Dunhill Dunhill 2003

It's a nice scent, Elegant, Floral and UNIQUE. This perfume is a linear fragrance with main theme Geranium. A hidden gem with floral notes for men ! It opens up with like fresh spicy and floral notes in the background then dry down is musky woody. This is suitable for the spring, fall and winter. I like Dunhill Alfred Dunhill EDT for Men. Longevity is good.
Thumbs Up.
Rating : 8 / 10

..that's how the "Dunhill" feels to me somehow.

It's a smooth drop, radiating a cozy, slightly dreamy (not to say "sluggish") freshness from the very beginning.

Nothing that pricks, stings, or tortures the nose. In its gentle, almost slightly powdery comfort (Iris?), it truly reminds me of a classic Saturday evening as a young teenager, when I used to take baths. Then into the pajamas and watching "Money or Love" or other family shows with Mom and Dad.

At the start, extremely soft geranium and sage sit side by side, fine and lightly ethereal, framed by a hint of lavender. Soon, a smooth, delicate, slightly herb-floral rose joins the mix.
Could this interplay possibly reference the bathtub with its relaxing scented oils?

After half an hour, slightly more masculine nuances push forward, the fine, soft rose is complemented by subtle leather and wood aspects. Tonka bean keeps everything in the background with a caramel touch in the slightly sweet, while the delicate floral and smooth woody notes remain prominent.

One really has to commend so much cozy, smooth, independently conceived fragrance beauty with a nostalgic factor.

I received a sample of this Dunhill fragrance in my iParfumerie package and couldn't classify the scent at first. I had only recently engaged with the Dunhill brand, but the only one I know is Desire, which I even own. A very inconspicuous brand, whose perfumes are almost all good, but fly totally under the radar. And not without reason, as the right hit for a breakthrough in the mass market has yet to come; they just go with the flow.

But Dunhill by Dunhill surprises me extremely positively; I would even say it was far ahead of its time in 2003 and I can recommend it without reservation. Not only to the sweet New Generation but also to wood and tobacco lovers - here modernity meets classic masculine elegance! Big names like Bang, The One, or Terre de Hermes have clearly taken a cue from this; Dunhill feels like a completely unknown pioneer and a complex blend of wood, sand, sweetness, flowers, and tonka sweetness! Grandiose and not as bland as many other fragrances from the brand.

Besides the tonka sweetness that sets in early and lingers into the dry down, I can hardly pick out any other specific notes, everything is so intricately woven. Very finely crafted; you might only see such quality in this price range at Nikos Sculpture nowadays. A true all-rounder; if I could still exchange Desire and had to choose a Dunhill fragrance, I would trade it for Dunhill! And Desire was already very good! If someone is looking for a Dunhill scent, please start testing here! So here’s a little insider tip that makes even the most uninteresting man smell distinctive and intriguing! It has something of a sweet desert wind from the Orient.

The bottle is also one of the best from the British luxury brand, and the longevity is very good at 8 hours. The sillage is quite viscous and assertive, but by no means intrusive.

It clearly forms the spearhead with Desire and smells very strong!

Dunhill is quite distant to me as a brand; the Dunhill fragrances have brushed past me without leaving a lasting impression. Normally, I wouldn’t have given it a thought if one day my partner hadn’t brought a bottle of it home.... And now there’s another chapter in the loosely published series "Men's fragrances that women love."
I almost kept the fragrance and this comment to myself, but Dunhill (unfortunately without further designation) deserves to be more than just a hidden gem!

The top note is absolutely fantastic - so spicy-fresh and slightly sweet, it definitely makes you crave more.
The heart note is almost as wonderful, with iris and cloves, spicy and powerful, yet also woody-masculine.
The base is well-crafted, green in the background, predominantly woody-leathery, on a mossy-velvety bed.
The sillage is slightly sweet-spicy and pronounced.

This fragrance belongs right at the forefront, at the top. Wearable at any time, almost ageless, not daring, but skillfully done.

This fragrance must have been newly composed by now. I remember Dunhill from the 80s as a beautiful, warm, and elegant men's scent. Back then, Dunhill was niche, as it was actually a tobacco company, and my cigarette brand at the time was - well, Dunhill. In a flat box, burgundy with golden print. And that’s exactly how the packaging of the fragrance was.

I remember the top note as soft-spicy, and when Dunhill was re-released a few years ago by P&G, it was back on the shelf - albeit with a completely different look. I was initially excited but then disappointed once again. It was just a vague memory of the original, and now it has been removed from our offerings again.

Back then, a fine, powdery heart unfolded, and even though tobacco is no longer found in the pyramid today, I certainly don’t attribute it to my imagination that Dunhill smelled of fine pipe tobacco back then. In the heart note, it was like from an opened tobacco pack, but underlaid with subtle floral notes, in the base after the smoke of the lit pipe. Powerfully warm, spicy, yet elegant and incredibly masculine.

If I want to treat myself to a little piece of affordable luxury today, I don’t grab the next pack of cigarettes from the supermarket, but instead buy a pack of Dunhill cigarettes from the upscale men's store, where it smells so beautifully of expensive cigars, whiskey, and other fine things, and I dream of the old times.