Sartorial Penhaligon`s for men

I wanted to love this. I tried it and was struck by how much it smelled like some old drugstore cologne. I gave it another try and started liking it more, especially how it changes over time on the skin. Sometimes I can really smell the "wool, oil, ozone, metal and leather" of the taylor's shop. And then one day I smelled it and realized it smells mostly like deoderant. $80 deoderant. Sorry, Penhaligon's. That's the last one I'm trying from you guys.

A man enters the room. The cold air is coming right behind him and carries the smell of finest tobbaco from his woven blazer. He's dressed up in oxfords, suit and a coat. Shirt is with cufflinks.

Sartorial is made for those men. Elegant, distinctive and above all gentleman.

It is an interesting fougere. It has a smoky note from opening till closing. Most dominant ingredient is patchouli. I see it as a fragrance for any occassion, it's made to be a signature, it's wearable and interesting. Those are his best qualities. Longivity on my skin is very generous, it lasts now for a half of a day. It's somehow refreshing, spiced up and wooden at the same time. Well, it's a fougere after all. Drydown is wooden, and semi-soft while the heart is very spicy mixed with accords of wood and herbs. It is a must try.

There are a couple of issues to address in Sartorial. First, is the opening is quite harsh, very metallic and ozonic, and a bit difficult to break through as it is completely dominant for the first 30-40 minutes. Second, it's trying much too hard to be something more than it really is. Finally, despite the ingredient list longer than a box of Twinkies, this manages to still be rather linear in its transformation.

I don't get aromatic fougere from this at all, but I feel transfixed from the opening on this as a Barbershop-like clean scent, which isn't a bad thing. That remained from the top -- where it was most overpowering -- to its base several hours later , when it became tolerable, sedated, and a bit more refreshing, and certainly more powdery in the dry-down. Again, it seemed analagous to a barbershop visit from my childhood where you open with that very strong after-shave aroma, calmed later by talcum powder. The scent is simple, clean, fairly unpretentious in the final outcome.

So why did it take more than 24 different elements to resurrect what otherwise would be a turn-of-century, classic experience? The outcome seems too spare for the elements in the composition, many of which are beyond detection -- for instance, I don't sense wood or leather in this at all, though I'd say it was over-the-top if I noticed those as well. It stays linear with the opening, same continuity throughout.

I don't dislike it, though compared to my other scents, this isn't one I'd find myself wearing much. It's not quite my personal style or profile, despite it being both jolly well-executed and jolly pricey.

Sartorial demonstrates the difficulty of story-telling in perfume. Penhaligon’s own press, and a number of reviews posit Sartorial an experience that paints a picture of the British bespoke tailor’s shop in the 21st century. Take apart a well know reference, reinterpret it with a contemporary smirk, change the context---classic postmodernism. The equation of tailor’s shop with fougère is understandable. The late 19th century was the era of the fern and the Victorian gentleman’s tailor. Then to fuse the fougère with scents one might find in a tailor’s workroom is a more tenuous step. To my mind the story of the tailor’s shop is a bit of schtick. It also serves to create an expectation that can’t help but be frustrated.

Perfume can conjure and it can evoke, two words I’ve read about Sartorial. But it simply can’t tell over the lengths of paragraphs the same narrative to each person who wears it. Truthfully, marketing department, full paragraphs aren’t needed. In this case the fiction is told with very few words. Simply to mention a British bespoke tailor’s shop ties together fantasy, aspiration and fetish in a few short words. But then to tell us about the cloth, the cabinetry, the wax, the thread… Oy gevalt. It’s like Ralph Lauren / GQ porn from the 1980s.

All the above would matter less if the fragrance told me its own actual story, or took me a on bit of a journey. But I find Sartorial an unpleasant fragrance. The starch-and-steam-iron-like note up top can be an attempt to elicit the image of a steam iron in use, but it smells out of place and metallically flat in its floral/spicy setting. As Sartorial progresses the sweet overlap of notes of patchouli, waxy honey, and caramelized lavender (all long-lasting) turn it into a bland gourmand-like fragrance. Pardon my blunt, rather lacking description, but I don’t get much more from Sartorial. I’m a great fan of Bertrand Duchaufour, but to me, Sartorial is the latest cut of the emperor’s clothes.

The fragrances of Etat Libre d’Orange share the conceit of fantasy-narrative, but their approach of story or hint of portraiture are more successful than Sartorial’s full-blown Victorian fantasy. (To be fair, ELdO’s laughably pretentious, simply bad text is far worse than Penhaligon’s here. Enough so that maybe it’s easier to dismiss.) But Tom of Finland gives you a loaded, iconic image and a fragrance. Rossy de Palma gives you an actor and a fragrance. The rest is up to you and the perfume.

Please measure the above with the fact that the fantasy that Sartorial wants to give you, that of a 21st century world of people who frequent tailors, has no appeal for me. Maybe if it did I might enjoy Sartorial. Who knows?

I don't even know why Sartorial is marketed as a men fragrance!I find it totally unisex,very easily wearable from everyone.Simple and for me..boring.No complexity,on my skin smells like pressed powder!
Penhaligon's has way better fragrances than this,Opus,Endymion,Castile etc.This one lacks of everything! Longevity,complexity,creativity!

