Constantinople

Is Oud Satin Mood too feminine, strong and/or lipsticky to your nose? Penhaligon's has you covered. From the very moment I sprayed this on skin it immediately reminded me of MFK's Oud Satin Mood. Constantinople's rose patchouli combo is identical to that of OSM, with the biggest difference being that OSM's lipsticky floral/strawberry accord is gone and instead amps up the vanilla and adds a little spice. Like all the fragrances from the Trade Routes collection, Constantinople is spicy but it's one of the least spicy from the collection, second only to Babylon. In a way I also see this as Halfeti's little sister, but I know a lot of people don't perceive the rose in that fragrance as much as I do so this comparison may just be a me thing. Constantinople doesn't really evolve at all from opening to dry down, the only change is spice is mellowed out a bit. Unlike OSM, I think this is a perfectly unisex fragrance, whereas that is feminine leaning in my opinion. Like I said at the beginning, this is a weaker version of Oud Satin Mood, but it still has decent performance overall. I'm unsure if I may have been somewhat nose blind to the fragrance as it smells borderline identical to OSM to my nose, so take what I say about projection and sillage with a grain of salt. Sillage is dense but it's not overwhelming or cloying at all, even now with the warm weather where I live. Projection seems to be moderate, it doesn't seem to push beyond arms' reach. Longevity is pretty good, it's been 6 hours since I sprayed and I can still pick it up clearly on my skin, it'll clearly perform much better in colder weather.

right, so ill preface this review with a little about my experience with fragrances. that being, nothing. this is my first decent fragrance that ive recieved, i was gifted it after fawning about how much i loved it to my girlfriend. for what its worth, ive seen a few people compare it to cairo, which i love as well, however i prefer this one. this really is my favourite fragrance ive ever tried or smelled on anyone else. keep in mind again, im not particularly experienced in all this. if you asked me about notes or lines or whatever, id give you a bit of blank look before spitting out something thats probably wrong. but, i know what i like, and i love this. ive seen some say that you can get what this fragrance does cheaper, which sounds great. but, i think spending on things you really love, will use and will last is always worth it every now and again. and i will say, for an apparent philistine like me, the box and bottle is beautiful. i reccomend at least getting yourself a sample, if you can, because it really is wonderful :)

I was blown away by this when I first smelled it. Like a bazaar of scents thrown at you at once, sweet without being floral, warm, honeyed and shimmering golden. There's a hot and cold aspect to it, feathery iris tingles against a colder coniferous note, and hints of patchouli. Definition of fougere, yet feminine and extremely elegant. It fades a bit too quickly for my liking, with a woody accord remaining that's vaguely reminiscent of old books, or an antiquated library. Still potent though. If you think you can't smell it you're probably getting anosmic. Every time I come back to this scent, I pick up on something new. I also agree with other reviewers that this is a close doppelganger for the MFK oud satin/silk mood line. I sniffed those and recognised my Constantinople immediately. Is this deliberate mimicry from the noble house of Penhaligons?

This was love at first sniff! Returned and bought a bottle after a day+ of testing. Its much more usable/acceptable in warm weather just like As Sawira. After testing the whole trade routes collection I felt that Constantinople is a much fresher middle eastern warm weather vanilla compared to Babylon which is a sharper spicier vanilla more suitable for colder weather. Cairo on the other hand is overwhelmingly strong and the Halfetti range are very middle eastern based. This projects and last well throughout the day without being cloying or too gourmandish which I can't stand. Unlike the reviewers below I think I'm able to smell all the differences in the whole trade routes collection due to wam weather here i guess.

This one is definitely one of my favourites! The scent is long-lasting; I've sprayed it on my neck, put on a scarf, and can still smell it on the scarf when I reach for it a few weeks later. It is warm yet spicy. Despite the rose, which I was initially worried about because I'm not a huge rose fan, I find that it all balances incredibly well. I'm also not a huge fan of oud, as I often find it unnecessarily heavy, so this perfume is absolutely perfect. I always get stopped when wearing this perfume and it is one of my most complimented perfumes in my collection. It's a very unique blend, elegant, and I find that it leaves a lasting impression.