Racquets

Ding Dong I finally found a citrus perfume I like! Which might also explain why others aren't as much a fan... My nose prefers unisex, woods, leathers, and musks, I am not a fan of sweet or jammy scents and am very particular about citrus. I think a lot of perfume leans towards orange, or orange blossom for its citrus and this being straight up lemon to your eye upon first spray might be too sharp for some. I'm lucky I guess because this is pure lemon zest to me, not cleaning agent, but like the nature of a lot of citrus top notes it doesn't last very long and mellows out into a wonderful wood and leather heaven. The name and affiliated imagery is spot on: tennis outfits so white they're almost glowing bright, shockingly green grass, and a tall glass of the most refreshing lemonade covered in condensation waiting for you just off court. Summery, bright, but I'm sure it will be just as refreshing when I wear it this summer.

Racquets by Penhaligons is simply a phenomenal scent and has become my signature. What makes this truly spectacular is how photorealistic this seems. The wood truly gives the impression of Victorian wood that has been encased in leather and cleaned with lemon, hence the name. The lemon does come through very strong initially but its the dry down you're here for. It is a summer scent at heart, but due to how truly classy this fragrance is, I would recommend for any occasion. The sillage is great and I have recieved many compliments with this fragrance, longevity is around 8-10 hours. Sadly, this fragrance was a limited edition run and is now discontinued, so I would recommend trying to get a bottle sooner rather than later!

I have a sample of this coming fresh from Penhaligon's and I am really looking forward to smelling it... I'll update once I have the opportunity to wear it a few times... ^_^ --- Updated: I've finished off my two samples and I gotta say I really enjoy it for Spring and Summer... So much so that I just ordered a full bottle... Very BRIGHT Lemon note to start you off that then slowly drifts into a leathery woody vibe... Good longevity and does not scream off the skin... My wife also has worn this and it was wonderful on her too... VERY unisex fragrance straight down the line IMO... Looking forward to having this in my collection...

If you like Orto Parisi Bergamask, Hanae Mori HM, or Lemon by Mary Greenwell, then you will enjoy Racquets EDP by Penhaligon's. Starts with a huge blast of citronella, but this warms when a herbaceous note joins the fray. This continues for the first hour and the the lemon takes a backseat to a musk. It is a simple fragrance that has been very well executed. At each stage I can only compare it to Bergamask, as it resembles that fragrances right through the drydown. It isn't as loud as the Orto Parisi, but it certainly stands proud alongside it.

this is the first time i have ever loved a citrus, the opening smells fizzy like lemonade and the leathery dry down gives it a more interesting spin. it really brings to mind playing victorian lawn games in a sunny country house garden

One to wear exclusively in the summer, genuinely smells like tennis whites, leather cricket balls, and a wicker basket. Performance is good too. Quite a sophisticated smell too, wouldn't wear it unless there was an occasion.

Gorgeous scent! So fresh, citrusy and woody. Wood has a hint of smoke and it sounds lovely. 100% unisex! Lemon gives freshness and ambroxan is responsible for lightly warm notes here. Great job, Penhaligon’s!

Women's D&G Light Blue on dry down. Lasts forever.

The lemon note is very clean and chemical at first - like that you'd find in hand soap, or household cleaner. It's very fresh and zingy, with that lovely leather base keeping it mature and sophisticated - and certainly very unisex. It really does remind me of D&G Light Blue on my skin.

Big lemon opening. Huge. As harsh as Versace pour Homme. The dry down is beautiful. Wood and leather. Doesn’t last too long on my skin. About 5-6 hours. For the price, the performance isn’t great. Fantastic frag, but not worth the dollar IMO.

