My Burberry

The Burberry Trench, Rain & English Gardens... Signed by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, who's making it look easy with this beauty that opens with a fruity-floral burst of sweet-pea supported by multi-faceted bergamot, that deepens into the fruity-floral heart with sweet, citrus, green, aromatic & near-pineapple tones. This is all resting on a rose-patchouli base with hints of musk, leather & violet. The patchouli here is of the dusty variety, and leans to oakmoss (as in the EDT), blending with the rose to add a dusty-powdery facet. The green tones in the heart lean to davana and add just a touch of piquancy to the juicy fruity-florals. Way in the background the gardenia mingles with fruits adding a Juicy Fruit gum facet. Alongside there is a vague shampoo vibe containing the other raucous elements, and the result is a sophisticated yet mass appealing scent in the family of scents like an updated J'Adore Dior. If this was the brief, Mr. Kurkdjian has resoundingly succeeded, and although it was probably no easy task, he's made it look & smell easy. It's a love for me. Enjoy! Contrast to My Burberry EDT Burberry: These are different, but the share the same DNA. The EDP version is sweeter, fruitier & greener, and has a little stronger performance, although both have slightly above average performance. Contrast to My Burberry Blush Burberry: These are similar, but the Blush flanker is a softened version of the original My Burberry that has a white floral accord & a pink/red wash from the pomegranate. Roughly equivalent performance. Contrast to Princesse Marina de Bourbon: These are different, but there are similarities with a powdery peach with piquancy. Princesse has a more forward bitterness to the peach, while My Burberry is more complex. Roughly equivalent performance. Update 07/19/24: Sprayed this on the back of my hand this morning, and noticed a soft floral spiciness that I hadn't noticed before. In the brief it says that's coming from freesia, but to me it's also from the rose. The brief also states this scent was composed to represent the Burberry trench-coat (with a linen top note), rain & English gardens after the rain. This definitely has the Burberry DNA, and I can imagine a linen note in the top. This does have the versatility of a Burberry trench, and works in any season as a dressed up perfume or a casual one.

This is a very bold fragrance that slapped me around the first time I tried it. At that time, I thought it too sweet, too citrusy and too sharp. It opened very sugary with sweet pea and a sharp blast of citrus and freesia, with geranium and grapefruit too (my least favorite note in perfumes), which read like pepper on me. It then calmed down and turned more into a fruity floral with vanilla and also light patchouli. Still didn't care for it at that time and washed it off. The next time I tried it, I had the same first impression, but this time didn't wash it off. As it dried down the sweetness and sharpness dissipated somewhat and it smoothed out and became softer, (though losing none of its richness), and a lot more floral and juicier from the fruit but the most amazing surprise was the beautiful rose that came through which I hadn't smelled before because of having washed the scent off. I found it really very pretty and especially love the musky dry down. Between the grapefruit, the freesia and geranium, which are all sharp notes, I still am not crazy about that opening, but now I know enough to wait it out as that dry down is great. Silage is excellent as is longevity. This is only the second fragrance from this line I've tried to date. While I like it a lot, my favorite is Body, which is a smooth ride for me from beginning to end. Edit - 6/2/19 - I'm now officially in love with this perfume. I wasn't a fan of the opening before, and am still not a big fan, but it's no longer as sharp as I initially thought it was. Maybe it has something to do with wearing it now in warmer weather. The more plausible reason is that it is a very unusual composition that threw me a little, as it's very unique even among the fruity floral genre. Whatever the case, I now love it. I am really coming to love Burberry scents. I've since tried others and find that they are all quality products that are well composed with fantastic silage and longevity. This literally lasted all day with just 4 sprays. Now I want to try even more from this line. Can't wait!

