Sartorial Eau de Toilette Penhaligons

I've been on something of a hiatus from Fragrantica over the past few months, but while pursuing other things (namely school), I noticed how more and more fougeres were beginning to impress me, and eventually fougeres had sort of gradually overtaken chypres as my favorite type of fragrance.

Don't get me wrong, I love chypres - however, they seem stagnant compared to fougeres. The fougere is a genre that, when done right with ingenuity, has the ability to evolve, go into new territory, and thus bring something new to fragrances as a whole. The fougere is a fragrance genre that is continually reinventing itself while building on top of past milestones; for example, Brut to Azzaro; Azzaro to Drakkar; Drakkar to Cool Water; Cool Water to Yohji Homme; Yohji Homme to Rive Gauche, and so on (with classics in between, such as Tuscany, Gucci Nobile, New West, and Patrick).

So... even though it's three years old now, Sartorial by Penhaligon's seems to have brought a new face to the genre. In a world of fresh/clean fragrances, Sartorial is a hopelessly attractive fougere that brings to mind barbershops and freshly-shaven faces. However, on top of that, it's not just about cleanliness and a fine-tailored suit. This has a certain warmth and some heart to it; a hearty lavender that's been softened and wrapped in a sweet shroud of salty coumarin, giving it an almost caramelized, saline feel that smells gorgeous. This accord, paired with a gracious helping of oakmoss, creates a solid, long-lasting masculine deserving of a place among the hallmarks, making reference to the last great fougere, Rive Gauche Pour Homme. It's a real meat-and-potatoes man kinda scent, but with enough purity and swagger to appeal to the masses of metrosexuals popping up as well.

While it may reference Brut or Rive Gauche or whatever other fougere is compared to aftershave, this one stands on its own, as one of the finest masculines of the past few years. It continually satisfies me, as most fragrances by Bertrand Duchaufour seem to do.

Wow, Just wow! If you are looking for a gentlemen's classic look no further. This is a cologne that I would imagine Don Draper wearing if it was around back then.

Scent: 10/10 Compliment god alert, My wife loves it and I nearly always get complimented when I wear this masterpiece. The scent reminds me of a luxury classic aftershave that is in no means dated.

Longevity: This will last around 10 hours for me and is by no means offensive.

Overall: 10/10 a gentlemen's classic.

If you are looking to smell sophisticated this is the cologne for you. I would buy this again when I am finished with the bottle. As a fan of gentlemen like colognes I consider Sartorial a Grade A Masterpiece.

Well done Penhaligons well done.

Am I the only woman wearing this fragrance? mm I don't think so...
This is really a smelling experience. This scent develops and evolves on your skin from being a cold metallic sort of smell into something warm and mesmerizing. Very elegant indeed.

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.

I’m a professor at a university and this, guys, is a perfect perfume for academia. I finally found the perfect scent to go with my corduroy blazer with leather elbow patches and brown oxfords- Sartorial! While none of these things are particularly sexually alluring, they do portray a stolid sense of benign intellectual authority and manly erudition, coupled with a good-if not somewhat antiquated-sense of personal grooming. Think of wearing this one while reading in some prodigious great library, surrounded by stacks of leather bound volumes of classic literature. Smoking a pipe, perhaps. This fragrance just may raise the wearer’s IQ by a few points.