Elisabethan Rose Penhaligon's 1984 Eau de Toilette

When I think of Penhaligon's I'm immediately reminded of gleefully reading the trashy novels of Jilly Cooper, following the antics of Perdita Macleod as she empties bottles of Quercus whilst swilling large amounts of Vodka and smoking endless cigarettes. The premise here was that her husband Jake bought her Quercus so that she would stop using his CK One ... I never quite got that because the former is WAY more pricy than the latter, even though they smell the same.

I have sampled Quercus and found it wanting ... not so with Elizabethan Rose. If an antiquated 'English' Rose is what you are after then look no further. This is gloriously old fashioned ... so much so that one could close one's eyes and immediately be transported to the set of 'Elizabeth', and quite imagine Cate Blanchett smelling like this in her portrayal of the Virgin Queen. It definitely does what it says on the bottle! While the sillage is not all that much to write home about, the longevity here is better than most Penhaligon offerings ... at least 3 hours on my perfume munching skin.

For my money, however, there is no need to shell out the ludicrous asking price for this. Get yourself a bottle of Perfumers Workshop Tea Rose ... it's just as good and way easier on the wallet.