Endymion Concentré Penhaligon's 2016

As a great fan of British clothing labels, music, (sub-)culture, humor, and the associated lifestyle, the house of Penhaligon's has long held a great fascination for me (the objectivity of this review can and must therefore be called into question).
I still vividly remember how, as a teenager, I couldn't take my eyes off that one shelf in the local perfumery: beautiful flacons adorned with a pearl cap on top and a ribbon around the neck. They stood there, so noble and exalted, like old aristocrats among the nouveau riche, glittering oligarch's sons. Back then, I didn't dare to ask for a test - I couldn't have afforded it anyway.

Years later, with thousands of Parfumo points and an imaginary shelf full of bronze and golden trophies bolstering my fragrance ego, I made a new attempt. The goal was to test the new "Portraits - The Omniscient Mister Thompson | Penhaligon's," for which I had, of course, researched sufficiently in advance to be prepared for the obligatory olfactory discussions with the local perfumery saleswoman. After impressively proving to the lady that she was dealing with a seasoned Parfumo enthusiast and not a misguided Jeremy disciple in search of the next panty-dropper, I received the green light, and the "may I show you something beautiful?" panty was finally dropped. I diligently tested my way through all the shelves but kept finding my way back to the beautiful pearl-capped bottles. In the end, I left with various samples, a spritz of "Trade Routes Collection - Halfeti | Penhaligon's" on one arm, and a spritz of Endymion Concentré on the other, blissfully heading home to explore their development:

Endymion Concentré opens with a fresh-soft accord of bergamot, sage, and lavender, consistently accompanied by a subtly bitter leather note. As it develops, the fresh components fade, and the fragrance becomes leathery-soft with a homeopathic spiciness of incense and nutmeg. It indeed has a somewhat "shower gel" quality. However, not from an Axe "72H COOL SUPERPOWER ALL DAY LONG" wake-up kick, but much more like a relaxing aroma shower foam from a skilled natural cosmetics manufacturer. The ever-present but never overwhelming bitter leather note also takes away the perceived shower gel triviality, making it distinctive and special.

My expectation for a good perfume is to be perceived as pleasantly scented but not perfumed. And Endymion Concentré is exactly such a candidate - a British gentleman, not an Italian loudmouth. Balanced, finely tuned, so quiet yet so elegant at the same time. A calming understatement. However, this understatement has a catch: the longevity is not the best. With 4-5 sprays, I only perceive nuances of the fragrance after about 5 hours, which is certainly something to improve considering the MSRP.

The design of the flacon perfectly captures the associations I have with the fragrance: the bittersweet melancholy of a starry full moon night. The story of Endymion, the eternally youthful lover of the moon goddess Selene. To preserve him from death, Selene puts him into eternal sleep in a cave on Mount Latmos, granting him eternal youth. Every night, she comes to him in the cave and bears him a total of fifty daughters. So, indeed a panty-dropper.

Anyone who doesn't place great value on beast mode and is looking for a calm yet special, elegant, and pleasing fragrance with signature potential should take a closer look at "Endymion Concentré | Penhaligon's."

With red wine and pralines, I now retreat back to my lonely Corona cave, hoping for eternal youth, a visit from the beautiful Selene, and a star lawyer for family law.

I wish you all a reflective holiday season!