Fanfare

#143 of My Fragrance Journey - Thameen Fanfare: The market after the flowers have gone Getting to the Flower Market before anyone else shows up is either brilliant or a mistake - I'm still not sure which. The stalls are empty under the iron arches, but the air holds everything that just happened. Crushed green stems, wet cobblestones going grey in the cold morning light. It's not the polished boutique version of flowers. It's the raw end of the harvest - what's left after everyone's taken what they came for. That's where this starts. The citrus hits first, and it's expensive. Not loud, not showy - more like peeling a lemon with warm hands while the shower steam's still in the room. Clean, deliberate, unhurried. But if you think it's staying for long, you've misread it. Within a few minutes it just steps back, stops performing, and makes room for something heavier. What comes through next is not easy. Dry vermouth, gin botanicals, green angular herbs that don't soften for you - it's bitter and blunt and completely unbothered by whether you're comfortable with it. It doesn't try to charm you across a room. It just stands there with this quiet, almost physical weight and waits for you to close the distance. The texture gets tactile - damp earth, crushed leaves, something that feels like it's staining your hands. This is the part where Fanfare decides if you're staying or leaving. Most people will decide right here. If you stay, it eventually loosens. The sharpness relaxes, but the presence doesn't - a clean, warm musk rises up from the skin, vetiver and dark patchouli anchoring it underneath. There's something classically masculine in the structure, but not performed. More like someone who's already made their point and doesn't need to repeat it. It moves from austere to quietly comfortable, holds its shape on the skin like warmth left in a room after someone's left. Don't confuse the citrus disappearing fast with weakness - that's not what's happening here. This is an EDP that projects with proper control and sticks around long after anything in its price neighbourhood would have faded. It's not a safe blind buy, and it's not asking for quick approval. It takes patience. But stay with it long enough, and it becomes one of those fragrances that's just hard to look away from. Vibe: iron arches, crushed stems, cold wet cobblestones at dawn Performance: genuine longevity, measured projection - built to last the whole day Fit: mild weather, evenings, anyone who doesn't need their fragrance to be immediately liked Does the bitterness at the start feel like character to you, or does it ask too much before it gives anything back? More scent stories and visuals on Instagram - @lavendercloudsjd

Fanfare: Familiar in structure, but utterly unexpected in execution. 🍋 🧩 🪵 💛 🍸 The opening is: a burst of citrus that’s sharp, almost pungent, and deliciously acidic. That lemon note is bold and bracing, slightly acerbic, and immediately alive on skin. It wakes you up. It tingles. It feels electric. The sharpness doesn’t linger too long, but while it’s there, it’s intoxicating. This fragrance feels effervescent and radiant, playful yet confident, with a touch of impertinence that makes it deeply modern. It starts bright and sparkling, then slowly deepens: becoming darker, warmer, and more intriguing as it unfolds. I find it completely fascinating. I don’t really wear it myself(maybe just a touch), but I love smelling this on a man. It has an undeniable presence. Longevity is excellent, and the projection is strong, but never overwhelming. What truly sets Fanfare apart is the way the citrus and neroli melt into something almost floral and tender: at times reading like linden blossom, before herbal nuances begin to surface. As it settles, vetiver, clean musk, and a whisper of patchouli add depth and sensuality. There’s drama in FanFare and complexity here, but it remains elegant and beautifully composed.

Michael Caine walking down a rainy London street. Sampling this one at the moment and it has become a GRAIL scent. I say grail because at $300/bottle, it's quite a lot to spend on a fragrance...but man I love it. After wearing it, I've found it has this alluring masculine version of a honeysuckle accord created by the neroli, bergamot and vermouth that I find intoxicating. The artwork of this fragrance starts off sharp and almost astringent in an oddly familiar way. Very quickly it softens with a cooling sensation down to a bright citrus. The floral notes sit at the edge and while I don't think it's tuberose, it does give off a yellow edge. As it dries down further, the honeysuckle accord gets a bit stronger. The earthiness of the patchouli creeps in to ground it, while the vetiver (which I'm sure is a Haitian vetiver) keeps it clean and airy. I absolutely love this scent. One of the few fresh scents I would wear in year round... even in the coldest of winters. This is a masterpiece, eloquently executed.

At first, it almost repelled me with its frank eau de cologne vibe, with sharp lemon, juniper berries, and neroli. That's eau de cologne for you! Nothing, as they say, foretold what was coming, but then there was a complete 180-degree turn, which the consultant warned me about. On the test strip, the lemon and juniper lingered much longer, but on the skin, it quickly transitions to the second phase. I feel the softness, and sweetness of vermouth, and light floral notes. The aroma is very delicate, sweet, and somewhat holographic. Sharp and bitter gin with lemon, which suddenly turned into vermouth with cream soda and sprigs of rosemary and juniper. Everything that sizzles on ice and sparkles. Later, I learned that this is only the first fragrance from the "Britcologne Collection" series, so let's wait and see what else Christopher Chong will present. I'm excited to see more.

