Burberry London for Women Special Edition 2009

I've found an almost new bottle of this beauty hidden (and sadly, pretty much forgotten) in one of my dresser drawers after my mother gave to me as a gift in the distant past of 2009. It, later on, went to my new cabinet and was stashed in a new drawer along with my manymany body sprays and (then) sparse perfumes and was sadly forgotten again. This was not by accident. I've always recalled that I've hated it from the first spray, so I acted accordingly. I was wrong for that and I apologize, sweetsweet London-for-Women-Special-Edition-2009-since-you-apparently-don't-smell-like-the-original-London-which-I-haven't-smelled-before-so-sorry. In the not-so-distant-present of 2015, I've given this another chance (through trying to finish it up as fast as I can because it's kind of old and I needed the space for new perfumes) and guess what? I ended up falling in love with this baby! It's a rather odd duck and quite deceptive at first. It's a "loud" one at first, starting off rather masculine with the pepper and citrus at the helm, but, when it mellows down, it turns into a delicious spicy-floral harmony. It also warms up as it dries down and the spices come to the foreground. It's definitely more interesting and nuanced than some other perfumes out there and, as sky76sky noted before, it is not easy to wear and I can see why.

I adore this perfume!!! It is so fresh and it lasts for hours!It does not remind me ofany other fragrance at all.

A classic, modern, soft metallic rose. Very similar to the other London special edition. London SE begins with a soft, dry citrus-peel opening that breathes life into a lake of fragile frozen roses. Cold, clear roses, delicate lily of the valley dusted with the light fruitiness of pink pepper & warmed by clean musks & bleached woods. This is not a high white floral, nor a stripping citrus. It is far removed from deep woodsy scents - certainly not loud, dark or brash. London SE is very modern - a calm, collected yet distinct & noticable scent where all the notes are held away from you at arm's length so they hover hazily on the skin. The base notes are soft & gentle, with clean, musky, light woods....but it is as if all these creamy cold scents are made from precious metals & set in a platinum clasp. This is a scent to match a virginal bride, a snow queen, a flautist in an orchestra, a languages student, a young woman with a keen mind who likes to retain an air of mystery & distance. I see two women talking in the cool shade of a large english garden. In looks they resembled Liv Tyler & Cate Blanchett. They speak in a whisper & smile slowly & with understanding. I feel at ease, yet out of place & time seems to have stopped, become frozen. London SE is a reserved, refined pale-skinned beauty with perfect bone-structure & rose-bud lips. She wears glasses, reads the great classics as if they were comics, writes poetry in fountain pen, listens rather than gossips, feels rather than acts & has a look that sees straight through you to your soul. This fragrance is remarkable but I find it terribly difficult to wear (it is similar in feel to Chanel No5 Eau Premiere). I crave warm, robust scents & lively rose fragrances. London SE's "stillness" scares me.

I was looking for the other burberry london special edition and bought this one by mistake,since it was a discounted tester so was almost cheap I decided to keep it I can't get why this is an edition of london,they have nothing in common,it could be special edition of any other burberrys,for example Burberry touch..so if you're looking for the white floral goodness in london,you're gonna be terribly disappointed It opens with a spicy citrus accord,not a juicy citrus,it's dry and grapefruity and is followed by some faint florals,clean musk and woods,first minutes of it is pleasant for me,nothing special but a nice,light scent,but drydown is too woody for me to like,after half an hour I can smell nothing,but pale,dry woodsy notes Longevity and sillage are both less than moderate,this is a mild temp's fragrance,it's too light for winters and not cool and fresh enough for hot summer days I have a friend who likes light floralwoodymusk,without any sweetness or dominant florals,I think she's gonna love this ❤❤

Bought it instead of my traditional London - by mistake. I was a bit disappointed at first, but it's actually fresher, lighter than London, and it was quite nice to make a slight shift in that direction for summer. It's good for daily wear! I plan to go back to London after I am finished with this one though.