No. 33 Eau de Cologne

This review is written as I am wearing it for the 1st time. It smells great on the skin and comes across very soft. I would advise washing with a lavender or slightly citrus based wash. In my mind it comes across as s scnet that stays close to the skin. Extremely soft creation. It is similar in that sense to Endymion but does not have such a creamy coffee like smell. As a cologne I would advise applying liberally. The softness of this scent is highly appealing. I believe it would be complimented with Lavandula to give it a more intense lavender scent. This is not the type of scent that will knock someone over with its power. It is highly subtle which is the charm of many of Penhaligon's scent's. An easy to wear fragrance.

I absolutely adore this, though marketed as a men's scent, I would certainly think it leans more unisex - along with other Penhaligon's fragrances such as blasted heath and blenheim bouquet. Opens with a very clear blast of lavender and citrus, but soon settles into the skin and the drydown is creamy, soft and a little bit sweet. The vetiver in the base is certainly noticeable but not harsh; rather, reminiscent of the vetiver note in Diptyque's vetyverio. The cardamom lingers, spicy and a little bit savoury. Personally, I can't pick up too much on the rose or lily, but I like it that way! It's like the South of France in a bottle, an absolutely perfect summer scent

Really unique and I crave this on rainy days in Yaoundé. Has a lot going on. I get artemisia, cedar, clary sage, coriander/cilantro, lavender, ginger, cardamom, géranium, rose, pepper, cyprus, oakmoss, vetiver, and tonka from strongest to lightest.

I'm happy that i have found a bottle of this masterpiece! It's unisex for me. It has a lot of notes, but all is so well blended- nothing stands out, nothing is too much or harsh. LOVE IT!

Penhaligon’s No 33 opens with a moderate projection of soft, slightly sweet citrus, spicy, and cypress notes. The citrus notes and their soft sweetness are short-lived and the start dissipating soon after the initial application. Simultaneously, the cypress, Artemisia, and clary sage join creating a green tree foliage-like accord. The mid and base notes join with floral, woody, and spicy accords, but they blend in groups rather than individual notes. The cedar, lavender, and cardamom are slightly more prominent but not for much. As the fragrance commences to dry-down, the notes blend more and more together losing identity and the fragrance goes from moderate projection to low. Once Penhaligon’s No. 33 has reached its full dry-down, it can be summarized as a low projection, very soft, slightly sweet, woody, green, and spicy fragrance. The fragrance feels common, earthy, faint, gentle, herbaceous, inexpensive, light, poorly-blended, relaxing, unisex, weak, woody, and pleasant. BATCH REVIEWED: 2020 WOW RATING: 2/10. Too many poor intensity notes create a weak unimpressive fragrance. DISLIKE RATING: 1/10. The notes that could be offensive in this fragrance, such as tobacco or musk, are so faint that they are inoffensive. UNIQUENESS: 1/10. The resulting scent does not feel unique in any way. MASS APPEAL: 5/10. Most people will find this fragrance OK. PROJECTION: 1/10. About 1 foot around the wearer. SILLAGE: 1/10. Almost none. APPLICATION: 4 or more atomizations to compensate for poor performance. LONGEVITY: 3/10. About four hours with very low projection. SEASONS: Spring, summer, and fall. OCCASIONS: Outdoor gatherings, office, business, casual. This is an office-friendly fragrance. VERSATILITY: 7/10. Versatility is good, the fragrance isn’t offensive. GENDER: Advertised for men, the notes found in this fragrance make it unisex. AGES: Any. RECOMMENDATION: Penhaligon’s No 33 can be found for about $75. Its poor performance and the unimpressive scent will leave you wishing for more. Not recommended. BLIND-BUY: Yes, but consider its poor performance. SIMILAR: Here are some fragrances that share some of the same green-based similarities. Bond No 9 Wall Street by Bond No 9, is a green, and aquatic fragrance; Bond No 9 Bleecker Street by Bond, is ultra-green/grass and woody; Bond No. 9 I Love New York For Fathers by Bond No. 9, is green, herbal, and musky; Creed Green Irish Tweed EDP by Creed is a great green, tea, and vetiver fragrance and the similarities with L’Aventure Knight are impressive; Dior Homme Cologne Spray by Christian Dior, contains citrus, floral, and strong musk notes; Jaguar Classic Black EDT by Jaguar, features green, woody, spicy, and citrus, a great office scent; Xerjoff Casamorati Nio contains citrus and green notes. SUMMARY: A low projection, very soft, slightly sweet, woody, green, and spicy fragrance. The fragrance feels common, earthy, faint, gentle, herbaceous, inexpensive, light, poorly-blended, relaxing, unisex, weak, woody, and pleasant.