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Icon Elite by Dunhill
Bottle Design:
Mark Eisen
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Icon Elite 2016

7.2 / 10 111 Ratings
A perfume by Dunhill for men, released in 2016. The scent is woody-spicy. It was last marketed by Interparfums.
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Main accords

Woody
Spicy
Leathery
Fresh
Citrus

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Kaffir limeKaffir lime CardamomCardamom Sicilian bitter orangeSicilian bitter orange BergamotBergamot
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Black pepperBlack pepper Vetiver absoluteVetiver absolute SageSage JuniperJuniper
Base Notes Base Notes
EbonyEbony SandalwoodSandalwood Black suedeBlack suede LabdanumLabdanum

Perfumers

Ratings
Scent
7.2111 Ratings
Longevity
7.494 Ratings
Sillage
6.999 Ratings
Bottle
8.6117 Ratings
Value for money
8.359 Ratings
Submitted by OPomone · last update on 01/24/2026.
Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
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Stash Eau de Parfum Elixir
L'Insoumis by Lalique
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Uomo Absolute by Ermenegildo Zegna
Uomo Absolute

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Elysium

915 Reviews
Elysium
Elysium
Very helpful Review 8  
A British Afternoon Tea At The Ritz
As you enter through the door of most good coffee shops, you are greeted by an aroma that sweeps your mind away from whatever you were thinking about at that moment and carries it off with a sensation of warmth, comfort, and anticipation. Cardamom is a bit like that. Once you've experienced it, you will never forget it. It has a smoky, herbal scent with a kick of citrusy-spice to it. Black cardamom is uniquely earthy and smokey. Instead, green cardamom is remarkably balsamic and minty. If you're imagining about cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, you're in the right neighborhood, but none of them is exact replicas. Cardamom is in a league of its own.

Quintessentially British, Icon Elite swore to be a perfect spicy, woody transitional fragrance into autumn and winter with its top citrus, balsamic notes, and woody, earthy base notes. But, is Icon Elite to be consisted like an aristocrat with recent titles, who rose from the very ranks of the municipal elite? The juice, once it reaches the skin, unfolds with a zesty minty and balsamic almost cold burst, lime and cardamom are wonderfully attractive scent. The limey smell is prominent and lasts for the fragrance lifetime, which gives this more of a refreshing edge than the sweeter original Icon. Also, the cardamom intense and noticeable smell recalls the Tiger Balm pain-relieving ointment, a bit fiery, fierce, minty, and camphorous. Meanwhile, the Sicilian bigarade, here in its heady, floral almost animalic facet and the bergamot create a creamy, dusty background. The overall accord likens a bitter orange Curaçao cocktail, the bitter orange adding a chypre tone and whoosh of freshness to the opening.

A handful of smoked vetiver topped with spicy peppercorns, a few crushed juniper berries and a touch of aromatic bluish sage make up the heart. These notes blend into the blend to add a level of depth and sumptuousness. The centre has a familiar smell, and it reminds me of another fragrance that I can't match on the point. However, it is vetiver a la Natalie Lorson, quite similar to her Encre Noire masterpiece. Sandalwood appears early, before it dries down and, again, has the same effect as LeLabo Santal 33, dryness and woodiness are found in the same baseball field. I feel a lot of smoke and ISO E Super, but gorgeous and unique for what it is.

Finishing a profound dry down of black ebony wood and mild suede lasts until the end, and characterize this final phase. Ebony and sandalwood are dominant. In the background, featuring notes create some relief, but they are very light. The main actors of the fragrance are sandalwood and ebony. There is always a plank of wood and dry smell. The birch tar and ebony combine to form a mildly burnt wood accord.

Less dark than Icon original, but a bit darker than Icon Absolute flanker. While it is an original scent, it's a moderate projection, and the freshness of the citrus notes makes it a tremendous sophisticated fragrance for the office more than for nights out. It's night scent, either. You can feel the smell on your skin even after 8 hours.
Great job by Dunhill. The overall scent makes me reach for it during Spring and Fall days, and maybe even during summer evenings and nights out.
Although it is a flanker it doesn't smell like the original, it is darker than Icon, citrus is replaced with candied leathery woodiness. How anyone can say this smells like the original is beyond me, I feel the urge to smell it, like an addiction. It is not super unique, but I can't explain why I keep reaching for it.

Stay well; Stay healthy.

-Elysium
Updated on 04/15/2020
3 Comments
Ong

1 Review
Ong
Ong
Very helpful Review 2  
This is really something!
This is the best fragrance for my skin, my character, my style, and to me, I can use this in any type of Situations and Events.. If I felt like in a party mood, I could simply just combine Dunhill Icon Elite as my Base with any type else of Fragrance which I deem suitable. My favourite combination would be with Salvatore Ferragamo's UOMO Signature.
For the past 30 over years of consistently wearing perfume whenever I going out, this, Dunhill's Icon Elite scores the highest! I have never loved a perfume so much that I almost tends to wear it almost on every day, and almost every outing...
So much so that I am now really very very excitingly awaiting for Dunhill's 2019 release of their Signature Collections: Moroccan Amber, British Leather, Indian Sandalwood and Arabian Desert to come to Singapore........
0 Comments
JinBaba

33 Reviews
JinBaba
JinBaba
Helpful Review 2  
Niche quality with affordable price
Generic masculine scent that is not bad but not unique either. It’s fresh, clean, woody, leathery, slightly soapy scent blended together with a touch of spices and citruses brighten up the scent. The main notes I got when I first sprayed it were cardamom, lime, soft orange, black pepper and woody scent. It’s not a beast mode projection with pleasant scent which makes it suitable for the office and casual day use.

