KimJong

In the decade since its acquisition by Puig, Penhaligon's has undergone a significant transformation. The storied British perfumer, once renowned for creating iconic scents such as Endymion, Sartorial, Bayolea, and Juniper Sling, has pivoted to cater to a markedly different consumer base.

This evolution brings both advantages and challenges. On the positive side, Penhaligon's has become remarkably agile in responding to market trends. More impressively, the brand has demonstrated a knack for creating hybrid fragrances that deftly combine multiple contemporary olfactory themes. Their latest offering, Al Ula, exemplifies this approach. This oriental fragrance seeks to transcend the global oudy-oriental phenomenon by ingeniously blending several current trends: sweet, boozy masculine scents; fizzy, creamy frankincense notes; and crisp vanilla accords with spicy undertones. From a 2024 perspective, Al Ula represents not only a faithful interpretation of recent fragrance trends but also a harbinger of future directions in perfumery.

However, this shift in strategy is not without its drawbacks. Penhaligon's, once a bastion of British olfactory tradition, now risks being perceived as just another designer brand chasing the latest fads. The similarity between Al Ula and mainstream offerings like Boss Bottled Elixir or YSL Black Opium Over Red is hard to ignore. While not exact replicas, these fragrances share a common trajectory, seemingly driven by the same market forces. This transformation raises questions about brand identity and the balance between innovation and heritage in the ever-evolving world of luxury perfumery.

Moreover, Al Ula's similarities to other Puig-era Penhaligon's fragrances - such as Halfeti, Cairo, and Legacy of Petra - raise concerns about brand cohesion and product differentiation. While Al Ula may represent an evolution of these scents, it inevitably competes with its predecessors. This proliferation of similar offerings could lead to a paradox of choice for consumers, potentially relegating some purchases to mere collectibles, occupying valuable space but rarely used.

This approach stands in stark contrast to Penhaligon's traditional ethos. The classic Penhaligon's catered to a conservative clientele who valued timelessness over trendiness. These fragrances were crafted to be versatile, suitable for any season or occasion, designed to become lifelong companions rather than fleeting indulgences. A prime example is Endymion, a scent that, despite its lack of avant-garde characteristics, has remained a personal favorite for over 15 years. Its enduring appeal lies not in its ability to capture the zeitgeist, but in its power to evoke nostalgia - transporting the wearer to an era before the ubiquity of digital distractions like TikTok or Netflix.

The longevity of fragrances like Endymion speaks to a deeper truth about perfumery: the most impactful scents are those that become intertwined with our personal narratives. They cease to be mere products and transform into olfactory bookmarks of our lives, marking chapters and evoking memories with each application.

This shift in Penhaligon's strategy prompts reflection on the nature of luxury in the fragrance industry. Is true luxury found in chasing the latest trends, or in creating timeless classics that stand the test of time? As Penhaligon's navigates its new identity under Puig's ownership, it faces the challenge of balancing innovation with the heritage that has made it a beloved name in British perfumery for over 150 years.

In its current incarnation, Penhaligon's has positioned itself at the apex of the luxury fragrance market, catering to avid collectors who often acquire scents beyond practical need. Al Ula epitomizes this shift, representing both the zenith of the brand's new direction and the potential pitfalls of such a strategy. While undeniably sophisticated, it raises questions about its long-term relevance in an already saturated personal collection.

This fragrance, despite its undeniable quality, may struggle to establish itself as a staple in the way its predecessors did. It's conceivable that Al Ula might become a relic of a particular moment in olfactory trends rather than a timeless classic. The rapid pace of new releases in the industry, coupled with Penhaligon's own evolving portfolio, makes it difficult to envision Al Ula maintaining its prominence over a 15-year span. Indeed, it seems almost inevitable that Penhaligon's will introduce even more captivating creations in the near future, potentially overshadowing today's novelties.