I got this in the recent Penhaligon’s offer in the UK. It’s going to have mixed reviews. A friend at work had his delivery the day before mine and his reviews were mixed, he thought it was ok, his wife hated it thinking it gave off the hint of body odour and his daughter absolutely loved it. The initial hit I got this morning was of a heavy almost chemical lemon smell. I sniffed my arm about 5 minutes later and right at the end I did get that faint hint of body odour my friend’s wife mentioned. It mellowed quickly but there’s no great projection or longevity, I’ve only got the faintest hint of it throughout the day. It’s OK but hard to believe it’s a EDP. £76 for this and the free 75ml of Monsieur Beauregard was acceptable. £76 for 30ml of this alone and I would be seriously disappointed. This is the first full bottle from Penhaligon’s I’ve not loved, and I’ve blind bought quite a few. Part of me does wonder who they sampled this on to think it was up to their usual standard. Not their best and I can’t see it standing the test of time in their range.

Racquets has been paired up with the passion in a tennis race, so I imagined it'd be a kind of sporty and refreshing perfume. The opening note of lemon is actually a bit too screechy to me. It's so sharp that it almost smells like some sort of detergent. I had a high hope for it, but it's a bit disappointing in terms of the sharpness, complexity and projection. Not more than half an hour the lemon note goes subtle and the leathery note dominates. It's a kind of neutral leathery note that is not infused with any incense note, which makes it smell young and clean. I somehow detect also some peppery note that makes the middle note more lively. The base note is mainly ambroxan to me, which smells very much a mild mix notes of ocean and wood on my skin. The perfume smells beyond unisex, actually pretty masculine on me. I do use men's perfumes, but I don't think this'd be one that I'm interested to use (again).

This is Penhaligon's take on Mancera Cedrat Boisee and, to a lesser extent, Creed Aventus. I have all three on me now and the similarities are striking, particularly in the dry down. In the opening, Racquets differentiates itself with a very punchy lemon note and is more citrusy than Cedrat Boisee. Aventus' Smokey Pineapple is more appealing than both the other two but the vibe is the same. In the dry down Cedrat and Racquets are near enough identical for me, with a slightly leathery, transparent woody feel and a touch of the citrus still detectable. Performance on both is also very similar, that is to say OK (3-4 hours). For me, although I do enjoy Racquets the early impressions are a little disappointing. I like it but it's not a standout fragrance that I will really crave I don't think. I do tend to warm to fragrances over time so I may update this in a few weeks.

Not bad, not great either. Probably one of the few of Penhaligon’s that I’m not really keen on. The initial spray starts off smelling like McDonald’s hand soap in the 90s and early 2000s. The initial spray is very zesty and fresh that smells like cheap hand wash from McDonald’s when I was a youngster from what I can remember. The dry down is okay, fairly woody but also very synthetic. Longevity and sillage is satisfactory. This smells very much Hermes Citron Noir which I own. Only the latter being much more woody. Not for me. 4/10

On first sniff, this smelled like tea or medicine― I realized it reminded me of hot lemon honey water my mom used to make for me when I had a sore throat. Then it evolves into smelling like a cleaning product. Somehow, it has this utilitarian feel― like it's meant to serve a purpose (calming a sore throat, cleaning a kitchen counter), but I prefer fragrances that feel pretty for the sake of being pretty (call me a hedonist) rather than attempting to smell like something that serves a purpose or function.

I got a sample of this. It's a strong leather which isn't a note I'm overly familiar with. At first, there is a balance of lemon and leather but after an hour the lemon fades and the leather remains. It lasts forever even after I had a shower about 9 hours after I applied it I could smell it slightly. Not unpleasant but I'm not a big fan of the leather so I wouldn't buy it.

It has a uniqueness to it, but sadly in a very ugly way. It's one of those wear it for yourself kind of perfumes. You won't be getting very many compliments, you've been warned lol.

Iconic Chypre Citrus✨️ Very unisex with the nice leatherwood undertones. However I do feel it does have age, and I'd make it a bit less powdery. It does feel like old money, just wish it wasn't an emphasis on the old😬 Definitely better than Chanel No.5, and not a cloying projection👌 Feels like a perfume to do fancy sports in like equestrian or croquet🏇Not my favorite from the Penhaligon's collection, but feels like a worthy mention due to the history of this fragrance, or should I say reviving the past🕑 Zodiac Trio ⬆️Gemini☀️Aries🌜Leo

