Valensole Lavender

I just love Fragrantica. It's a fun way to learn. They appreciate so much the visual aspect of fragrance packaging and fragrance essences. I mean, sometimes I get hungry looking at all the beautiful photos. So hot Well, Dunhill Valensole. If I say Lavensole one more time I'm gonna scream. I am a truly fanatical disciple of Dunhill. I collect and cherish them. I have come full circle. I love nearly all fragrances, but I turn to Dunhill because they just have the elegance without the absurdity. Dunhill is a well-grounded house with a deep history of adhering to 'Gentlemanliness'. What is that? I don't know but it seems like quality without being declarative is about right. 'Gentlemanliness' is a person that will roll up their fine shirt and do some just plain dirty, hard, work. 'Gentlemanliness' remembers the dirt we all came from--and what is right. You see. . . . I own good things and take care of them. With Dunhill Valensole you can get it right. You can enjoy this for a long time with no questions asked! Gorgeous pale lotus purple juice is so nice to behold while having breakfast, or a quick spray at sunset heading out for fun. Straight to It: Top note: Lemon, Saffron, Nutmeg Middle note: Lavender, Sage, Cardamom Base notes: Vetiver, Amber wood, Guaic Wood The open is a bright burst of Lemon and something I don't know--maybe Saffron as a sort of offset. The Lavender is present just briefly, but it is exquisite, clean and not soapy. It leaves fast with a dreamy, faint, memory. ( Valensole is in France. It is supposed to yield some of the best Lavender in the entire world.) The Lavender is accented delicately with some Sage and is 'made quite sporting' with Cardamom from the old days of spice trade with India and the Middle East. (Gorgeous and strategic spike of cardamom.) On to Vetiver: I always hated Vetiver, until I smelled that of Roja Dove. I had to go to the mountain of Roja Dove to get the Vetiver calibrated in my snoot!! Now, I love Tom Ford Grey Vetiver and Guerlain Vetiver plus many others. The Vetiver found in Dunhill Valensole contains a bright and cheerful Vetiver, it has no mineral mud scent (which I sometimes love). It contains no Earth scent, or 'rootness'. A visual of Dunhill Valensole Vetiver: This Vetiver is a cheerful day with the sun bobbing in and out of the clouds. The plants are just loving the slight drizzle of rain from the morning. You receive a cheerful hello that inspires good cheer and confidence that it will all be alright. And my goodness. . . I really need that sometimes. Of course, the Amber Wood adds a natural and solid base that helps longevity. Still, Longevity is not the point here. This fragrance is not the oaf that will not leave the party until the booze is gone. You will not be married to Dunhill Lavensole and pound your laundry to get it out. You can control yourself with Dunhill Lavensole, and be filled with the joy that you have your head screwed on and accidentally made a rock-solid buy. The Valensole is part of the Signature Series and I recommend Leather as well--different and they really nailed it. You are not in a wet trench hunting a wild boar. (Great way to get yourself killed!) Unique understanding of leather with Dunhill Leather. You can get a 'variety pak' on the discounters such as Fragrance Net. This is so much fun, and will not create a budget conflict. Signature Series Leather, Amalfi, Desert. I think you have to search outside to get a decant of Valensole. A bottle is not cheap about $110. In evaluating the purchase please note: This is a fragrance that will never be off trend, out of style etc. Dunhill always makes sense, and is a delight.

Okay.. I was really hoping I would like this one as much as I did. In fact, I think I like it more than I could have imagined. To me, this is extremely similar to Ralph's Club (which I adore and the haters are irrelevant) but its maybe even.. more interesting? The saffron and spicy notes here make it a bit more unique than the clary sage in Ralph's Club, but it retains the bubble-gummy lavender-spicy profile. I absolutely love both. Valensole provides more push and brightness up top which makes it even more versatile, IMO. Performance is above average and the "mass pleasing" factor here is strong. This, like Ralph's club, is a comfortable and easy wear that's bound to solicit positive responses. Its undiscovered by a majority of the fragrance community, but I would argue that if more people smelled this one, its name would be around a whole lot more. I'm glad the YouTubers hated on this one because the prices are great for a 100ml.. this ended up being one of my favorites in a 60+ frag collection, and I got it for less than 60$, full size. If you like lavender with some spice and sweetness, its hard for me to imagine that you'd dislike this one. Dumb reach all day with a unique twist that not many give. Also, the bottle is nice af. Dunhill needs WAY more credit here.

Had to upgrade this to a love. Was dying for a new natural lavender. Well, pretty happy! Extremely smooth and a very decent performance. The fact that it is remarkably like Eternity EDP (which I also received this week) doesn’t faze me nor the fact that it smells very much like Perry Ellis Reserve. It smells smooth and refined. The citrus wears off quick Leaving a quick revealed sweet lavender (not so much the fleshy dark part) buoyed by just enough saffron that helps body out the lavender just enough that you have to check for the saffron. The end result is a cheap vibrant smooth lavender - the antithesis of Tom Daxon midnight saffron which is a strong saffron bomb with generous lavender on top - sorta Turned up to 11. Both awesome. Though comparisons to eternity are a bit of a stretch though I geddit. Well done Dunhill - thanks for not ripping me off and selling me a low performance knock out...

After my first impression I immediately knew this was made for me. I managed to get a large sample to really live with the fragrance. Of course I Just ordered a full bottle however it’s not really easy to get due to the recent pandemic. Beautifully done by Dunhill, they are often underestimated.

Very nice lavender fougere. Reminded me immediately of Cartier Pasha EDT with it's lavender. Very nice. Not the most unique or different. Might be reduncant for me, but if I didn't have many lavender frags, I'd definitely get this. Scent: 7.5 / Sillage: 7 / Longevity: 7