Burberrys for Men (1981)

Was it Keat's "soft-dying day" or Yeat's "October twilight" that was preferred by this man in his walks in the Autumn sunset? Did he wear an Ivy cap to really warm his head or to appear well-read? Is he always cultural and clean or secretly damaged and sometimes mean? So many questions, so few answers at the "other end of the telescope" as Elvis Costello sang. He wore Burberrys for Men, redolent with marjoram, that one herb that is the question mark among exclamation points. Mild and sweet, much like his demeanor, like spearmint-scented oak wood, more intensified when the herb is dry, much like his sense of humor. Its smell reminds me of a walk in the Vermont woods, when you can almost smell the fauna among the flora, the smell of warm sheep's pelt, and then tang of juniper berries can be made out among the lash of mugwort bushes. It simmers down to a soft round patchouli awash in musk, firmly planted in the twilight comfort of a leather base. It is a welcome relief from the strain of dialectics, as this man takes off his cap and undoes a couple buttons of his Oxford shirt to just feel comfortable in his own human vulnerability for a while. This gem was only on the market for about ten years, subsequently replaced by an entirely different Burberrys for Men in 1991. Sadly, it's become quite scarce and is therefore a treasure in my collection. For those who may want to seek a similar sensibility, there is also the lovely original (not new) version of Perry Ellis for Men cologne, which lies in the same vicinity.

In 1981 there was a fragrance called Burberry's for men. In 1991 Burberry's launched Society for women and a companion fragrance also titled Burberry's for Men which was not the same composition as the original 1981 version, nor was it the product shown on the Society for men page, a fragrance which was launched by a different company using the same name once Society for women was no longer in production. And if all of this wasn't confusing enough, in 1995 after the apparent failure of Society for women and the 1981 & 1991 versions of Burberry's for men, the company launched another set of fragrances with the exact same name, "Burberry's", however this time the word London appeared underneath the company's moniker. Of the three versions from 1981, 1991 and 1995, the 1995 product is the only one still in production. This is now sometimes referred to as Burberry's London for men, which is even more crazily misleading because Burberry's did indeed launch a Burberry's London for men just a few years back. These two fragrances have totally different bottles and totally different compositions. When fragrance licenses expire and change hands we consumers witness all of this confusing naming business. Both Versace and Dior have suffered from the same problem with numerous fragrances launched at different times with slightly different compositions, or even wildly different compositions, but quite similar or exactly the same names.

I remember when I was about 11 years old, walking in the department store with my folks after church on a Sunday afternoon in the winter. A pretty lady asked me if I wanted a sample of this new cologne. It was the best smelling men's cologne I had ever experienced up to that point and to this day I remember how good it was. I held on to that little towelette sample as long as I could, careful to fold the pouch it came in to tuck in all the fragrance. That thing lasted about a year or more, stashed away in the upper drawer of my dresser. I never forgot it. I have owned and smelled lots of amazing fragrances since then (including a couple from Burberry), but very few made an impression on me like Burberrys did. I am sure nostalgia and the pretty lady made an impact, as well ... but this was just a great symphony of notes, period. My young nose knew it then and my old-ish nose knows it now.

For nostalgia's sake and a rare treat of this sort: I recently scored a full bottle of this, which appeared to be in good shape - even including the box and insert that describes the whole line of products. It smells almost like I remember, but not quite exactly. That's okay given how much time has passed. It DOES however, smell like a close cousin of my bottle of Gres Homme (1996). The Gres is greener and being an EDT, is stronger. But the two could be flankers smelling them side by side, with some slight divergence in the later drydown. About the strength. This is an EDC but it's an EDC like Aramis. It packs a wallop! Burberrys is absolutely worth searching for if you're a fan of this kind of scent. If no success, Gres Homme (1996) would be a great alternative.

Thankyou perfumecritic for making sense of this confusion. I knew the bottle in the main picture wasn't the one I was looking for. The Burberrys for Men that I wore and loved from the early 1980s was the vertical oblong bottle (as per the picture on the right). I haven't seen it for a long time. It was very popular and is yet another much lamented absentee (Ted Lapidus PH and Charles Jourdan un Homme). Update 9th May 2015. If like me you came to this site looking for information on the much loved 1981 original, then check out M Generation by Mauboussin. Some resemblance unless my memory is playing tricks on me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️