The British Bouquet

smells great for the first 10 min, then it turns into musk, nothing else. Very disappointing specially at his price. Pass for me.

A beautiful unisex fragrance. The official notes refer to dandysm, and there is something to it. For me the smell reminds of cognac, leather and some restrained spices, although none of that is listed in the pyramid. But the vibe of gentlemen leisurely spending their time in a city club talking about old-timer sports cars and politics slowly sipping on some noble vintage alcohol is there. As far as the notes go, I don't smell much lavender, it has no typical bitterness to it here, is in a very mellowed out version. Bitter orange is there, but don't feel any lemon at all. My memory of what caviar smells like is a bit dated, but I don't recognize anything like it in the British Bouquet.

a nice smelling mens fragrance that leaves me slightly underwhelmed each time I wear it. It feels like a restrained performer - you get the vibe it wants to project but it just never manages to pull it off. It becomes skin scent after about half an hour to an hour max, after which a rather lacklustre musky vibe lingers for a bit before the eventual disappearance... I have sampled other Atkinson (e.g. James) and it suffers a similar scent-disappearance fate. Atkinsons definitely seem to have the potential but they just need to be brave and make their frags a little more potent. sadly 6/10 for me on this one. It's a shame because it is nice smelling especially in the opening.

The British Bouquet lasts for a very long time. The dominant note is lavender for hours and hours. I would say the sillage is actually moderate but the aroma is distinctive so it feels like it is going further in the room than it actually is. The citrus notes are around the lavender but very much play second fiddle. When it settles down after a long time, I get a sense of hints of leather and I'm reminded of a 1920s car. There's a sense of petrol and castor oil and leather. It's not unpleasant, just not at all what I was expecting. I find lavender can sometimes be a little overpowering for me and so, for that reason, this one isn't for me.

After three or four wears of British bouquet I now understand the reference to Beau Brummel. This actually smells of a luxury pair of suede gloves. Not beast mode but there is no doubt that this is made from quality ingredients. Try down has that quality leather accord. An extremly refined fragrance and the heavy glass bottle looks amazing too. I'm saving this one for nights away at my favourite hotel, the old Swan in Harrogate. Very fitting for a classic scent like British Bouquet to be worn as Agatha Christie spent her famous disappearance there in 1926.