PENHALIGON’S: A magical journey

With new brands arising every day the established ones are fighting hard to don’t get forgotten. One of their strongest assets in this fight is the rich history that long-established brands have. Penhaligon’s is one of those brands, in the Netherlands exclusively at Skins. Written by Wes Viana Ferreiro.

Penhaligon's - established in 1870 - tells a story of a Cornish barber who moved to London to change the scene. Inspired by the Turkish baths on Jermyn Street William Penhaligon's created his first fragrance Hammam Bouquet. His efforts and creations didn’t go by unnoticed, especially not by the British royals who have repeatedly contracted his services. Over 147 years Penhaligon's has received several royal warrants, created innovative fragrances that tell a lush story of world trade and all without ever changing the original bottle design.

Halfetti is an abundant wood-flowery fragrance inspired on the luxurious goods imported from Turkey by the Levant Company. Think exotic flowers, spices, soft leather and costly fabrics. It’s named after the Turkish village Halfetti, where black roses grow on the riverbanks. All fragrances from the Trade Routes Collection make you think of an exotic place, continents away. Halfetti is one of the heavier fragrances, yet the collection also carries fragrances that are more attainable.

Empressa is inspired by the beauty of mother-of-pearl, precious silk and other goods imported to London to wow powerful, influential ladies. Penhaligon’s story-telling is about as strong as a contemporary brand can have and enables you to travel far from home in just one sprinkle.

Penhaligon’s has not only succeeded in creating lush perfumes building on its rich history, but has now taken it to the next level of storytelling.

With the Portraits collection (€225 75ml also exclusively at Skins) Penhaligon’s has cleverly created a brand new collection of fragrances from scratch with a story as rich as Downtown Abbey. The collection starts out with six fragrances with aristocratic names such as The Revenge of Lady Blanche, Much Ado About The Duke and The Coveted Duchess Rose.

 Lord George is the patriarchal leader of the pack and tells the story of a vain man who is always aware of his appearance. Think wood and fougère – one of the main olfactive families of perfumes. Although often used in men’s fragrances, it is now mixed with a hint of rum, which makes it lightly caramel.

Although the collection is newly created, it has an old soul. You can imagine a real person behind each perfume and you can picture them flaunting through Mayfair and having drinks with Oscar Wilde at Café Royal. Popular television shows like Downtown Abbey and The Crown have of course stimulated the contemporary brain to look back in the past and Penhaligon’s has cleverly stepped in on this phenomenon.

Penhaligon’s London is exclusively available in all Skins stores and its web shop.  Halfetti 100ml €185. Empressa 100ml €149 Skins.nl