Penhaligon's Castile.....

[kingfisher]

I don't hear much discussion about Castile on this board (it's always EF, BB, Opus, etc). Of the Penhaligon's I've tested in sample size, I think the Castile is one of the best.

What do you think of it? To me it opens with a strong neroli note but very quickly thereafter there is a strong floral note. To my nose it smells almost like White Peony but Penhaligon's says it is rose. Thing is, I don't really like rose scents, but I like this floral scent a lot.

Anybody have any opinions about Castile?

 

[Doc4]

One of my favourites. I get a really nice orange/citrus/spice/and something I can't put my finger on that makes it great for autumn!

 

[Scentronic]

Neroli and Rose.

I suppose it does work in cool weather, but for me, this is pretty much the perfect spring fragrance.

 

[BarryR]

I have a sample that I'll have to try again as there are a lot of fans of it out there. When I've tried it before I've found it too sweet and wasn't crazy about it.

 

[blantyre]

One of their best IMO.

 

[The Knize]

I liike it a lot. Wish I had a good sized decant of it.

 

[tsmba]

I have heard several members call it a favorite, and it is certainly one of mine!

 

[Storm]

It's a winner, one of my faves. Complex, "refined" and very pleasing.

 

[BarryR]

Would most people describe it as relatively sweet?

 

[tsmba]

To me, "sweet" is one of many ambiguous terms that aren't descriptive of scents. I'd say Castile has a floral component, though.

 

[duotone]

Bought a bottle 3 weeks ago, I really like it, a fresh clean rosey smell

Still prefer Penhaligons Endymion though.

 

[Scentronic]

Bought a bottle 3 weeks ago, I really like it, a fresh clean rosey smell

Still prefer Penhaligons Endymion though.

If you were only going to own two Penhaligons scents, I'd say they should be Castile and Endymion. And Blenheim Bouquet. Oh, and Racquets, Opus, and Douro. And I know a lot of guys love English Fern. So yeah, just those. And maybe Lp No.9. And Hammam.

 

[BarryR]

If you were only going to own two Penhaligons scents, I'd say they should be Castile and Endymion. And Blenheim Bouquet. Oh, and Racquets, Opus, and Douro. And I know a lot of guys love English Fern. So yeah, just those. And maybe Lp No.9. And Hammam.

I haven't sniffed LP 9 yet. Agree that EF, Douro, BB, Opus & Racquets are all excelent.
I like but don't love Endymion (also too sweet for me if I'm allowed to use that term) and as noted above Castile is low on the list for me, but I'l be retrying it since it gets such raves.

 

[pcb01]

...and I don't get it. At least on me it is not sweet but pungent and unidirectional, and that direction is not where I want to go. Reminds me of my sainted Aunt Ruth, for some reason -- a very practical, antiromantic woman who probably did not spend more than a minute of her entire life thinking about scents. I think she would have liked this one, though.

 

[The Knize]

...and I don't get it. At least on me it is not sweet but pungent and unidirectional, and that direction is not where I want to go. Reminds me of my sainted Aunt Ruth, for some reason -- a very practical, antiromantic woman who probably did not spend more than a minute of her entire life thinking about scents. I think she would have liked this one, though.

We are talking about Castile, right?

Neroli is liked by most people at no matter what level of sophistication and I think folks think of Castile as a very nice version of Neroli with some nice rose and a nice base of the usual wood/musk/whatever in there, too. Thus, "no negatives" and potentially very nice positives, even if it does not overwhelm with complexity.

Check out the basenotes ratings. How many scents does one see over there with that many ratings and zero negative ratings. It may not blow everyone away, but it does not really push any wrong buttons with most people. And for that matter you like your Aunt Ruth and I like her from what you say, so some nice connotations there even if not so exciting connotations.


That is my theory anyway.

I like Castile a lot and have some on the way. Seems like an uplifting frag and seems to me to have some of the Pen's class and elegance, even if it is not a blockbuster like BB or Douro, my two favs--not just of Pen's favs, my favs, period.

 

[FLTiger]

...and I don't get it. At least on me it is not sweet but pungent and unidirectional, and that direction is not where I want to go. Reminds me of my sainted Aunt Ruth, for some reason -- a very practical, antiromantic woman who probably did not spend more than a minute of her entire life thinking about scents. I think she would have liked this one, though.

We are talking about Castile, right?

Neroli is liked by most people at no matter what level of sophistication and I think folks think of Castile as a very nice version of Neroli with some nice rose and a nice base of the usual wood/musk/whatever in there, too.

It seems that the biggest problem folks have with Castile is the rose note. Some men don't care to smell of roses, and are accordingly sensitive to that note. On me, though, I can hardly detect it, and my wife agrees that I in no way smell feminine when I wear it.

I love the stuff. I wish they made a tallow soap with this scent. In fact, the first thing I plan to do after winning the lottery is having my own custom run of 1000 soaps made for me by Penhaligon's (with tallow, of course).

 

[BarryR]

It seems that the biggest problem folks have with Castile is the rose note. Some men don't care to smell of roses, and are accordingly sensitive to that note. On me, though, I can hardly detect it, and my wife agrees that I in no way smell feminine when I wear it.

I love the stuff. I wish they made a tallow soap with this scent. In fact, the first thing I plan to do after winning the lottery is having my own custom run of 1000 soaps made for me by Penhaligon's (with tallow, of course).

I like rose SC, Coral Skin food and REALLY like C&S #88. So, I think I like rose in general, but perhaps only in very dry (as in not sweet) variations.
Although I find Neroli pleasant, Neroli scents are often too sweet to me so perhaps it's the combination of the two that gives me pause with Castile.

I tried some of my Floris Special 127 sample today and though I like it, I find it also is a bit sweet (better on the dry-down). Basenotes tells me it has many of the same notes as Castile and I think they share some of what I don't like.

As far as "what's not to like" scents, it always surprises me that anyone hates Douro.

 

[Ponce]

As far as "what's not to like" scents, it always surprises me that anyone hates Douro.

Sheer disbelief and immediate questioning of their taste/sanity is my reaction to someone proclaiming their hate for Douro.

As for Castile, I haven't worn it enough to comment further, although there are elements that are pleasant about it.

 

[The Knize]

Ditto re Douro. It seems obviously wonderful to me, too.

 

[Just looking]

If you were only going to own two Penhaligons scents, I'd say they should be Castile and Endymion. And Blenheim Bouquet. Oh, and Racquets, Opus, and Douro. And I know a lot of guys love English Fern. So yeah, just those. And maybe Lp No.9. And Hammam.

Those are the two that I would pick as well