British Tales

Endymion 2003

Endymion by Penhaligon's
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7.3 / 10 431 Ratings
A perfume by Penhaligon's for men, released in 2003. The scent is spicy-fresh. It is being marketed by Puig.
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Main accords

Spicy
Fresh
Sweet
Floral
Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
LavenderLavender BergamotBergamot SageSage Mandarin orangeMandarin orange
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Coffee absoluteCoffee absolute GeraniumGeranium
Base Notes Base Notes
SandalwoodSandalwood Black pepperBlack pepper CardamomCardamom LeatherLeather MuskMusk MyrrhMyrrh FrankincenseFrankincense NutmegNutmeg VetiverVetiver

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
7.3431 Ratings
Longevity
6.4318 Ratings
Sillage
5.8317 Ratings
Bottle
7.9317 Ratings
Value for money
6.194 Ratings
Submitted by Chemist, last update on 07/21/2025.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance is part of the "British Tales" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Endymion Concentré by Penhaligon's
Endymion Concentré
Meidum by Nilafar du Nil
Meidum
Infusion d'Homme (Eau de Toilette) by Prada
Infusion d'Homme Eau de Toilette
masculin Pluriel by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
masculin Pluriel
Santal / Eau de Santal (Eau de Toilette) by Floris
Santal Eau de Toilette
Signature Man (Eau de Toilette) by Otto Kern
Signature Man Eau de Toilette

Reviews

9 in-depth fragrance descriptions
5
Bottle
0
Sillage
2.5
Longevity
5
Scent
Drseid

821 Reviews
Drseid
Drseid
Helpful Review 4  
Boring Powder...
Nothing wrong with this one, but it just is so mild and safe that it bores me to death. Powder mixed with a bit of fruit on an amber base... Kind of a mild powdery cloud. Inoffensive, but unimpressive. 2.5 stars out of 5.
0 Comments
5
Pricing
10
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
9.5
Scent
Elysium

888 Reviews
Elysium
Elysium
Helpful Review 7  
Young Man Of Exceptional Beauty
I bet British house Penhaligon's named this perfume after the myth of the Greeks, rather than the futuristic character Raoul Endymion of Dan Simmons saga "The Hyperion Cantos." Endymion in Greek mythology is a young man of exceptional beauty. According to legend, Endymion was king of Elis, hunter or shepherd: he was the first king of Elis in Greek Peloponnese and founded the kingdom with Thessaly colonists. When Zeus offered him to choose his fate, Endymion chose immortality and youth in eternal sleep. The history of Endymion varies from one legend to another. However, the most famous is that of his love for Selene, the goddess of the Moon. They say that Selene became the lover of this shepherd from Mount Latmos in Caria and visited him every night during her sleep.
Back to our era. What is Penhaligon's Endymion all about? If you're anything like me, the aroma of espresso coffee, especially that of the early morning, stimulates you as you need to wake up. So I like the note of coffee, even in the fragrances. And I have some colognes that incorporate this note in their pyramid. However, notes like rose, leather, or coumarin pair with coffee, but the dyad of lavender and coffee is almost a novelty for me. In Endymion, the dyad creates such a subtle and distinctive nuance on par with that of the lavender and vanilla found in Caron's Pour Un Homme, so excellent and disruptive to me. Endymion is my second blindly purchased Penhaligon scent, after Agarbathi, and I'm not disappointed at all. Anything pleasant and unfamiliar to the nose makes me enthusiastic.

As soon as I took a hit of Endymion, I couldn't think of anything else. The opening blast with its brilliant citrus accord made of sweet and sour mandarin and powdery bergamot stays on its own for a minute or so, soon followed by a delicate sage, mainly with whiffs of grass, adding a subtle green edge. There are hints of black pepper that add to the richness of the scent. Shortly after that, a refined lavender arrives that adds an aromatic undertone reasonably subtly. It is neither a floral nor medicinal lavender, instead of a hay-like lavender note straight from the leaf needles rather than the flower buds.
Let the initial burst tone down, and a greener and gourmand heart unfold. The green darkness comes from geranium leaves, while toasted coffee beans blend with a lavender thing for offering a light gourmand touch. It doesn't enter gourmand territory or become foody. That beautiful accord gets better and better, and I can't get enough. I like how the coffee note intertwines with the lavender in this.

