London Spice

This fragrance had originally been on my radar for a long time before picking it up, the biggest off put being the price. Especially when I heard to people referring this to a fresh scent. There is a lot of poor descriptions of this fragrance, especially now that I own it, which may be pointing people in the wrong direction. London spice is a good name, as it feels like a newly showered gritty urban man striding through London’s dirty streets, intend on getting to where ever he is going. He knows a lot of the time it’s quicker to walk or get the bus rather than the underground, but has the funds to get a cab if he wants. A hint of quality lies beneath it’s initial notes. Working class, but he knows how to dress and takes care on how he smells. Anyway, silly description aside, this fragrance projects more than the initial glace would imply, 2-3 sprays in the office, and this thing projects. It does have elements of a clean fragrances, but there’s a gritty tone in there, making it less fresh than you might think (it’s no acqua di gio). This is likely down to how the peppermint, lavender, floral notes, and cardamom that are blended with the patchouli. You get the slight sea notes with the white flowers, giving it a clean feel, the nutmeg and cardamom add to this by giving it a slight cream feel, although the scent itself is not really creamy. A green tone runs through the heart of this fragrance. If Creed’s Royal Mayfair was the rich person born with a silver spoon, London spice is the working class man made good. Royal Mayfair has a strong eucalyptus note in it, London spice has a spearmint note running through it. They are not the same, but London Spice could be it’s cousin. It’s grittier, but more wearable as an everyday fragrance. It doesn’t scream wealth, but there is a quality to it. I picture someone rocking up to Camden, after starting in South London getting train to London Bridge station. Making his way to borough market onto south bank for the walk and river air, crossing the jubilee bridge, past Trafalgar and Leicester square, avoiding the main crowd, maybe taking a detour to Denmark street to look at the second hand guitars, then jumping on a bus up to Camden to check out the markets & stroll down the canal. Clean (undertone of spearmint), slightly sweet-sour, green tones, with a clean/gritty feel, made with high quality ingredients.

I’m genuinely in love with this scent profile. It’s an absolute gem for spring and summer. Right from the opening, you’re hit with a beautifully aromatic burst of spice—very fitting given the name. I don’t pick up much mint on my skin, though I get the sense it’s quietly supporting the composition in the background. A touch of lemon peel cuts through the spice just enough to keep it from becoming too aggressive, adding a fresh edge that keeps everything in balance. Once it settles, this fragrance really shines. The spice remains the star of the show, but the florals begin to emerge and create a smooth, refined balance. The lavender is especially prominent, bringing a classic barbershop character that blends effortlessly with the spice. That spicy-lavender combination carries the fragrance for most of its life, while softer touches of cedar, cardamom, and patchouli gradually reveal themselves in the background, adding depth and character. Unfortunately, there’s a downside. This is yet another fragrance that smells incredible but falls short where it matters—performance. For the price being asked, the longevity and projection simply don’t justify a full bottle unless you have money to spare. If it were priced more reasonably, it would be an easy recommendation. As it stands, I’d still absolutely recommend experiencing it—but in decant form rather than committing to a full bottle. I rate this scent profile a 9.5 out of 10. Performance and price included it becomes a 6.5 out of 10.

Smells great. Nothing new. It doesn't last more than about 6 hours which is ok but will not last the length of a workday so decent some, stick it in your bag and reapply at lunch. Ok. Public service announcement out the way this is a circus spiced scent in the same vein of Creed santal and Creed actually outperforms this one. Galloway by PDM smells similar to this too and I love that scent but Galloway is a BEAST compared to this one. If you own Galloway this may be redundant unless you want a scent that's more muted. Will I keep this scent? Sure as its interchangeable with the two others I like but I need to make sure its for something that lasts a short time. Would I recommend you get it if you want a heavily spiced fresh citrus scent? Nah. Get Galloway. 4/5...

This is my new favorite scent. It seems to me like a new, fresh take on a fougere scent. It’s fresher in the opening, with the mint and lemon, but the mid brings in that more spice and lavender, which gives it that barber shop vibe. The white florals start to come out in the mid and I do get some aquatic hints. The white florals last through the dry down with the cedar and some patchouli. This is a refined, smooth scent. Light and bright but seems to last a while. It changes a lot from opening to dry down, so has a lot of movement. It has enough there to wear in the cold, but mostly a spring, summer and fall fragrance. I does give the vibe of some Creed fragrances, so I see why some people commented on that below. This is a 10/10 for me.

This is probably the creamiest, most rounded, done to absolute perfection Lavender Barbershop I have even smelled. This puts Tom Ford's Fougère d’Argent and MFK's Masculin Pluriel to absolute shame. Sure I can understand that the bang for buck diminishing returns stops here for some people, but it doesn't take any lustre away from the shine of the fragrance. I can smell a minty creamy lavender on a backbone of cedar, nutmeg and cardamon, that opens up with a nice, unobtrusive citrus, just enough to announce its freshness. I think thus wears the crown of the best barbershop British fragrance that I've put my nose to, well worth the money and mamas if you're into this kind of fragrance. God bless and enjoy :)

I really liked this fragrance. My wife rated it as an A-tier for her. The opening smells amazing, with a unique mix of mineral notes. The scent is very well-balanced and uses high-quality ingredients. It smelled great the whole time it lasted... which was about three hours. That’s the only negative, and it seems to be a common issue with all FDB fragrances: they smell fantastic but don’t last very long. You could say the short longevity is because they use natural high-quality ingredients instead of synthetic ones that make scents last longer. But when you’re spending $400 for just three hours of fragrance, you might wish it lasted longer.

