Sartorial Penhaligon's 2010

In 2016/2017, when I started this hobby, I was looking for a good barbershop signature fragrance for everyday use. I tested my way through the usual suspects and my favorite at the time was clearly Invasion Barbare, which I subsequently used as a signature fragrance for years. The Sartorial was not my first choice at the time because it was a little too "serious" for me and I saw it more on an older gentleman. The fragrance remained in the back of my mind but I have probably largely forgotten the actual fragrance profile. When I occasionally researched it, "aldehydes", "ozonic notes" and "metallic notes" struck me as rather negative and I decided not to retest it for this reason.

7 or 8 years later, Penhaligons is more strongly represented in Vienna's perfumeries than it was back then, but Sartorial is usually not there. When I came across a tester of Sartorial in early 2024, I gave it another chance and was immediately taken with it. What a beautiful, complex fragrance for the well-groomed gentleman! It is much more rounded and good-natured than the "metallic notes" etc. would suggest. The above-mentioned notes, which are borderline for me, actually only provide the freshness that is needed anyway.
In terms of its fragrance profile, it has a good overlap with Invasion Barbare, but today I find the Sartorial more "wearable" in everyday life. Invasion Barbare is now almost too special and "statement-making" for everyday office life. I think Sartorial simply suits me well and is certainly not wrong on a now 45-year-old. For me, Sartorial embodies the "freshly showered", "shaved" and "well-groomed" image of a good barbershop fragrance.
So I have a new everyday fragrance. I like to wear Sartorial together with 1725, which adds some powder, sweetness and playfulness to the overall result.
Barbershop at it's finest.