Suppose I love (LOVE) Blenheim Bouquet

I already own a bottle (mmmm) of it, and love the scent. Not enamored with the staying power as much, but the subtlety is also nice. I absolutely love the citrus and pine aspects, and tend to not go for more floral fragrances. For further reference into my likes, I also own and use Hermes Eau d'Orange Vert. I'm a big fan of patchouli and sandalwood scents as well.

The question is, then, what else is out there that's similar to BB? What direction should I start going in terms of ordering samples?

If you like BB, you owe it to yourself to try Pino Silverstre. It's got a lot of pine and lemon, and is very affordable.

The best way I know to find "similar" scents (other than posting the question) is to use TPC's search function. The Perfumed Court allows you to search by notes, so look up a given scent, check what note they classify it under, then search for others with that same note.

Voila'!

I love Blenheim Bouquet and own a bottle as well. I've only tried a sample but liked Green Irish Tweed - nice lemon top notes.

You might also like Art of Shaving Sandalwood - nice blend of pine/evergreen and sandalwood with a clean soapy feel. I have a bottle of this and my only complaint is that it's very subtle.

BillC said:

I love Blenheim Bouquet and own a bottle as well. I've only tried a sample but liked Green Irish Tweed - nice lemon top notes.

You might also like Art of Shaving Sandalwood - nice blend of pine/evergreen and sandalwood with a clean soapy feel. I have a bottle of this and my only complaint is that it's very subtle.

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I have their shave soap and cream in sandalwood, and found the scent to be the exact opposite of subtle. Is the cologne better?

Have you tried Pen's English Fern?

It's not similar in the 'smells almost the same' way, but it's more of using the same 'scent philosophy' in designing the scent ... if that makes sense ... you can see a 'house style' connection between the two.

... worth a sample try-out.

Doc4 said:

Have you tried Pen's English Fern?

It's not similar in the 'smells almost the same' way, but it's more of using the same 'scent philosophy' in designing the scent ... if that makes sense ... you can see a 'house style' connection between the two.

... worth a sample try-out.

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Excellent points, Doc4!

It may not be just the famous/infamous lemon, pepper, and pine that endcycle is drawn to, but Pen's houise style or at least individual of those elements presented with the Pen's house style. Besides EF showing a similar house style connectiton with BB, I would say that Pen's Opus (pepper) and Douro share actual scent elements with BB in a very similar scent philosophy.

I think I would even say that about Castile.

One might even argue that Pen's Elixir does.

endcycle said:

I have their shave soap and cream in sandalwood, and found the scent to be the exact opposite of subtle. Is the cologne better?

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Better?

I have the shave soap, the ASB and the cologne. All have similar sandalwood scents, I find more pine in the cologne. I just read through the reviews on Basenotes and it was interesting to see the polarity of response. Some thought the sandalwood sharp and sillage high, others thought the sandalwood creamy and the scent stayed close to the skin. For me, it's a very low key frag. Opens with a bit of a medicinal eucalyptus but quickly evolves into pine/fir and creamy sandalwood, very clean and soapy, stays very close to my skin.

I like it although I wish it had a bit more power. If you don't like the shave soap and think it's strongly scented I don't think you'd like the cologne at all.

Trumper's Wellington is often described as very similar to Pen's BB. In my opinion, the notes between the two seemed very, very similar but the Wellington was a thicker or denser version with the notes less defined.

cstrother said:

8<
I would say that Pen's Opus (pepper) and Douro share actual scent elements with BB in a very similar scent philosophy.
8<

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Agree. They are connected.
I love BB. My wife brought me a bottle from London last week and some samples.
Next week she has to go again I will demand (!) a small detour to pick up Opus and Douro as well.

See here.

I had a hard time telling between BB and these other two scents. Dont think you'll be disappointed!

Ru4scuba? said:

See here.

I had a hard time telling between BB and these other two scents. Dont think you'll be disappointed!

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That's a very interesting discussion scuba...have you tried the Wellington? I'm curious to see how it wears and how it compares to BB after being worn for a couple hours?

Do you guys consider BB a summer scent?

Ru4scuba? said:

See here.

I had a hard time telling between BB and these other two scents. Dont think you'll be disappointed!

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Amazing to me how different frags work/smell for other people - it's why I'll never blind buy anything else.

