Brooklyn

The fragrance of Brooklyn portrays, in its creative concept, the routine of the New Yorkers, with their coffee breaks, a lunch in the middle of Central Park or a walk on the famous Brooklyn Bridge. It has top notes of bergamot, squeezed lemon and orange juice, which gain contrast with incense, cardamom and ozonic notes. In the body of the fragrance, we have notes of magnolia, iris root and a floral touch. Finally, at the base, notes of white woods, amber, benzoin and musks. As I applied Brooklyn on my skin, I immediately remembered my visit to New York, but not necessarily the neighborhood that inspired the fragrance. New York is known to be more than a place, but a state of mind. It is that kind of city that never stops, which attracts people from all corners of the world and breathes modernity and cosmopolitan life. And this scent reminded me of my ride on the High Line, with its side benches and flower beds. Brooklyn has that kind of fragrance that evokes fascinating memories of a place you always want to return to, exactly what the brand seeks to portray through its creations. It is citric and full of depth. The orange note is delicious and merge to the incense in an incredible way. They could be contrasting, but they connect very well. Then, the floral heart gains denser nuances, thanks to the iris. The evolution is subtle, but it happens. And when you realize, a creamy base comes up and gives the finishing touch to a story that seemed to be complete, but in fact was not. I would say that Brooklyn symbolizes the next step for those who are today fans of fragrances like Dior Homme Cologne or Guerlain L'Homme Ideal Cologne, but who are looking for olfactory evolution and more sophisticated fragrances, towards the universe of niche perfumes. In its complex simplicity, Brooklyn is perfectly unisex and full of beauty. It is a perfume that conveys joy and well-being. I really enjoyed!

To me Gallivant succeeds with its Brooklyn where Bond No 9 strives (and mostly fails) - creating scent that defines one of New York City neighborhoods. Not all Brooklyn, of cause, more like newly gentrified parts of it. It opens with masterfully blended blast of citruses, but from the very beginning both magnolia and benzoin are noticeable as well. I wish this beautiful opening would last longer. Within 30 min only hint of orange remains from all citruses, orris arrives, benzoin becomes more prominent, hints of musk and woods appear. Projection and sillage, that initially was borderline heavy at opening settles to be moderate. Scent reminds of some kind of expensive hair product, but not in unpleasant way. After one more hour scent morphs again with amber notes coming into play and woods becoming more prominent. At this stage it really reminds me of Park Slope on sunny day. It lasts 8-9 hours, but 3-4 of them only as skin scent, and applying it on clothes doesn't affect its performance much. Taking into consideration, however, that it is mostly Spring-Summer-Early Autumn type of scent, and none of citrus scents last long, it would be expected and shouldn't be criticized too harsh.

This was an unexpected love for me as I'm not normally a citrus fan. For me, the orange notes in here are more like an orange creamsicle - made soft and comforting by the florals rather than bright and sharp pure citrus. Rather than evolve over time, I found this scent remained much the same on me the whole time I wore it but just get softer over time, but I actually enjoyed that since I wanted the orange creamsicle effect to last a while. I found from the sample I got straight from Gallivant that the perfume is VERY faint. It was almost undetectable when I first sprayed it (and this was after 6 sprays!). I do not see any of the other reviewers mentioning that issue though, so it may have just been a problem with my sample. The scent I did get lasted about 3-4 hours before disappearing entirely. There is something about this scent after a couple hours that reminds me of the smell of Play-Doh from my childhood, but in a way that just makes the scent feel familiar and pleasant. No clue why, but also not a negative!

I don’t get much citrus from this, but I don’t mind that. I agree with previous comments that say this is tomboyish and it grows on you. I did not expect to like this so much when I first smelled it, but I kept coming back to it. It’s mostly powdery to me and almost papery. It reminds me of someone who studies a lot, gets straight As and plays by the rules. Someone who doesn’t bother with silly things like nail polish and makeup, has a wardrobe of common sense items and hand-me-downs. Someone who is definitely not me, but I’d like to play sometimes. It’s like it’s pretty, but doesn’t know it’s pretty. Feminine, but doesn’t try to be feminine. Seems most appropriate for daytime at the office or school. Edit: it’s August and I am really feeling this right now. It’s really pretty in the heat and as I’m starting grad school, it’s comforting during the stressfulness.

I own several perfumes from this brand and sampled a couple as well, and i've noticed that smokiness seems to be the dna of all Gallivants perfumes. That is not a bad thing at all, Brooklyn is definitely one of my favourites. It opens up smoky (but where does the smokiness come from!?) and powdery at the same time which is very interesting. It works surprisingly well and will follow you all the way to the base notes. In the dry down you get a fruity sweetness from the orange, a slight bitterness from the lemon, and the elegant floral freshness from the magnolia. They all blend very well and it's truly a well crafted masterpiece! It's a very modern perfume, and quite urban in a way. I can imagine hipsters in Brooklyn smelling like this. The longevity is great too! Lasts around eight hours on my skin. I love this scent! It's also quite affordable for being niche.