When I first smelled My Burberry, it seemed so different from anything I'd ever smelled that was made in the last 30 years for the mass market, at least that I'm aware of! It has an elegant reserve that is related to some of the perfume Greats: Chanel Cristalle EDT (1974), Estee Lauder White Linen (1978), even Calvin Klein Eternity (1988). It has a kind of crisp elegance, a warm-cool temperature, and soapy cleanness. It's NOT cuddly at all, as so many perfumes are today, but is somewhat formal and reserved, with its green sweet pea note, sour, astringent, almost citrusy note of quince, and rich rose/freesia/carnation floral mix. It's that mix of formality and grace which calls to mind the warm-cool cleanness of White Linen, though it's not as minimalistic as that one. And, while it's not as warm and spicy as Eternity, or as mossy/citrusy as Cristalle, I think that all those three operate similarly to My Burberry in the contrasts they create, albeit with different materials: White Linen with oakmoss and aldehydes; Cristalle with oakmoss and citrus, and Eternity with spicy carnation and soapy rose. My Burberry creates that same tension with the sharp green note of sweet pea and the sour, astringent note of quince overlying the base of florals (I cannot distinguish any in particular, though the notes say rose, freesia, and carnation). That tension of rich, graceful, and lovely flowers contrasted with green and sour notes is very beautiful to me, though it just teeters on the edge of yucky -- and I know some folks can't get beyond that sour note! My Burberry is definitely a complex perfume that presents some challenges, yes, and calls to mind an earlier era of perfumes with grace and reserve, but in a totally new way and with different materials. Bravo Francis Kurkdjian, every bit as much of a master perfumer as Sophia Grojsman (White Linen and Eternity) and Henri Robert (of Cristalle fame)!

My Burberry is very grown-up, sexy, and sophisticated. This is one of those scents that reminds me why I am into fragrances. This scent is tickling all the pleasure centers in my brain. I could see this scent being perfect for so many occasions and versatility is something I need to start considering more. The opening to me is very heavy on the sweet pea and not so much the citrus, but I really don't mind it. This is like grown up sweet pea. The florals in here smell so fresh like they were freshly picked and I think that is because of the "green notes" and/or the quality of the floral notes. I can smell the quince and peach a little bit and I think it's an excellent choice because it really rounds this fragrance out. Finally, the base notes. The rose and violet are both toned down which I appreciate. I do love rose, but violet not so much. I like how in this fragrance rose and violet aren't the dominant floral notes. It's a nice change of pace for me. I'm sure this may change as this fragrance wears because it's only been about an hour and a half since I applied my sample. The patchouli in here is tolerable (yay!) and the leather smells so sophisticated! It's a nice, clean, warm leather. The musk is there too and it really balances the whole fragrance out. I am really impressed by this. Another win for Burberry and another win for Francis Kurkdjian. (Side note: 2023 is the year I will finally test out BR540 and the Extrait! I swear it!) If it wasn't obvious, I absolutely want a bottle of this fragrance. It's so good. And like I said, so versatile. I could easily wear this to work, to a semi-formal event, a formal event, heck I would even wear it to the grocery store. I'll update this review if there are any noteworthy changes as time goes on today while wearing it.

million thanks to this lady stranger who got me here. ~here's a back story: = on a hot, crisp, sunny afternoon i was doing my grocery shopping at a mall, i was tired and sleepy, queuing up for my turn at the cashier lane. in front of me was this one tall , lean lady, her hair was ashy blond, curled, she was wearing an all- white sheath dress with floral open toed heels,carrying a black Gucci Sylvie. as she turned to pick up her things from the trolley to the cashier belt, a whiff of the most beautiful scents hit my nose and i swear to God, my eyes bulged right there and then. it 'slapped'me awake, i was no longer sleepy. as she continued moving around, i became more 'aware' of the scent, some creamy, velvety delightful florals that made me fall in love. it was as if i was in a garden , showered with cold morning mist. fresh but delicate. refreshing but not extremely citrusy. sultry and sensuous, not loud, but very noticeable. elegant. luxurious. never have i ever tapped a person on the shoulder and asked "sorry dear, may i know what perfume are you wearing? you smell so good" and this adorable lady smiled at me and said : "My Burberry, been wearing this for years" and off she went, gone, with the wind leaving trails of the beautiful scent behind. i'd imagine Halley Bennet wearing this perfume, perfect for her personality , her sophisticated look and fashion style. imagine Halley Bennet in the movie The Girl on The Train. that, just imagine that. i quickly went to Sephora, sprayed some here and there and waited for a few hours to finally decide, that I have found my new signature perfume (since Gucci II). My Burberry, you will forever be My Burberry. WHERE WAS I WHEN THEY LAUNCHED YOU ?