One of my favourite discoveries of 2025. The way the lemon note is combined with neroli and what I perceive as linden blossom creates one of the most unique scents I have ever experienced. It is beautiful and instantly puts a smile on my face. It transports me into two separate stories, like parallel universes. One straight into July, when linden blossoms fill the streets of Bucharest, and the other to a seaside holiday on the Mediterranean coast, where lemons smell intensely fragrant and other flowering trees mingle in the air. To me, this is cologne perfection. Unisex, refreshing, and long-lasting. Any season, day or night.

I really like this one. It’s strong yet airy, and it lingers beautifully throughout the day, I catch gentle whiffs of it here and there. What really draws me in is the natural smell of linden flowers, it opens like a crisp cologne infused with linden, and as it dries down, it becomes surprisingly similar to Fleur Narcotique!

Christopher Chong never dissapoints. This is incredible, addictive and extremely versatile. I love a perfume that manages to be loud without being obnoxious. The reviewer below who called it seductive rather than fresh was spot on. Smell it as soon as you can!

This is a very unique scent. A sophisticated mix of floral notes and lemon leaves. The silage and longevity are enormous. Not everyone around would like or appreciate this scent tho. The price is too much kinda also.

Cold, fruity, sweet, a little boozy......LOOOOOVE! And while I love Gentle Fluidity silver, this is completely different. Just because a fragrance shares a note or 2 with another, doesn’t mean they are similar.

Beautiful journey! An underrated gem, a treasure to be adored. This is for those who are looking for a non-linear rollercoaster of emotions with various floral notes surprising at each and every step. Lovely!

Genuinamente una de las creaciones mas interesantes con las que me topado, es ligeramente salado y dulce a la vez.

An absolute must for the summer and not only, very good longevity, sillage and uniqueness.. The girls love it!!

Wow very strong. Explosive juicy citrus neroli frag. First thameen I’ve tried and I’m super impressed.

A unique natural note heavy take on that freshie cologne that represents an interesting change of pace for this Oriental focused house. The scent opens with notes of bergamot, lemon, neroli and floral notes. The heart is juniper berries, rosemary and vermouth. The perfume settles on a powdery musk base, surrounded by vetiver and slight patchouli. The unisex slightly masculine leaning scent has moderate to strong projection and good longevity. Overall nice, but not hugely exceptional. Worth trying out for cologne lovers who are looking for something slightly different and more natural smelling. Enjoy!

Oh I absolutely love it since it's so uplifting. Fresh, slightly aromatic, maybe even grassy, citrus and juniper berries. My husband says it reminds of some kind of soap, but I cannot detect it as soapy - or soap-resembling - at all. I only wish it would last a bit longer. I'm interested of trying this out during winter as well since I'm thinking this could be such a mood boost for a gloomy, dark day before it's snowy in December. EDIT: YES, it is such a mood booster during the darkest months of winter! 😍

A New Twist on Classic Cologne - Fanfare by Thameen The Britologne series by Thameen consists of contemporary interpretations of the traditional cologne structure. Fanfare features distinct floral and juniper notes, adding an unexpected twist that really shines in warm weather. Fanfare and the others in this series are labeled as "Cologne Elixir." While I'm not entirely sure what this means in terms of concentration, these fragrances have excellent sillage and projection.

Feels really fresh, like a lemony breeze on a hot summer's day. The first few minutes really remind me of Hermes H24 Herbes Vives, photorealistic lawn clippings. It does settle to a slightly more appealing citrusy (as @PearlGarden stated before me, like peeling a pomelo fruit). For the price I don't think it amazes me enough to be honest, but give it a shot if you can.

Nice citrussy aromatic fresh scent with a touch of wood and florals. It's a nice scent but not worth the price tag IMO. It's perfectly unisex to me. Longevity and silage are both about the average.

I was at Selfridges and looking for a new perfumes when I came sale at Thameen. It was a new brand to me. I asked the salesperson for some fresh, aromatic fragrances, and she showed me Fanfare at first. At first, I liked it, the opening was quite citrusy and fresh. The dry down as well very nice, woody, vetiver, and patchouli. I liked it at the time. But then she showed me Bohemian Infusion. I fell in love with that perfume and end up buying Bohemian Infusion instead. Weeks later, I came across Fanfare on Harrods at 70% off, I immediately bought it. It just arrived today, and when I sprayed it, it's nothing like I remember from the store. In the store it was quite fresh, woody, type of fragrance. The one I got today, I can smell nothing but Floral notes and Neroli in it. On my skin and paper it is quite floral heavy. I liked it at first in the store, but when I bought it, and it arrived today, I can't seem to like it. May be I will let it sit and macerate for a few weeks or months, and see. Fragrance - 3/5 Longevity - 4/5 Projection - 3/5 Sillage - 3/5 overall - 6.5/10 I would say, its not blind buy safe, sample it first. If you can get it on discounter, go for it. Not worth the full price though.

This is a citrusy , green , fresh boozy scent. Really evokes the image of a night bar in a middle of a flowery garden. It's unique as a composition, constructed on a classic cologne accord but made unique by the floral green aroma which has leafy feel, that keeps playing from the top to the dry down with a strong boozy background. An absolute try before you buy scent as it's unique and not easy to relate to other releases. I don't see this as a day summer scent under the sun but a night summer scent due to the boozy and floral qualities that overcome the zesty citruses. A solid unique release but not for my taste. Wish you pleasurable exploration.