Penhaligons Sartorial

[StylinLA]

Had occasion to stop in Lucky Scent's "Scent Bar" retail store today.

The SA had recently been to London and had a test vial of Sartorial. Got a bit of sniff on a test strip.

Very nice. I'll be stopping back in when they get it in a couple of weeks.

Wish I could break it down note by note, but it had a very refined, well dressed gentleman feel. Not evocative in the small test of any other Pens scents. This one could be very interesting and full bottle worthy for me.

 

[Easttexasman]

Sounds interesting.I have yet to find a Pens that I would purchase a full bottle.

Paul

 

[StylinLA]

This one kind of surprised me, but I really need to give it a wearing which isn't possible yet.

I've noticed wih most of the perfume houses, there is a bit of a similarity from scent to scent even though many of their scents overall are quite different.

This one doesn't seem to have the usual Pens "personality" - not as British perhaps. Pretty complex- loaded with notes. I got a bit of the beeswax which I liked.
Didn't get enough of the dry down to really judge how it works out in the end. But the "ozonic effect" and "metallic effect" were pretty fleeting or minimal to my nose.

Top Notes
Aldehydes, Ozonic Effect, Metallic Effect, Violet Leaf, Neroli, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Fresh Ginger.

Middle Notes
Beeswax, Cyclamen, Linden Blossom, Lavender, Leather.

Base Notes
Gurgum Wood, Patchouli, Myrrh, Cedarwood, Tonka Bean, Oakmoss, White Musk, Honey Effect, Old Wood Effect, Vanilla, Amber.

 

[Obsessed]

When is this supposed to be released?

I wonder if they have a tester as Saks yet.

 

[Catalin]

I also found a Penhaligon's gem a week ago while traveling to Cambridge. I tried their "Opus" ASB and I was pleasantly surprised. I don't normally like any Penhaligon's scents, but this one grew on me; very intoxicating complex scent. I have a sample that I keep stretching because I like it so much. I should've bought a tube!....

 

[djh]

I have read about Sartorial and it is definitely on my shortlist to test (and probably buy) when I am next in London.

 

[The Nid Hog]

I tested a number of these at the Penhaligon's counter at Isetan in Tokyo, but I was a little distracted and I forget which was which. I liked several and hated one, but I didn't write anything down on the sample cards. Maybe Jubilee was the one I didn't care for--smelled kind of grandmotherly to me. I'll have to check these again.

 

[StylinLA]

When is this supposed to be released?

I wonder if they have a tester as Saks yet.

Lucky Scent expects it in mid-October. They didn't have a tester yet. Guy who works there happened to pick up a tiny vial in London.

 

[Obsessed]

Wish I could break it down note by note, but it had a very refined, well dressed gentleman feel. Not evocative in the small test of any other Pens scents.

They do in fact have a tester at Saks in New York. The SA said they should have bottles in stock by Friday.

My initial impression is similar to StylinLA's. I can't say at this point whether I'd buy a bottle, but it's definitely worth checking out.

 

[6of1]

I think I am going to bite the bullet on Sartorial. I just don't think I could stand the waiting time of the order-sample-and-decide process -- the notes lend me to think that jumping into a full bottle is a good move. Worse come to worst, I could always decant and sell. All told, I am very excited about this one, even though it seems to have a fair amount of synthetics in it. I trust Penhaligon's to make it a solid product.

Be seeing you.

 

[solar]

Very compelling descriptions here. The beeswax mid-note, especially if warmed to body temperature, stands to be very pleasing and interesting.

 

[Sam]

Any word?

 

[justinp]

I stopped into the Edinburgh Penhaligon's today to chat with the staff and smell the smells, and they are pushing Sartorial hard. It's been their bestseller for the four weeks they've had it on offer, and I wore some home to see how it develops. The metallic/ozonic notes do fade quite fast, and the beeswax dominates for at least an hour after that (I squirted it on about an hour ago, beeswax is just starting to fade). It's a really, really interesting and engaging scent, nothing like anything I've ever smelled before. Think a very masculine, refined smell that has wandered into a Burt's Bees display

I like it quite a bit, and I'm glad they sent me home with a sample vial as well. Really fabulous people at the shop; they know insane amounts about their product and are happy to just chat about their stuff.

 

[Sam]

Anyone got a number for the Enlgand outlets? Wonder if they have this in the outlets cheaper?

 

[justinp]

Just a note on the persistence of this stuff-- I put some on in the shop at 3:45 or so, and it's currently just before 10, and it's still smell-able. This would be basically unimpressive had I not just played about 2 hours of squash... anything that can persist through that has got some high-class sticking power. Lovely stuff, might buy a bottle. My first actual bottle of decent cologne, that'd be. I might be developing expensive tastes, unfortunately.

 

[justinp]

So I've worn Sartorial a few times over the past few days, and I don't think that I'll be purchasing a bottle. This is not to say that it's not an amazing scent-- it is. Great sticking power, smooth evolution, and just amazing construction. The problem for me is really that Bertrand Duchafour did TOO good a job in evoking the scent of a tailor's workroom. As far as I can tell, this doesn't ever dry down to anything like any of the fougeres you've smelled before. To me, the tailor's-shop vibe just gets overpowering after a few hours; it reminds me too much of waiting in line at the dry cleaner's. You really do get the impressions of steam-presses, shearing machines, and so on. Not something I want to smell like long-term, you know? My other big gripe is the fact that (to my nose, of course) the beeswax note sort of overstays its welcome; like the cedar in Opus 1870, it is beautifully rendered but just takes up way too much space in the fragrance at the expense of many of the other notes.

Definitely something to try if you can find a way to do so. Not, however, something that I'd want to invest in a full bottle of. I think I'm back to Douro as my top Pen's pick. I'll have to do another test wear of it just to see.

 

[cernel_joson]

FYI Neutrogena Rainbath smells like Sartorial.

 

[sarimento1]

Sartorial is a great dry, powdery, beeswaxy, masculine scent!
One of Pen's best, IMHO!!

 

[Christoph]

I like it. I don't find it to be terribly unique, to be honest, but I still like it a lot.

 

[Christoph]

FYI Neutrogena Rainbath smells like Sartorial.

Actually, it kind of does a bit