However, when viewed through the lens of present enjoyment rather than future legacy, Al Ula's merits become clear. It stands as a testament to Penhaligon's current prowess in fragrance creation - a clever, intellectually stimulating scent that offers significant pleasure to its wearer. This dichotomy between immediate gratification and lasting value encapsulates the challenges faced by luxury perfume houses in an era of fast fashion and rapidly changing consumer preferences.

The "Leather" series of Memo are all experimental and interesting. This series reinterprets and modernizes the historical and local characteristics of scents. And I'd like to say that this series is not appealing people who just find a wearable perfume, it's attracting the attention of perfume otakus.

Anyway, Italian Leather is a very unusual freak in the Leather series. If Irish Leather or African Leather are the Tarantino style of cool homage to Hong Kong noir films, Italian Leather can be likened to the Jim Jarmusch style of deliberately randomly rearranging codes of Japanese samurai films.

The "Italian" scent that this perfume presents, is a parody that goes beyond a ridiculous joke and is almost an insult, and is a tremendously exaggerated green smell set in sweet vanilla, especially the image of the first one hour is like a rustic man, dressed in green, from fedora to suit and shoes. Or an image like Dipsy in Teletubbies, surely dressed in all green.

As time goes by, the scent of leather combined with bitter galbanum is revealed. No, it's more like the smell of nasty sweat than leather. This is not luxurious leather at all, but rather a tired and pathetic way home of the country working class. And the tiny labdanum touch adds an impression of a cheap cigarette smell in a sweaty shirt.

Certenly this perfume is not good to wear (in my opinion), it is vulgar, and it will makes you feel unpleasant many times. But there is still the dry down. After the smell of sweat has finally disappeared into thin air, while the lingering of the exaggerated green smell remains, it suddenly becomes an antique, resinous, beautiful scent centered on opopanax and myrrh. This dry down cannot be explained by the word "beautiful" and would rather be described as "holy" or "sacred".

As if to compensate for the unfamiliar and eccentric prank of the opening part, the last scent of this perfume is so finely organized that it gives a different pleasure every time you wear it. Sometimes it's like a plain savory nuts, sometimes it's like very expensive vanilla chocolate, and sometimes it's like fresh fruit filled on a old truck what soiled by gasoline. But somewhere in all that impression, there is an air of idyllic or piety. Or you could say it's Catholic.

Like other perfumes in the Leather series, Italian Leather has excellent performance and lasts really long. Also, as I said earlier, this is for perfume otakus who have already experienced at least hundreds of perfumes. Every time I wear this, I feel ashamed and offended, but at the last I am struck with admiration. If this is not called art, what else is art?

Personally, I think it's a great masterpiece, but there are some sad perfumes that didn't get good feedback from ladies. For example, Terre D'Hermes(9 out of 10 Korean ladies really hate this!), Aramis Pour Home, Davidoff Zino, and so on, and Lalique Lion is one of them.

Lion has a heavy barbershop vibe that feels a little rusty, and it evokes for me, an image like leather seats in a vintage car, an image like a villa made of logs in the woods, and old movies featuring Clint Eastwood. They are intricately intertwined, and the senses are both very old-fashioned and in fact really sophisticated. The slightly cold lavender and herb accord harmonize with mild spices and moderately sweet vanilla-sandalwood accord. This is a late '90s piece of work but incredibly '70s style, so it can be said that it has such a conservative masculinity.

But it's like... Lion is comparable to the legendary vintage perfumes that many fragheads spend a lot of money and time searching for. The quality of it is just amazing, and it's exceedingly cheap! It's an item that's outstanding for the diversity of the collection, and the bottle design is the best of the best in the perfume market to match Lalique's reputation.

The only problem is, if I spray it in my room, my wife in the living room runs with holding her nose and gets angry. Female employees in my office do the same thing. Too sad.

BGM - Leonardo Ringo "A sad man belong in corners"

I love L'Eau as much as the original Habit Rouge. Also I wear it as often as I wear the original one. But L'Eau is not the summer version of the original, nor is it lighter than the original. L'Eau is a slight change just in the opening citrus, which gives it a brighter feel. Some may say this is a modernised version of Habit Rouge, but I think L'Eau is still much closer to classical elegance.