A fragrance to suit every season and situation, beautifully blended with a few twists and turns, I was wondering what the name was all about given at first it comes across like a citrus aquatic, what on earth has it got to do with London, but the patchouli in the far dry down reminds me of a river bank and the spices and florals are like a beautiful park, something about this fragrance reminds me of green Irish tweed and original santal combined with a minty citrus opening, London spice to me is like a long lost Creed fragrance in style and performance (lingers with good sillage) wonderful creation. Definitely a thumbs up.

I loved this instantly and bought it eventually even though its more musculine scent but for me it smelled very unique and fresh like I have never smelled anything like it before, it also smells really good on my skin complexion it brings out some sweetness in the perfume somehow. The performance is bad unless you over spray. Also I eventually gifted it for my father I think it got too masculine for me. Edit: When i smelled this on my father months later, i realized that the sillage was strong and lasting, it even overpowered the scent I was wearing at the time so I think its just easy to get nose blind to when wearing.

Damn beautiful, compliment getter and a crowd pleaser. Ideal for Spring, can do Summer also but I prefer spring for its fresh/mint factor. While it has "Spice" in it's name, it's far from it, so don't expect it. So definitely worth a try and, will be a permanent fixture for me. Those complaining about the price, 3.4 for around 385 is expensive? I guess since it's nothing super unique for what you're paying but, is it good? It definitely is, so I don't see the issue.

Scent: 9 Quality: 9.2 Projection: 9.7 Sillage: 9.7 Longevity: 6.5 (Don't confuse the longevity of the scent on the skin, vs sillage (trail) of your scent when you pass by someone - especially if you recently applied) Seriously addicting. Fresh, aquatic, warm, energetic... it's all there. I bet you can't sniff it without coming back 3 or 4 times, at least.

When i bought a bottle, i thought i got perfect spring/early summer, fresh, office safe scent. I just love the way it smells. BUT, for the pricepoint, it HAS to perform much much better than it does. I get 2-3 hours of good to decent projection and silage, and then it becomes a skin scent that lasts up to 6 hours (after that it is pretty much gone).

This is such a perfectly blended fragrance. Not one particular note stands out but it gives such a nice gentleman like concoction. Hard to compare it to other fragrances with similar notes. Perfect for the office or regular wear. Its not a weak fragrance by any means but I do wish it lasted and projected more on my skin.

This is so unique: minty, spicy, classy. There is really no other scent like this one. I am a huge fan of mint-based scents and this one is one of the top ones. It is not super strong, meaning, highly wearable in say a social or office setting, but it lasts a while. Really amazing!

pleasant. sophisticated. versatile. Clean. Amazing quality, a fresh scent that lasts all day. Perfect for spring but fits nicely with any occasion. This is a keeper!

What a nice, well blended and not intrusive aromatic fragrance. Although i doesn't last that long i had to buy the full bottle after testing it.

I love this one, get a sample and try it don't get discouraged by the people rating it low because of the price.

This fragrance is soo good. Smells amazing, it is wearable but yet smells natural. Addicting fragrance

This is a nice modern fougere that I have smelled on my younger uncles in the early 90's. It is quite refreshing, crisp opening, soapy, bright peppery, not much marine nor white floral notes at all. It does not hold many dark qualities to it until it dries down to earthiness, spices, and woods. Projection? It is more of a low volume deep conversation about business affairs as opposed to a loud unabashed gathering talking about who-knows-what. The longevity and uniqueness? Like a great stand up comedian's jokes: easily laughable. It has a nice nutmeg, bitter earthy soil drydown with spices, but similar quality fougeres can be had for a much cheaper price. This is not niche. This is FDB's design team sitting at the conference table saying "Hey, let's play it safe during these tumultuous times so that we can financially stay afloat." I would say that I hardly express negativity in my reviews and openly give 10's, but a fragrance for this price would warrant expectations of exceptional quality that distinguishes it over other fragrances. This did not meet those expectations, but it is a nice fragrance nonetheless. Scent: 8/10 Price: 0/10 Longevity: 5/10 Sillage: 6/10 Sorry Fragrance Du Bois, but try again.

This starts off with a blast of citrus and mint, followed almost immediately by the lavender. Reminiscent of a barbershop fragrances but done in a more modern, much classier, and better blended way. The citrus and mint settle down a little with the arrival of the white flowers, but the lavender stays through the drydown. I only pick up the slightest spice and really no patchouli to speak of. Overall, an elegant, energetic spring-time option. London Spice reminds me of Sedley, but it’s less “in your face.” Think of it as London Spice being old money and Sedley being new, so much more refined. This is a really great spring/summer option; maybe even signature scent worth. However, the retail price is crazy; keep an eye out at discounters and try to get it for a fair price. I have several fragrances done in this style and this ranks near the top. Overall 8.3/10.

Received a sample of this, so testing it today. Longevity is not long, as others have noted. Smells like a nice masculine leaning scent, but nothing unique here, in my opinion. I feel like this is something I've smelled many times before in male-targeted fragrances. Also, overpriced for what you get here.