The scent stays deceptively subtle despite its heavier components. The dry-down adds some spiciness, mainly from creamy nutmeg, a delicate resinous aroma, while the citrus aroma of the opening is retreating. Light vetiver with no earthy character signals a shift to a musky and woody phase. A soft, thin suede, everything but rude, with touch amber, leads into the base, and the resins gradually dominate the rest of the development. There's just a kiss of musk on a broad base of talc, nothing like a lipstick but something like talcum powder, roundish and sweetish kind of leathery powder associated with Fabergé's Brut, and overall it's a pretty different juice indeed. It becomes warmer, cuddly, introverted, and homey.

With its excellent barber notes in the opening, Endymion will most likely turn many people off at first because the best part doesn't come until half an hour later when the juice unfolds with body heat. I get moderate sillage, good projection, and seven hours of longevity on my skin. It is an intriguing scent for the hottest spring days and evenings. Endymion is a perfume recommended for men and women, and it is a very sensual aroma. It's deep but not too overwhelming. It lasts all day, and I got a lot of compliments while wearing it. I don't know why this sequence of notes should be like this, but it's extraordinarily sensual. The composition falls between clean laundry and barbershop. Maybe nothing completely innovative, but still modern and elegant.

I based this review on a 100ml bottle I have owned since April 2021.

-Elysium
0 Comments
ColinM

516 Reviews
ColinM
ColinM
Very helpful Review 3  
Brilliant!
One of the most (or should I say, “few”) intriguing fragrances by Penhaligon’s together with Sartorial, both sharing the same peculiar feature – showing a sort of deceptive designer-oriented nature, but creatively elaborating it with what I’d personally consider an interesting and very compelling “artistic” twist (sorry for that, I hate the concept of “artistry” applied to fragrances; don’t take it too literally, it’s just meant to refer to the creativity involved in this). Endymion is basically a very gentle, impeccable, sophisticated and truly British in spirit sort of plushy powdery-gourmand Oriental scent with a fantastic smooth bergamot opening and a coffee-infused, musky-woody and slightly honeyed-resinous foundation, that overall undoubtedly contains echoes of many designers – from YSL La Nuit de l’Homme to Zegna Intenso to the drydown of Rochas Man, but it wouldn’t really be fair to compare them. There’s echoes, they may share a similar sort of inspiration, but that is really not enough to make a proper of comparison in my opinion, as their “substance” differs enormously. Endymion has a whole different quality and texture, which briefly put, is better – or well, surely more fascinating. It smells at once more substantial than them (except for Rochas Man maybe, that was a masterpiece already), more crisp, more quality, and most of all delightfully more ethereal, impalpable, boundless and sophisticated. “Emptier yet fuller”, if that makes sense. And it’s not simply a matter of lightness, I think it’s just a whole different approach and construction, and that’s what marks the difference.

As Diamondflame brilliantly explained on Basenotes in fact, Endymion belongs to that small family of “airy”, weightless (yet more than substantial and rich in character) scents together with Hermès Cuir d’Ange or Prada Infusion d’Iris: stuff which doesn’t smell like a “normal” blend of notes, just rather a unique heavenly whiff of “pure scent”, which you’ve to take and enjoy for, well, just what it is – in which the materials are so good and blended so effortlessly well and out of any formal pattern, that you only get “it”, as a whole. And that’s truly a delightfully poetic effect on skin, as you almost feel you aren’t wearing a fragrance – you rather feel surrounded by an impalpable, almost nondescript yet perfectly detectable and enjoyable scented aura of distinguished lavendery-gourmand British class, tightly blended and masterfully balancing a sort of “double cleanness” – clean zesty top notes of bergamot, clean “laundry-talc” musk and soapy sandalwood on the base notes, wrapped around a warm, velvety heart of lavendery-gourmand-herbal elegance with a perfectly mannered shade of woody smoke (which will arise more prominently on the drydown). It’s warm, sunny, cozy like an English sunset. It feels familiar, but unique. Truly irresistible. I’m probably over-romanticizing this and I am not sure if I made some sense with my description, but just I enjoy immensely the way Endymion disguises its evocative uniqueness under a deceptive, easy-to-dismiss designer-oriented look. And regardless of that it just smells fantastic, surely more on the discreet side of the spectrum projection-wise (albeit quite persistent), but it fits the scent and the inspiration perfectly. A lovely uplifting gem.

