Burberry London For Men (2006) Review

 

Everyone who has been involved in fragrances for a considerable amount of time has a list of fragrances which they’ve always intended to purchase but never have for one reason or another. Burberry London For Men is one such fragrance for me. When I first tested it, I thought it to be unusual but it didn’t quite capture my imagination and so I didn’t purchase it. I DID acknowledge that it deserved a place in my wardrobe because it had one of the most beautifully decorated bottles I had ever come across.. and it  smelt rather expensive even though it didn’t blow me away.

You see, when there are so many other fragrances to steal your attention, it’s very easy to forget about those masterpieces that really deserve a place in your wardrobe. Complacency sets in rather quickly. Another reason for my inaction was the abundance of bottles and the cheap prices Burberry London For Men was going for at the time (2008-2009) -the stuff was selling for just £15 for a big tester bottle. I always figure I’d have the funds to purchase it at any time and as a result, I never actually did.

Fast forward a few years and Burberry London For Men was getting scarce. It was far more expensive (£25.. still cheap by fragrance standards) and whenever it popped up on EBay, bidding wars ensued. I had a feeling something was up. Was this the beginning of the END or could Burberry have been clearing out stock in preparation for a reformulation? Who knows? Why wait and find out? I pulled the trigger and a few days later, I received my bottle.

I have had a few weeks to test drive Burberry London. In these few weeks I have been taken on a rollercoaster. At times, I have been absolutely smitten with what I believe is a masterpiece of a fragrance but for the most part, I’ve been left wanting. Those who possess a bottle or those who have tried it will know exactly what I am talking about and I will elaborate on this later. Without further ado, let’s get into the review.

NB: Before I get into the review, I have decided to make a painful decision. I am now going to make my reviews shorter, more precise and straight-to-the-point. I stumbled upon this revelation while reading other websites like mine. Wherever the author digressed into convoluted paragraphs of superfluous prose, I found myself rolling my eyes and scrolling impatiently because I just wanted the meat.. not the chaff! So let’s do the review!

Burberry London For Men (2006) Review

What is it?

• Top Notes
• Bergamot, Lavender, Cinnamon leaves, Black pepper
• Middle Notes
• Mimosa Flower, Port wine, Leather notes
• Base Notes
• Guaiac wood, Oakmoss, Opoponax, Tobacco leaf

 

 

Burberry London For Men is a warm, spicy, herbal winter fragrance. The opening is dominated by notes of cinnamon, bergamot and lavender which creates an inviting effect that I find rather pleasant. Initially, it is sweet, spicy and very warm and this lasts for between 10-20 minutes before that ever dominant, herbal, tobacco note steps in. Also, you get a boozy note which I suppose is the port wine note. In the background, you can detect an ever so faint leather note though admittedly, the tobacco is much too strong for an untrained nose to sniff out (not saying my nose is trained but I’ve had practice).

It’s a very unusual smell and it works ever so beautifully in winter/cold weather. Also, Burberry London for Men comes across as a beautifully blended fragrance and that’s quite a feat since tobacco can be an extremely harsh note (Bogart Pour Homme). The entire mixture is just so pleasant and it is the sort of smell that draws people in -towards you. It’s truly addictive. But just before you whip your credit card out and go ahead and make a purchase, I do need to warn you of a few things!

It terms of strength, Burberry London For Men is moderate, but most disappointingly, the sillage after 3 hours is VERY WEAK and to me, that is a let down. It’s really rather strange as the notes smell very strong to the nose and it has amazing presence in the first 2-3 hours. It’s not a scent you’d expect to totally disappear within a few hours. Somewhere around the 3 hour mark, it dies down and wears very closely to the skin… so closely in fact, you need to move around to get a faint whiff of it and really -what’s the point in that?  For a fragrance of such beauty and class, I found this to be quite disheartening and this was one of the reasons I was so hesitant to purchase it.  Some argue that it’s part of the charm. I find it very difficult to share this point of view as I feel that poor sillage is unacceptable.

Longevity isn’t too bad considering the rather mediocre sillage. It’s quite average. The only thing is, no one -not even you, will be able to smell yourself for about half the time. Burberry London For Men sticks around for close to 6 hours, although I believe that could be significantly less in extremely warm/cold weather!

Who is it for?

Burberry London is a rather versatile fragrance. That of course, is because it doesn’t announce its presence from the rooftops. I’m still undecided on whether this can be a work fragrance. Some of the notes are pretty heavy (tobacco, cinnamon) however, its mild strength helps tone this down considerably. I’d say anyone in their late teens all the way up to their 60′s can wear Burberry London as it has a mixture of classic notes (tobacco, leather) without smelling dated or overly playful.

I really hope I do not sound like I’m coming down hard on this scent because it really is incredible -but also incredibly disappointing!

Buying Burberry London For Men

I always recommend Amazon. I’ve listed a link for you to make your purchase below. Of course I get paid if you buy through the link but it does help pay for the hosting and new fragrances for me to review!

Verdict.

Wearing Burberry London is a bittersweet experience. It’s a bit like meeting a drop dead gorgeous girl only to discover she has rotten teeth -its flaws are far too significant to ignore. The way it smells is simply divine. Very few scents actually come close. It exudes class, refinement, balance, expert perfumery and unbridled beauty. Isn’t it such a shame that Burberry London For Men is so weak?

Longevity: 5/10 (somewhere around 6 hours)
Sillage: 2/10 (pretty poor)
Scent: 10/10 (It smells beautiful. Perfect for cool weather)
Uniqueness: 9/10 ( Unusual smell but a handful of scents are similar )
Value for money: 7/10 (cheap to buy but disappointing to own)