Duke

Long lasting herbal woody chypre with some florals in the mid. Not very unisex. Dry soapy aromatic. Casual, uplifting, relaxed. A hidden gem. In the early 90s Atkinsons went to an Italian ownership and this was the lovechild of this English - Italian collaboration.

I believe Fragrantica may have mislabeled Duke as a chypre (a feminine strand) as I think this is a Fougere (meaning pine 🌲) One thing it is for sure is MOSSY! It’s literally like rolling around in fresh, dewey Oakmoss pile. Duke has an incredibly natural smelling oakmoss. The other day I was walking along the road and I spotted a piece of real oakmoss lying there. I smelled it and it was almost the same I the Duke I was wearing! Now Duke also has some spicy notes to it! It is hard for me pin-point them as Duke seems smoothly blended. The notes harmonize with each other creating fresh, woodsy and very quite aromatic fragrance. Like many perfumes of the 80s and 90s, the popular smells of the era have re-appeared in many hygiene products. Duke’s DNA is similar to that found in a All-In-One sports shampoo that I have used. So Duke is definitely NOT your old school 70s barbershop fragrance! Although it has elements such as the heavy oakmoss , it goes in some modern (for the time) directions. You could say it’s a typical 90s smell with a slight hint of old school.