Hmmm weird one. Very citrusey and lemony as a top note which I didn't mind then it nicely fades away becoming cooler and refreshing. However, on my skin, it turns into a "sheep" smell that's the only thing that comes to my mind (nose rather ha!) .. I'm not sure if the leather is to blame (actually, I am sure it is because within that sheep smell I can smell cow leather) so as you may have guessed not for me. Might smell different on someone else... shame as if it wasn't for that, I liked it

The sharp lemon scent makes my teeth get sensitive

Starts very promising with a beautiful zingy natural lemon, however the dry down is dominated by ambroxan, a note of which I’m not a fan. I wonder who the perfumer is, can’t find that out anywhere, maybe Morillas as a lot of his work seems to be structured this way. Only tested on paper (I don’t like to put ambroxan on my skin as it irritates the 💩 out of me).

Most of the time I love citrus perfumes because you normally can't go wrong with a lemon/lime scent. However this one smelled very artificial, like cheap lemon candies or lemon scented household cleaner, and it lasted quite a long time so I couldn't scrub the scent off myself.

This is a pretty good lemon citrus fragrance, with a rather unique soft leather twist, and some soft creamy amber. It's better in the opening, before the soft suede-like accord morphs into something like a fuzzy tennis ball. It's been a long time since I tried Soft Lawn by Imaginary Authors, but going off memory, this Racquets is more pleasant with less of a tennis olfactory association. But it's been a while. I have plenty of Lemon scents, although the suede/tennis ball facet of Racquets is unique. I'd grab a full bottle only if the price were exceptionally great at a discounter, which isn't likely to happen.

I thought the description sounded interesting and ordered it without smelling it first (there are no stores here in the States, or at least not in my area). So yes, I took the risk. And I really like it. It does have a range of scents (from initial to dry down), and I liked each. I understand why some feel that the initial scent is not to their liking, I didn't have a problem with it. I am glad I bought it, and look forward to wearing it. It definitely feels like a summer fragrance.

The loud lemony opening soon gives way to a strong woody leather scent. After an hour or two, as others have said, it takes on an air similar to (but not a dead ringer for) D&G light blue. Vibrant and safe its on the borderline of feminine, but fuck it so am I. It smells expensive and classy and it should do, because it is. (A spritz of Kenzo Pour homme with it blows the October cob webs away and worth every frickin penny)

I haven’t loved any Penhaligon’s yet, and this one confirms it’s just not my esthetic. A quite formal woody lemon perfume, also soapy and powdery. Guaiac wood is prominent here. Comes across classic and formal in a bit a dated way, but this might be intentionally. It has good quality and smells expensive, but I wouldn’t get it. Haven’t smelled the OG so can’t compare.

It’s a like not a love. The Citrus is bright and lively in the first ten minutes giving way to an avalanche of woods and suede like leather held together by a ton of Ambrox. Similar to Brioni for men and a rather neutered black tie by Alberto Morillas. Don’t think this one’s sticking around for long considering Penhaligons has a habit of discontinuation.

Oh I love this lemon kick .. Very tangy and refreshing.. although projection is going down way faster than I like for a 300 AUD scent Comparing it to Bergamote 22 Le Labo and i could pick up leather nuances where B22 is ever so slightly floral . I wouldnt be able to tell the difference i wasn't smelling side by side tbh

I smelled this one only on Blotter Card, not on my skin. Umm, it's really boring one. Not bad, not great either. It reminds me of lemonade which is available literally everywhere in Japan. I mean this fragrance is just ordinary like other cheaper colognes than this one. Overpriced. 4/10

A really unique fragrance. It’s interesting I can actually smell leather and lemon🏸 🍋 a nice blend!!. Although I love it and would definitely wear it, I gave it to my husband, it suits him better than me. He has received many compliments already 😊

Refreshingly different, confident without being showy. A perfume that is both familiar and inviting while still welcoming change with every new day to come; an aroma so simple yet complex at once - ever-changing just like life itself

Definitely lives up to its name, smells like some chums had been squeezing lemons into their drinks before grabbing their leather handled racquets for some tennis.

It is great - lemons and leather. Somehow unusual combination on paper but sits very good on my skin. I think this would be wearable during winter too.

Original was such a great scent - the new edition is a farce.