Performance wise, first 20 min with good projection then stays close to my skin and lasts up to 7 hrs easily (5hr with noticeable presence within arm length). Also the bottle is very heavy and well made.

Scent: 7.5/10
Projection: 5.5/10
Sillage: 6/10
Longevity: 7/10
Price: 9/10
Bottle: 8.5/10
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Updated on 08/13/2023
0 Comments
JoeyAtrevido

7 Reviews
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JoeyAtrevido
JoeyAtrevido
Top Review 17  
Black Pillar in the Sea of Blue Scents
When we consider the defining trends of recent years, we find that blue fragrances and nut/toffee gourmands are the thing of the hour.
In this trend world, one can detect a little rebel in Dunhill Icon Elite.
I ordered it blind because I was already a big fan of the Icon line (Classic, Absolute, Racing) and greatly appreciate the classic approaches of the line.
However, they still operate within a realm that I would describe as relatively safe.
Nothing was really risked.
All the more I was surprised by the extremely herbaceous-bitter opening.
Wow! A fragrance that does not need to sugarcoat the bitter ingredients or soften them with light notes.
I was astonished by the very dominant vetiver note.
The fragrance develops quite richly, yet the vetiver remains the most dominant note throughout.
At times, it is even so strong that it reminds one of Encre Noir.
What makes the fragrance interesting is the spice and complexity that come into play through the other ingredients.
Opening: Minimal citrus fruitiness with strong vetiver and hinted pepper
Heart: Vetiver with shallow juniper, noticeable pepper, and hints of woods and leather
Base: Vetiver still the most dominant, leather clearly perceptible, and a woody foundation that becomes more dominant from quarter to quarter after 4-5 hours.

I must confess that I see in it a modern interpretation of Guerlain - Vetiver.
The fragrance is incredibly versatile and stands out strongly from the crowd.
Very masculine, classic, and with that certain rebellious touch of a man who wants to swim against the tide.
It attracts attention, brings both positive and negative compliments, and is also wearable in the office.
The longevity is about 8 hours with 2 hours of projection.
The bottle is, as usual for the line, amazing and the price-performance ratio is great!
For fans of classic men's fragrances, vetiver, and anything that is not mainstream, it is worth a test.
Personally, I prefer the classic Icon or the Absolute, but I think the Elite is the best choice from the line for fragrance connoisseurs.

Thank you for taking the time to read my little review.
I hope I could help you and wish you a good journey in the land of fragrances.
Updated on 03/28/2022
2 Comments
Minigolf

2568 Reviews
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Minigolf
Minigolf
Helpful Review 9  
Dark Whispers in a Spicy Style
With this rather complex fragrance, my olfactory receptors first need to gather themselves after spraying, assess the situation - compare, speculate, establish, and then discard. Not so easy, this fellow..
Right at the beginning, there's a whole jumble of mixed notes to untangle. Spices, citrus fruits, woods, greens, dark, warm, cool.. everything dances around the nose - a wild whirl. But the "Icon Elite" gradually takes care of the "unraveling" itself. It's as if the fog lifts on a November morning when the sun slowly gains strength. And I like to think of "autumn" with this perfume as well. It has something of "black ink," upon which the "lightness of being" rests.. Vetiver and lemons/oranges give their best here. A slightly bitter-green note sneaks in.. is it the sage? Or the cardamom? Or the juniper?... Or all together in a triad? Probably the latter! It supports the earthiness of the vetiver, plants powerful green into the "fragrance landscape," brings a cool, sharp wind (pepper) until all the fog dissipates, "cleansing the air"... Yet the fog always "lurks" in the background. Like a "dark whisper" on a sunlit autumn afternoon. The next evening and the next night are surely coming.
As it progresses towards sunset, dark-woody aromas hold a forest-full rendezvous! Spicy inclusions leave mysterious impressions. Likewise, the "inky" leather scent of birch tar heralds an approaching cold night and the next foggy morning......
3 Comments
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Statements

32 short views on the fragrance
7
Sandalwood dominant with citruses, sage, and juniper contributing to an overall cold feeling. Frosted Sandalwood perhaps would be accurate.
0 Comments
2 years ago
6
An understated formal woody/herbal parfum. Classy and a like from me.
0 Comments
6 years ago
5
I think it's a little better than the ratings it's given. Just smokey/woody enough for cold weather and above average for special events.
0 Comments
5
The opening remind me of sandalwood incense burning at Temples.
Like the woody dry down.
Ladies mentioned the smell of Limonia acidissima.
0 Comments
4
It smells like if you would make a blue scent out of Santal 33. Creamy woody notes with slight leathery touches and an airy fresh aura, nice
0 Comments
3
The main actors of the fragrance are sandalwood and ebony. There's always a plank of wood and dry smell, a sort of mildly burnt wood accord.
0 Comments
3
It's ok, typical safe designer fragrance, not bad but not unique either.
0 Comments
4 years ago
16
12
The widely popular blend of cardamom, pepper, and synthetic wood just isn't my thing.
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12 Comments
13
10
A beautiful, very fresh-spicy, masculine wood scent that’s really decent for a designer, especially at this price.
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10 Comments
9 years ago
13
8
And the "Icon-Cow" is being milked and milked and milked...
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8 Comments
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