The opening is quite chemical and sharp in the way of nail polish diluent. It lacks understatement, which is a pity because it has everything else a British type of niche perfume needs to succeed.
Compared with Floris Elite, it is louder and less rounded, it has an almost hysteric note.
Sartorial lacks the noble nostalgia of Floris Elite, it is the fragrance of a man of action, for whom modernity is way more important than "old school"-ness.
I recommend it to men between 25 and 35 who want to impress immediately in an elegant, powerful and not overly complicated or original way.

When I bought it, I did not know that was designed for the men. From an array of Penhaligon's tester bottles, this one smelled the most interesting. It is mainly the spices throughout and the soft oiliness which I understand is the honey note. That makes it a bit feminine if you wish ... Anyway, it smells so normal and close to the skin, as if it almost were not there. Amazing, something like a go-to fragrance. A fine and discreet cologne.

(When a perfume contains oud, I am uncomfortable and afraid to wear it. This is an aromatic fougere and it is very easy to wear.)

If you like Azzaro PH or YSL Rive Gauche PH go for Sartorial and you will get something more refined, more interesting and even better done with modern twist. Amazing and flawless scent for an elegant men. Great sillage and amazing staying power of 10 hours on me! You can't go any better if you are looking for great aromatic fougere. I am impressed with how incredibly versatile Bertrand Duchaufour is by makin' so many so different fragrances for L'Artisan, Frapin, Penhaligon's or Comme des Gracons.

Sartorial is great stuff for a real men.

Actually I do not own a copy, but I wanted to make a review based on the effect of sight. Compact bottle, pristine, with an air of the flawlessness and immaculacy of the kind of fashion ideal it is supposed to embody. The word, "sartorial," always attracted my interest. On reading the notes list, combined with the humble intelligence of my own experience, I expect this to be clean, crisp and profusive, like the scent hair, drenched in shower water. The frayed worst of slate-grey moletweed. I owned a female's pantalonsuit of this material as a medical student and it made me feel on FIRE, baby! I smelt DAMN good!

Ok, yes, I love Bertrand Duchaufour's creations but besides that I think Sartorial is a great scent. (Deservedly) ambitious and complex as an "architectural structure"! A perfect union between classic and modern. A traditional fougere with a retrò feel always balanced by an hyper modern allure given by the "effects" notes (beeswax, metal, old wood). I'd say this one is more a sensation than a real perfume and that's why I love it.

As I previously said is quite complex but so well executed to become a perfect everyday's fragrance for anyone into modern classicism.Sillage is good, lasting power not much (4-5 hours on my skin) but I still firmly believe this one to be highly recommendable.

Rating: 8.5/10

I'm quite with the comment below that states it smells "old," but that's not necessarily a bad thing. A grower perhaps? Anyway, I'm not convinced, but good luck with it.

I got a sample of this stuff from aedes.com, and to be honest I don't know what the fuss is about. to me this smelled like an old babershop or old aftershave. ,which is to say is not bad, but not for me. I would say this is a senor citizen fragrance 60 on up imo.

When king marty told me about a new Penhaligon's scent and sent me a link to the video, I thought how great! That house has always made great frags, and now one inspired by a Saville Row tailor shop; I must have it-NOW!! Well, I ordered a sample from the retailer listed here and was not disappointed in the least. It is obvious to me that they keep quality of ingredients and construction high even with the more modern scents...Thanks for the tip Marty-you Rule!! ;-)

When I looked at the list of notes I thought: Holy Crap! How on earth will that smell like a tailor shop/bespoke suit? Well, I went to a local tailor shop that has been in business since the early 1950s...aged wood, machines, material, dust, some sweet vague aura in the air (machine oil?), and the "warmth" of people eager to help and who have deicated their entire lives to making others look (and feel) fabulous! Penhaligon's captures that smell, feeling and general vibe here-perfectly!

When I smelled this in the vial I thought: This is unique (and I ordered 16 different samples) and one of the best so far! On me, it began with lavender, spices and some juicy metallic green scent I've never smelled before...and absloutely adore! As it dries it gets sweeter and softer-more "comfy" if you will. I love so many of the notes in this: gurjum (divine), leather, myrrh, etc. Yet it is hard to pick them out singly, as this has so much going on at once (like the tailor shop did)and is "woven" together so well. This is warm, smoothly spicy, elegant & formal...but not too proper. The drydown is (dare I say it?) classic; but more in the gentleman's way, as opposed to the grandpa way. The longer you wear this, the more it become part of you, and even as it dries and tones down, it still radiates refinement and class. When you put it on it's new, different. As you wear it is gets softer and smoother and after it's settled (broken in), it is obviously well made and superbly tailored, and more like "you" than it was at first...just like a tailor-made suit! This was obviously not made just for me...but when I wear it-it sure feels like it! :-)

Sillage: good
Longevity: very good
Overall: 4.25/5

I'm very impressed with the new Penhaligon's! They have created something that is at once new and modern, with a classic feel; and is extremely well made, layered and constructed. If you like smelling great, but don't want anything too "old" or too modern-this IS the happy medium. To me nothing says class more than a beautifully made fragrance that is at once familiar, quality and unique...Sartorial is just that!

Very sophisticated and elegant. An excellent creation from master-nose Bertrand Duchaufour. It`s a classical scent with a modern twist. It`s formal semi-formal, and typical british and gentleman-ish in style. A very well done fougere, and one of my favourites from this house. Highly recommended!