My first experience with Penhaligons and Review of Amaranthine

Last week I was at Bank and had about an hour to kill before my train so naturally I gravitated towards the shops. I glazed like a lost puppy dog outside Louis Vuitton and Gucci and realised that this was not the time for me to spend my hard earned savings on accessories, but the money was burning a hole in my pocket, so I ran into Penhaligons before my co-worker could object.

What a glorious trip that became to be.  I fully appreciate excellent customer service as that's something that I train my staff in on a daily basis.  The women of Penhaligons were warm and friendly.  They never sized me up, and they never acted snotty or better then me. How refreshing to have that kind of service in London, let alone in Bank.

I spoke to women briefly about my love for the packaging, the beautiful shop displays and how beautiful it smelled in their small shop.

 (My apologies for the iphone photos, I didn't expect to be blogging so I didn't have my camera on me)

Gorgeous statement candles

Neroli candle , £87

Of course this gorgeous decadent chandelier caught my eye. How beautiful is that! I absolutely loved the old perfume labels that adorned the back wall.

How beautiful does that all look next to each other? I seriously wanted to take a loan out and buy it all.  My photos do not show, but they featured their fragrances, shower gels, body lotions and other fragrance accessories.

I got to try some perfumes on my skin based on some of my favourite oils such as bergamot and neroli.  After 30 minutes of asking a million questions, I decided to drop some hard earned cash up in there.  I ended up buying a 50ml of Amaranthine, a Fragrance library set (£16), and walked away with a smile on my face.

I picked Amaranthine out of all the other lovely fragrances, because I do not own anything even remotely close to it.

Penhaligon's describes their fragrance as:

"Amaranthine is a corrupted floral oriental for those private moments when everything is anticipation. It opens with a dramatic flourish of spices and tropical green. This unsettling lick of drama is beautifully ambushed by an unctuous accord of jasmine and ylang-ylang, a heady bloom renowned for its aphrodisiac properties, and clove swathed in spices, tea, musk and the rounded beauty of tonka bean absolute."

Now I don't know about you all, but I absolutely love fragrance descriptions. They really believe that fragrance is an Art.  I absolutely agree with them 100%, but sometimes their descriptions will either encapture someone's imagination or deter someone from reading it.  I believe whoever wrote the descriptions for Penhaligons is doing a superb job.

We all know that fragrance smells different on different people as long as they use raw materials. CK will smell like CK wherever you go, that's their brand recognition.  That goes with a lot of different fragrances on the high street, so when you get into the niche fragrance world, the description of fragrances become complex and you get a variety of opinions.  How does one describe an abstract painting? They do by emotion.  I believe niche fragrances are the same way.  So here is my "artistic" interruption of Amaranthine.

Amaranthine at first glance (sniff) is:
Seduction
Anticipation
Lust
Yearning
Seedy/Dark/Underground
Floral
Night-time
Smell of perspiration
Mimicks natural endorphines
Vintage

When it settles, it is:
Delicate
Warm
Sweet
Comforting
Satisfying

This fragrance is a seductive fragrance that represents sex for me.  The boldness and seduction of the "hunt" and finishes off with the morning after satisfaction.

I absolutely love this fragrance when it settles on my skin after a few hours, it is so sweet and warm.  The lasting power on this fragrance on my skin is 8-10 hours and even after I had a bath, I could still smell residuals of the sweet base note.  I was really impressed.

My love for niche fragrances is born.

Amaranthine is available on their website here and it can be purchased for £68 for 50ml ad £95 for 100ml.