Portraits

The World According to Arthur Penhaligon's 2021

The World According to Arthur by Penhaligon's

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8.0 / 10 258 Ratings

A popular perfume by Penhaligon's for men, released in 2021. The scent is sweet-spicy. It is being marketed by Puig.
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Main accords

Sweet

Spicy

Smoky

Woody

Oriental

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Frankincense

Tahitian vanilla

Grapefruit

Heart Notes

Ambrette

Clary sage absolute

Base Notes

Frankincense

Tonka bean absolute

Perfumer

Fabrice Pellegrin

Ratings

Scent

8.0258 Ratings

Longevity

7.3211 Ratings

Sillage

6.7211 Ratings

Bottle

9.1221 Ratings

Value for money

6.2162 Ratings

Submitted by Essy07, last update on 07/25/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the "Portraits" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Babycat

Vanagloria

Bois d'Argent Eau de Parfum

Bois d'Iris

Just Rock! pour Lui

Black Tie Eau de Parfum

Reviews

8 in-depth fragrance descriptions

08/21/2023

6
Pricing 7
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 7.5
Scent

Shemsmeller
195 Reviews

Shemsmeller

1

Between bois d argent and babycat

tested in May at the Printemps store on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris.

this collection being difficult to access in Lyon, I took advantage of this trip to discover as many fragrances as possible from this brand on site.

the ambassador welcomed me very well, and I was able to discover this perfume.

it is more of a masculine and a strong fragrance that will be more suitable for winter. on the top notes I find that there is a strong resemblance to bois d'argent by dior then as it evolves it has the same smell as the top notes of babycat by ysl.

nothing new for me who already have this type of fragrance in my collection. nevertheless it can be interesting for someone who wants to smell these 2 different smells the same day by buying a single perfume.

Hope this review was helpful to you

04/03/2024

Hairburrito
7 Reviews

Hairburrito

1

All sweet, no smoke?

Full disclosure, all I have is a Lucky scent sample, but this reads as only cloyingly sweet for me. I was really excited for a sweet incense-y fragrance with more frankincense and less "oh my God I'm getting a headache now".

I want to like it though. I want the incense to come through, I want to smell the sweet smoke of a church and sense a sweet, distant grapefruit. I want it to 'click' for me like scents can for people.

I will keep sampling and sniffing and hope that I can appreciate it someday.

05/22/2025

ClaireV
731 Reviews

ClaireV

1

Rich, caramelized woody vanilla

The World According to Arthur is the rare pleasant surprise lurking in the current Penhaligon's niche-for-niche-sakes line up. Pairing a rich, toffee-ish vanilla (mostly the beige, tobacco creaminess of tonka) with a seriously good incense note and a pink grapefruit note, this is the improved version of something like Eau Duelle, Spiritueuse Double Vanille, or even Eau de Baux. I say improved because the World According to Arthur is much stronger and richer than those perfumes without ever once tripping over the line into 'too dense' or 'too synthy' like many strong, rich perfumes do these days (in the name of longevity or projection), and also because there is a point in the perfume's development when it smells like winey earth or grape mold, which gives it a point of interest. If you're looking for a good incense-vanilla-tobacco thing and you don't have one just yet, then you could do much worse than the World According to Arthur.

11/21/2023

10
Bottle 8
Sillage 9
Longevity 9.5
Scent

JustusSaid
10 Reviews

Translated Show original

JustusSaid

10

Royal British Christmas

Noble clary sage meets ecclesiastically delicious incense. A grapefruit in the background provides a British sharpness, while a sophisticated bourbon vanilla and a present tonka bean provide the necessary warmth!

It is December and a snowstorm is sweeping over the royal Windsor Castle in Berkshire. Fine society has gathered in the grand drawing room and is sitting around the crackling open fire. Lord Arthur tells his legendary stories, a piano plays soft sounds in the background and the children decorate the Christmas tree with colorful baubles and red beeswax candles. The essential oils of the pine needles, the crackling beech wood and the smell of freshly baked cake mingle to create an unmistakably nostalgic scent: "Royal British Christmas"

12/04/2023

6
Sillage 7
Longevity 7.5
Scent

Dennis1104
673 Reviews

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Dennis1104

Helpful Review 2

Main focus vanilla

For me, The World According to Arthur is clearly primarily a vanilla fragrance. A minimally smoky vanilla that is quite dry, but still has a certain sweetness.
It is also quite powdery for me.

The fragrance starts directly with this vanilla note, which lingers until the end. There is a very subtle smoky haze at the beginning, but it is really subtle.
There is also a certain sweetness right at the start. Over time, the slight smokiness disappears completely and it generally becomes a little more compact. Difficult to express exactly. It has a certain "dry lightness" at the beginning. It's not really strong and comes across as light.
Over time, when the tonka bean joins in, it becomes a little more stable. Difficult to express.

My girlfriend always likes to associate this fragrance with a pleasant room scent, especially at the beginning.

There is not much more to say about this fragrance. There is not much more to it. It doesn't smell bad at all. I like it, but it doesn't kick me. My girlfriend, on the other hand, likes it very much.

The performance is okay, but definitely nothing more.
The durability is ok, the sillage much weaker.

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