woman's versions at one point, because I e-mailed a seller to ask one time, but I have not been able to confirm that and a seller could be wrong. Pen's seems to have two versions of LP No. 9, but that it the only one I know of that has two versions these days.
Someone should drop TPC a line an ask them about this. The answer might be interesting.
I read part of any interview with Elixir's creator that suggested that she really did not like labeling frags as masculine or feminine, but the context was not quite clearcut enough as to exactly what she meant. It may have been more like she did not feel constrainted in creating frags to exclude certain accords from male or female scents because traditionally they were thought to be one or the other, not that she was adverse to labeling the final product.
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- #8
I actually sent them a message via the contact form on their website about two weeks ago and have not heard back.
It's like the Great Latke/Hamantaschen Debate all over again. There is no longer such a thing as certainty in this world.
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- #10
There's no debate - hamantaschen on Hanukkah are horrendous; potato pancakes on Purim are putrid.
Edit: as a clarification, trashing traditions is taboo. Don't mismatch holidays and their foods.
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