24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract Atkinsons 2014 Eau de Cologne Concentrée

As a newcomer here, I’m diving right into a series of comments. This is the second part.

The motivation, the idea, and the criteria
I am a true fan of the scent of roses (in my youth, my mother had Paris by YSL. I thought it was “amazing”). However, the rose is not exactly the first ingredient that comes to mind for a men’s fragrance. Nevertheless, I find that rose is increasingly present in men’s fragrances.
Based on the following criteria, I have selected 12 of these fragrances and will comment on and compare them one by one:
• Mens’ fragrance (exception: Desert Rose by Urban Scent as a unisex scent, I just had to include it)
• Rose as a heart note (exception: Much ado about the Duke by Penhaligon, I was just in London when I had the idea)
• Released from the year 2000 onwards
• Rating of at least 6.0 with at least 40 reviews
• No oud (not really my thing)

Fragrance No. 2 is: 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract by Atkinsons
(previously: (1) Lumière Noire pour Homme by Maison Francis Kurkdjian)

The house, the perfumer, and the purchase
It was in 1799 when the Brit James Atkinson discovered the business of fragrances for himself. The spicy-warm Eau de Cologne he developed in 1800 became the favorite scent of King George IV, who appointed Atkinson as the official perfumer of the British royal household. After very successful years, the house had to endure significantly more difficult times until today. This included closures, several sales in the early 2000s, and most recently the takeover by the Italian cosmetics company Perfume Holding (from Procter & Gamble) in 2008. However, since the relaunch of the brand in September 2013, things have been “looking up.” The perfumers Christine Nagel and Violaine Collas both worked at the cosmetics company Mane in the 2010s. The Swiss Christine Nagel (*1959) has been with Hermés since 2013 and became their chief perfumer in 2015. She made her debut with the “vibrant” Rhubarbe Écarlate and has also created my super summer scent Citron Noir this year. The French Violaine Collas (*1976) (still at Mane) studied (like Francis Kurkdjian) at ISIPCA. In an interview, she mentioned the bottle design of the Atkinsons Collection as her favorite. I bought 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract (*2014) on recommendation at the “perfume shop I trust.”

The scent, the components, and the experience
The fragrance is named after the ancient headquarters of the label and is meant to be “a bow” to the scent of 1800. Old Bond Street is the southern part of Bond Street in London’s upscale Mayfair district and is one of the most exclusive shopping streets in the world. With juniper, rose, black tea, and whiskey, the motto “Very British” is somewhat emphasized with a “hint,” but let’s go in order.
The scent starts with a very, very spicy rose. The spiciness likely comes from the juniper, which belongs to the evergreen cypress family. The essential oil from the mixture of juniper berries and needles exudes a green-herbaceous conifer scent. The galbanum further enhances this effect. Galbanum is an ancient medicinal plant found in Central Asia. From it, galbanum resin is obtained, from which the essential oil is derived. Galbanum is very often used in the top note of fragrances for the effect just described (by the way, galbanum was used for the mummification of the dead in ancient Egypt). Additionally, I believe there is also a sharpness from cardamom at the beginning. Both the juniper and the galbanum provide a freshness (right from the start) and, as the scent develops, a more balsamic character. With the tea notes, the whole thing becomes milder, and the incense additionally supports the increasingly warm, balsamic-spicy, possibly slightly resinous base. Incense resin (Olibanum) is obtained from the incense tree (India, Arabia, and parts of Africa). The production of incense takes several months, and its yield depends heavily on the age, size, and condition of the tree. Incense was also used in ancient Egypt as a fumigation and medicinal agent. After about 2 hours, the fragrance takes on a very slight sweet note. This is partly (of course) due to the tonka bean and partly due to the additionally smoky-woody whiskey. (Note: More on the tonka bean at the next opportunity)

The conclusion, the comparison, and practical use
For me, 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract takes the rose on a beautifully composed, special journey from spicy-fresh to balsamic-warm. All aspects remain intact on this journey because all the fragrance components blend beautifully together. The sillage is not very strong, which is quite good for use at work - at least for me. I am glad to have the fragrance and use it often. Over 80 previous reviews with an 8, and I will stick with that.

(1) Lumière Noire pour Homme - The Noble Softie
(2) 24 Old Bond Street Triple Extract - The Elegant Brit

P.S. Thank you for the great responses and ratings for my first comment. It’s encouraging.