In fact, L'Eau not only shares the DNA of Habit Rouge, but in many ways it's extremely similar. They're like twin brothers with only different hairstyles. So if you already have a Habit Rouge EDT and it's a big bottle of 200ml or 500ml, you won't have to have an additional L'Eau. But if you're crazy about Habit Rouge and you're someone like me who can't live without this scent, you must have L'Eau. Of course you already have this before reading my comment.

L'Eau, just like the original, is something you can wear anywhere, almost anytime. I tend to choose L'Eau over the original when I wear a light colored shirt or casual outfit, but actually it's not consistent. It's just that I enjoy two types of things that I really like (three including EDP, but EDP is a bit different). If you want to make some more changes, I recommend you try Shalimar Piltre. It is closer to Habit Rouge than Shalimar, in my opinion. It was released for women, but nevertheless, Piltre is a gentleman's very fine fragrance, with a very soft lavender and a little rose.

Oh well, as I mentioned at first, I don't think L'Eau is for summer, just like the original. It doesn't matter if it's a dark evening or an air-conditioned indoor environment, but it's still not the best choice to wear during the daytime in midsummer. I'm still looking for Guerlinade-style fragrances for the summer season. I hope someone to give me some advice. These days I usually wear Chanel Paris Riviera, but there's still something that doesn't fill up.

I bought Eau Capitale last year and I've already emptied a bottle, although I shared it with my wife. It's not only wearable but also outstanding in every way, originality and performance. I'm considering it to be the best work of Diptyque and going to put it back in my collection in soon.

Now let's compare this with L'Ombre Dans L'Eau, which is very well known rose perfume, among Diptyque's existing works. L'Ombre Dans L'Eau is a complete representation of the scent of a wet red rose, so to speak. That contains all the green fresh scents of leaves and a stem, in addition to the colorful and seductive scents of a rose and a bud. By comparison, this one, Eau Capitale is the scent of thousands of roses what are blooming in a moist greenhouse. As soon as you open the greenhouse, you can feel the scent of many flowers with strong vitality. They are young buds just about to bloom, firmly rooted in the oily soil, and in pretty ceramic pots. That is my impression of Eau Capitale.

Eau capitale is a type of perfume that not only satisfies myself but also pleases others. We can divide the compliments that we hear when wearing some perfume into several levels. Words just like "You smell good" or "What perfume are you wearing?" can be mere ceremonial greetings. But if someone sniffs constantly and repeat "Somewhere smells incredibly good!", so it means your smell is really good. I heard a lot of compliments at that level when I wore the Eau Capitale, and I could see cultured and sophisticated people walking around me and repeating compliments like that. Of course it's because of the scent of Eau Capitale itself that anyone can easily enjoy, but it's also because there are still very few people who wear it.

I've been wearing this steadily for the past year, so I'll also be able to comment on the weather and season. Eau Capitale works well at any time, except on cold days when temperatures drop below zero Celsius. However, even in winter, there's no problem if you wear it indoors. What I would like to say in particular is that this is more affected by humidity than temperature. Eau Capitale, like L'Ombre Dans L'Eau, gives off a much more vivid scent in wet weather: the scent of REAL roses. I think it's the best weather to wear Eau Capitale on a drizzling day, a dark cloud day, and a thick fog day.

Eau Capitale can be worn regardless of gender and age, but it has a very fancy and showy scent, so it may not be appropriate for casual attire or frugal gatherings. But surely that's not to say at all it's too formal perfume. And, blind buy? If you like the scent of rose or have already tried L'Ombre Dans L'Eau and like it, you won't fail. But only if you like the glamorous flower scent and the scent of nature with the strong projection. What if you already have another rose perfumes? Eau Capitale is very original perfume with no alternative, at least so far now in 2021, so you'll never feel bored.

Despite my poor English writing, I hope this review will help someone.