8,5/10
0 Comments
Platinum1

59 Reviews
Platinum1
Platinum1
5  
~ English Gentleman ~
~ I thought I had smelled, tested, worn all the quintessential Gentleman scents up until I shook hands with this top hat, leather glove, lavender lapel wearing proper English Gentleman! This is perhaps the first serious contender to potentially dethrone my Signature Chanel? I am completely enamored with the perfection of Endymion's soft, sweet, confident personality. The lavender is so smooth so romantic this will surely please anyone who would accompany you on a Sunday drive or a fall walk in the park! This is warm and welcoming in it's leather and musk base the perfect companion. I give this Penhaligon's an endorsement for any man who wants to bring his style to the next level and please many noses along the way!
Kind Regards, Plat ~
Scent - 10/10
1 Comment
Rosymel

122 Reviews
Rosymel
Rosymel
1  
Lovely opening and drydown
I like this one, but only in the first and last stages. The opening is fine, with some soft citrus and floral, but then It goes through a funny middle stage on me where it’s just baby powder. Thankfully, this is a pretty short lived stage, and the ending is really worth it, very beautiful, with a lovely golden amber, sweet but not cloying.

I wish I got the coffee note at some point, but so far I haven’t!

This reminds me so much of Gallivant’s Brooklyn, down to having a middle stage I have to kind of grit my teeth through before I get to the reward of the gorgeous drydown.
0 Comments
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Statements

10 short views on the fragrance
KimJongKimJong 12 months ago
8
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
9
Scent
This cologne is the type of a lifelong companion, containing pivotal moments in its wearer's life.
0 Comments
MrMoustacheMrMoustache 3 years ago
9
Bottle
3
Sillage
4
Longevity
8
Scent
Such a beauty! A warm, cozy, uplifting and distinguished perfume. Makes me feel happy every time I wear it. Only downside is the longevity.
0 Comments
ElysiumElysium 3 years ago
10
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
9.5
Scent
I was amazed at the breadth and depth Endymion's incredible aroma. It has a little of everything, aromas, resins, woods and spices. Awesome
0 Comments
PedroCabralPedroCabral 3 years ago
8
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
7.5
Scent
Top with a strong presence of lavender, which quickly gives way to coffee. After a while, I feel the sandalwood becoming predominant. Good!
0 Comments
HermeshHermesh 10 years ago
7.5
Bottle
5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
8
Scent
Lavender, sage, coffee, sandalwood and spices give a moderately warm feeling. Like being outdoors on a late summer evening.
0 Comments
DeerhoundDeerhound 8 months ago
Get a shower gel vibe that I'm not keen on. Feel like there's a complexity overridden by something too synthetic for me (ambroxan again?)
0 Comments
1Noah1Noah 9 days ago
6
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
10
Scent
Fresh, spicy, slightly soapy coffee, aromatic beauty, classy and comforting, clean and robust, balanced between upscale and casual
0 Comments
bouffantbouffant 16 days ago
9
Bottle
5
Sillage
4
Longevity
5
Scent
I feel like I'm missing something here. I get something animalic here, I guess the leather/musk notes, but they feel discordant.
0 Comments
Dendumong115Dendumong115 1 year ago
9
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
9.5
Scent
This is one of my all time favourites. Classy yet modern and timeless. Gentleman. You smell really professional yet inviting. Big Love
0 Comments
RocendrollRocendroll 7 years ago
4
Sillage
4
Longevity
9
Scent
[Tak] Oj. Bogaty zapach, bije od niego świeżość, słodkość, a także ciężkość. Świetny.
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