I read that thread and was excited to try Trafalger and Wellington. I love Blenheim Bouquet - it opens with bright lemon notes and moves into evergreen/pine. The heart notes to me have a lot of lemon thyme/thyme to them. BB sits pretty close to my skin but lasts for hours and I can apply it pretty heavy without it being overpowering or cloying - it just smells fresh and clean.

With Trafalger I didn't get any strong lemon or citrus. Just a jasmine powder that faded very quickly to nothing. With Wellington I got really nice lemon top notes and then... nothing. It was completely gone in about an hour.

Good to know BillC, EdT have a propencity to die on me about midway through the morning.

I am wearing BB today for the first time in awhile as I was running out and am just getting some more. I am still as enamored with BB as ever--very drawn to it. I have had most of the others being discussed.

I have used the Pino Silverstre a lot and like it, but it seems very different from BB to me. It is hard for me to remember Wellington. I do not think I have every come across anything that really seems all that much like BB to me, except, as I said early, there is definite style and note overlap with the other Pen's I named. Particularly, to me, Opus, although I know lots of folks that dislike BB but really like Opus, and Opus does not appeal to me with the same intensity as BB, Douro, Elixir, or EF do.

Or to be honest with myself, even Castile and maybe HB. Castile is so floral in the beginning as to be off-putting, but in an hour or two it dries down to such a high quality neroli/begamot with just a little bit of wood. I am fascinated with HB, but do not send up wearing it. I have the sense that some day I may be "captured" by it!

I guess I really am a Pen's fanboy though, because Opus is a great scent, and it is one I wear rather frequently.

Cuttingboard said:

That's a very interesting discussion scuba...have you tried the Wellington? I'm curious to see how it wears and how it compares to BB after being worn for a couple hours?

Do you guys consider BB a summer scent?

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Yes and sort of. I tried Wellington and like it quite a bit but its very difficult to discern the difference between it and BB IMHO.

I think you can wear BB anytime but summer is better for sure.

BillC said:

Amazing to me how different frags work/smell for other people - it's why I'll never blind buy anything else.

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Nothing is more YMMV than a man's sniffer...

Because of the citrus, BB could be considered more Spring and Summer than Fall and Winter, but I think the pepper and pine, and perhaps the old school/aristocratic heritage, make it work year round. It has citrus, but it is a different citrus than that breezy Mediterranean isle neroli orange or, say, a lime-type frag, which I most think of as summery frags.

To me, BB is a bit like Issey PH in this respect. Citrus, sure, but citrus with some real backbone. Neither a "zippidy doo dah" frag--no need to reserve them for times of walking in the woods with Disney cartoon birds flying around your head!

As for buying frags blind, my tastes are really extremely broad and maybe I am basically a wh-re for any scent that someone around here I respect says is really good, but I cannot really think of where I have really disliked a blind purchase on the long term. There have scents I bought blind that I did not like at first and might not have bought if I had sample in advance, I came to really appreciate because I used them because I had bought and paid for a good supply of them. The Caron's come to mind immediately, as does Lolita Lempicka. I bought a resale bottle of Chaumet based on one guy's description--a guy I really respect now but did not know as well then--and it is one of my favorites.


I guess I have a "used" 50 ml bottle of Pen's Endymion that I bought "blind" and paid a decent amount for that has not caught on with me at least yet.

That said, there really is little reason not to obtain a sample or decant of something before buying a bottle, if it is every even necessary to buy an entire bottle rather than a larger decant.

I personally, and I know this is a miinority view, am happy not own a full bottle of DC 1913. There are any number of Creeds that I am grateful never to have bought at bottle of at anything like retail price, but some that I am very happy to own, too.

I just bought a bottle of Dunhill (1934) "blind." Have not gotten it yet. If I do not like that one folks will be proved right about never ever buying blind, because the comments/nots on that one sing a siren song to me re that scent!

Penhaligon is hard to find. I have a BB sample that I use from times to time as the "benchmark" for the other frafrances to compare to. If it was more widely available I would probably get a whole bottle.

noxlord said:

Penhaligon is hard to find. I have a BB sample that I use from times to time as the "benchmark" for the other frafrances to compare to. If it was more widely available I would probably get a whole bottle.

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Where are you and do they have mail service?