Elixir

What can I say? What laud can I bring? What praise of note can I add to what I believe must be a cherished, truly ambrosian elixir indeed to so many others? So aptly named, this eau pushes all the right buttons for me. From the packaging to the red ribbon to the comforting yet exciting first sniff, which despite the years of enjoyment exhilarates as if for the first time always. Some are reminded of Mass, some of Count Dracula's castle, others sacred & profane music & mirth. I say yes and all of the above. Elixir calls for candlelight. I find it quite regal, sophisticated, and yet quite carnal & softly wild... something distantly pagan perhaps? When the first frost kisses the dwindling light of Autumn I reach for this and fabulous, fantastic, dusty, rich, mystic fairy tales come back to comfort & caress my senses like Christmas stories or Turkish Delight from the sleigh of the Snow Queen. Captivating & liberating, the spirit soars. Perhaps I'm getting a bit carried away but that's what this elixir does... it carries me away. Absolutely gutted to hear of its discontinuation. Why oh why?? I've 3 bottles at present which I will cherish like so many sweet memories. If you come across it don't hesitate to make it your own if only to then pass it on to someone under its spell. What a star you'll be in their eyes! Criticisms? Only its fleeting nature & lightness. I want it to last for days! Beautiful packaging (current). Beautiful Penhaligon's bottle. Skews a touch "masculine" for me. Worth every penny. ★★★★★

Well...I'm shocked that the town I live in has a Penhaligon's boutique and I must say it's one of the most beautiful shops I've ever been in, like a victorian chemists or something? Anyway...When I asked the lady at the counter how long it had been there she said "...around 12....(she paused as I thought she'd say months) she turned to her colleague and said "Is it 12? Yeah 12 YEARS we've been here!" It's very small and tucked away so easily missed but I still can't believe it's been there for 12 years and I've only just found it! So Elixir? I'd asked this question before of other Penhaligon suppliers "Do you have anything with incense in an eau de parfum?" and they always come up with Elixir. I've tried it a couple of times now and I must say I really enjoy it, like many from this house it's very well blended indeed. For me though although it has some smoke and spice to it the main player is rose and it's a very nice rose the spice is subtle, with a gentle incense running through it. This is actually one of my favourites and that's saying something too as I do like a lot of their creations. Difficult to pick apart the notes like penhaligon's Sartorial, Opus 1870 etc it's complex and well done. The main reason I was interested in this one was the concentration, as my main gripe with this house is the longevity. Elixir is better but still not good for the price and if you're looking for a powerhouse this isn't it. I really like this one though and may add it to my collection in future.

I adore this fragrance and this fragrance adores me. It's mysterious, powerful and intoxicating yet not overbearing. It's difficult not to repeat what some reviewers have already mentioned about it's potency and evocative abilities but for me, this fragrance... ...sets my imagination racing and transports me to places of days gone by. It evokes childhood memories of me walking through York Minster after a festive Midnight Mass with the incense-kick: incense-soaked masonry, the smell of polished wooden pews, old leather-bound prayer books and dusty stained glass. Ghosts of Christmases past. This fragrance yearns for something that can not be replaced, only remembered. I have to wear this in cold winter weather when the streets are dimly lit and fog and mist cloud your vision alongside icy breath. It's warming, soothing and luxurious - a tincture for inclement weather, melting the sharpness of frosted paths. I get very minimum eucalyptus on my skin but lots of wood smells and benzoin; a slight whiff of rose with hints of myrrh (despite it not being noted). The jasmine and orange are very subtle and present a balancing undercurrent. It's an astonishing fragrance, essentially appropriate for long winter nights (IMO). I applied some this afternoon (English summer-time, August) and although the smell was still divine, it felt almost criminal to expose its beauty to the sun. A must-have in my collection. 10/10.

MyFragranceSamples.com included this as one of two freebies in my order. Merry Christmas to me! The opening is just like the sweet, earthy ginger taste of Blenheim Ginger Beer. There's also a bit of spiciness and eucalyptus like I've smelled in an arts and crafts store where they have dried eucalyptus with their silk flowers and some potpourri somewhere with cinnamon in it to greet you at the door. The drydown is why I'm going to buy a full bottle. I own a mesh bag of rock-like bits of frankincense that I like to keep around as reference (I hope my memory serves me well because I have a similar bag of myrrh and they've both lost their original scent). When I crush that bag in my hands, to release the pure frankincense fragrance, put my nose to it and inhale deeply, there's something special about it to me. Elixir smells exactly like this; dry, dusty, oriental and deeply aromatic frankincense! Absolutely amazing stuff! I'll be ordering a bottle of this for sure and hope it arrives before Christmas for the perfect occasion to wear it. There's absolutely nothing in this that strikes me as synthetic. An absolute gem I can't believe I've never heard of nor the house.

Certainly Elixir is an incense-type fragrance, but even through the wood, resins and smoky aspects it manages to convey a rich spiciness that has thrilled me from the very first instant it met my nose. Add to the spices and incense the presence of rose and the effect is quite pleasing. Early on, though, I was troubled by the fact that the staying power was minimal on me, but I've hit upon the perfect combination to achieve longevity with this fragrance: layering. To be sure, a person could reapply this fragrance later on, but I find the fragrance is best pronounced and most intense when I've used Elixir Exfoliating Body Scrub in the shower prior to application of the fragrance. This seems to be key in greater longevity of this wondrously beautiful fragrance. Elixir is hypnotic and beautiful, and seems unisex to my sensibilities. This is gorgeous, mysterious and enchanting. I also have seen Elixir mentioned as a good cold-weather fragrance, but I've been wearing this in Texas 110 degree F heat lately, and it's rich, beautiful and yet not overpowering. This is an exotic beauty for year around, in my opinion.