Town & Country Clive Christian 2023

This review was edited in May 2025, ~1.75 years after it was initially put up.

A review for one of the scents launched in 2023 by a premium brand, that being Clive Christian's only 2023 release Town & Country. While T&C as a fragrance has several layers, almost all of them are somewhat boring. Nonetheless, the overall product in its delivery is still good and as a result, I've opted to revise my previous title from "Rather forgettable" to "Good at what it does".

The scent opens masculine aromatic and features a type of lemon/lime feel that I recognize from Elysium pour Homme Eau de Parfum, but slightly more bitter. In my previous review, I highlighted the fougère aspects showcased in the top, but in this revised review, the primary note that I felt I was getting in the top was saffron, i.e. a prominent one-two of saffron & lemon. Throughout the wear, I can't really shake the feeling of saffron and the opposition between a Baccarat Rouge 540 Eau de Parfum style of saffron with Elysium pour Homme Eau de Parfum style of lemon/citruses. This opposition is imitated in the market by scents such as Parfums de Marly's Kalan and more recently also in fragrances like Fragrance du Bois' Lucius.

However, the actual note opposing the lemon is the cardamom. As a result, one of the products that features similarities to Town & Country is Xerjoff's Golden Green which contrasts cardamom with juniper. At certain points of the wearing experience, the combination of frankincense and woody tones add some depth to what would otherwise be a fairly plain product. In the dry-down, I'd say the main accords oppose each other directly: the scent is citrusy and fresh while also being spicy-sweet-woody. In my first wears, I had better success picking up on the juniper, but that wasn't as noteworthy for me in this revised review.

On the other aspects, I get good performance in the 8-10 hour range with most of it on an arm's length sillage. While the layers are cute and the blending is good-to-great, esp. the smooth musks incorporated in the base, the product also doesn't feel like it has sufficient complexity for the brand to be charging €450/50ml. At discounter pricings closer to $200, this is worth a look.

Town & Country is a fragrance I had heard a lot about, and wanted to try after testing Lucius to see Clive Christian's take on this DNA. The basic gist of it is citrus atop the BR540 accord of hedione, oakmoss, ethyl maltol, and ambroxan. But instead of the sweet, almost creamy version of this combo that Lucius attempts, Town & Country keeps it much more aromatic with elements like clary sage, juniper, and frankincense. The clary sage in particular gives me almost a tobacco vibe which is quite nice. The drydown reminds me a lot of Haltane but a bit less sweet if memory serves. Really well done take on a common DNA.

A masculine entry into a world of delightful aromatics and fresh spice. It opens up with a lovely citrus - the kind only Clive Christian can do with its sugared glaze and a lovely juicy effervescence. It then dies down into a spicy freshness, something akin to Oud for Greatness or Ottoman Treasure but with the citrus as a supporting role. It's the best of its genre.

Decent performance and longevity for a fresh fragrance and it smells delightful. What more could you want?

Ah yes. . .A more realistic price tag.

Overall, an incredible scent. Worth the $200 or so price you can find second hand, but definitely not retail unless you have all the money to spend in the world.

I give it a high rating because the perfume does what it’s supposed to do very well. You don’t expect Grand Soir to be anything more than a textbook example of amber, do you?

1. The sillage and longevity are excellent. I can still catch a whiff of the scent the next morning. I don’t understand why some reviews give it low scores in these categories.
2. The scent is linear. I can’t detect almost anything besides ambergris, but it’s crafted beautifully!
3. I think it’s office-appropriate - just don’t overdo it with the sprays.

Winston Churchill wore this, you know.

Town & Country is a modern classic, which is quite something for a fragrance that was first sold over a century ago. Many of the comments on Fragrantica note its similarity to BR540 and there is certainly a comparison to make there but I own both and find Town & Country sweeter, richer, more citrusy and even better performing. It is my go-to for when I want to smell good in a way that impresses everyone. Readers of my reviews may know that I tend to wear fragrances that I like for my indulgence and enjoyment and that I do not give much credence to how others perceive them - and me by association. I have several that I love but am dimly aware that others probably do not share my view. In fact of my all time top five fragrances this is the only one that could genuinely be described as a universal crowd pleaser. Town & Country is one of those where others seem to enjoy it as much or more than I do.

So let's have a look at the notes. There is jasmine and some lemony bergamot in this in the head accords to my nose but not in the notes and I swear I can smell some berries as well.

The clary sage is there in the middle but the heart of ambergris is very dominant and is what carries this fragrance. I've always thought I could smell Ambroxin in this but I believe it is just the very pure ambergris. I don't think Ambroxin was a thing back in 1925. For sure this is the strongest ambergris core I've ever encountered and it is worth nothing that Town & Country doesn't go sickly or cloying if you overspray or wear it hot weather in the way BR540 can do. You aren't going to get a ambroxin headache from this.

Oddly, Town & Country is much more forgiving of a bit of over-indulgence on the atomiser than BR540 EDP/Extrait or the even better Desire du Coeur by Thomas Kosmala are, despite being an unarguably stronger and heavier fragrance. It is easy to imagine the ebullient, irrascible, irrepressible, unsinkable Winston Churchill, (a wartime British leader a million miles removed from the absolute non-entity jellyfish we have now) in a really fine three piece Saville Row suit giving off clouds of this, cigars and Pol Roger champagne as he stomps purposefully into a hushed room. I couldn't imagine him wearing BR540 but I can absolutely see the great man wearing this.

The base notes are sandalwood officially but I'd be amazed if there is no amber in this. There may be something leafy and fresh in the base as well to stop it from going too rich but I cannot quite place it. Tomato leaves perhaps? It is a creamy, sweet and very, very rich base that serves to anchor the ambergris middle. It is a nicely structured, forceful and dominant thing that is logical and very put together, much like Mr Churchill himself.

The effect when you wear this is quite something. It is a legitimate 12 hour fragrance and projects with potent sillage the whole time. Town & Country garners compliments in a way few others in my rapidly-growing collection ever have and although I do not wear fragrances for the approval of others, it is nice when people tell you you smell wonderful, isn't it? As with BR540, this is a very wearable fragrance that goes with almost anything. It is also just as unisex as BR540, though I'd love to know what Mr Churchill would make of a woman wearing this. I have the feeling this was nowhere near as unisex in the 1930s and 40s as it is now, or indeed that the whole notion of unisex perfumery had a rather different dynamic than the one we enjoy today.

Clive Christian make some wonderful and incredibly expensive fragrances and I am very fond of several others by this luminary British house. I'll be reviewing Crab Apple Blossom a bit later but, of all their creations, Town & Country remains my favourite of theirs and one of my favourites ever.

Three Word Summary: Resolute Bottled Assurance

Scent - 9/10
Sillage - 9/10
Drydown - 7/10
Bottle/packaging - 8/10
Performance - 10/10

43/50