Best Quercus by Penhaligon's Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

Perfumer: Michèle Saramito

A new addition to Bloom’s portfolio, an elegant cologne with sweet sun kissed citruses, honeyed neroli and amber background.

With classic formulas it’s the quality of the ingredients that matters. Marie Jeanne might be a new perfume house, but it’s founded by a young perfumer from a family connected to Robertet for several generations.

Robertet is a bit like De Beers of the fine natural perfume materials - matières premières, for decades they have been dealing with the finest, purest and most precious stuff a perfumer can dream of.

This is Marcelle, a classic elegant cologne but with highly likely the best bergamot from Italy, grapefruit from Spain, neroli from Tunisia and petigrain from Paraguay among other notes in the formula.

A rampage through a fantasy meadow. Lily-of-the-valley, orange blossom and lavender are crushed underfoot as you run riot across beauty. Lilac and lemon assert themselves in the carnage. Tonka bean and white musk ensures that this extrait strength perfume stays and plays.

Early morning, October 1175, Calabria

The cool night air dissipates under the sun’s first rays. The ripe citrus in the field has absorbed all the water of the morning dew and the farmers are ready to work on the misty green fields, speckled by the bright yellow of the citron. They leave their woody cabin and take a deep breath…

An opening of citric and fizzy lemon combined with bright lime and bergamot, salty and refreshing, just like those Mediterranean summers.

The sharp salty accord lends further depth and keeps the lemon note true throughout the long-lasting dry down; interspersed with the bright combination of musks and patchouli.

A contemporary orange blossom cologne.

Perfumer for 002: Karine Dubreuil – Sereni. 

A floral flight of a thousand fragrances from the Pays de Grasse.

Bel Air, in a contemporary interpretation, exalts the most exquisite flowers of Grasse in a sumptuous, luminous bouquet.

A fragrance in which Centifolia rose, jasmine, tuberose, iris, violet, and mimosa bloom sensuously, eternally. A genuine jewel of light, the bottle is a faithful replica of its predecessor, now tenderly tinged with coral. Bel Air, inspired by an idyllic garden, enchants the eye and heart with its petite pastel flask that radiates intensely bucolic beauty.

Pergola opens with the most incredible rush of twisted green vegetation and instantly transports you back to the heyday of that decadent walkway. There is so much happening in here but the notes of galbanum, bergamot, and ivy are particularly spectacular. The floral heart is a swooning blend of narcissus, tuberose, and jasmine but the pergola’s passage of history is provided by an earthy pairing of patchouli and vetiver. You get a real impression of its heritage from touches of resins and moss and, whilst it’s described as a fougere, there is definitely a feeling of the most glorious aromatic chypre.

Perfumer: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz

Eearly bloomers starting the green parade of spring challenging the silent snow... this story smells green (thanks to a generous dose of galbanum), earthy (orris) and there are also owl's wings waving the very gentle shy aroma of snowdrops around the formula.

Zoologist's concept:

A thick carpet of silver envelops the landscape, untouched but for the dazzling reflection of the sun. Snow stretches as far as the eye can see, while a bitter wind rolls silently across the sky, its hush barely broken by the powerful beat of an ivory wing. Despite the stillness of the arctic, the snowy owl senses a flutter beneath the icy crust far below. Through snowy tunnels voles scamper, oblivious to their fate. A warm glow stirs within the breast of the majestic bird as it dives, confident in its mastery over the frigid kingdom.

Zoologist's Snowy Owl glides on with a minty opening, while the gentle warmth of musk combines with beautiful hints of snowdrops, lily of the valley and iris. Sweet coconut and woody vanilla swoop in to surprise and entice. Snowy Owl merges cool vitality with exquisite softness in a captivating scent, ideal for those who aren't afraid to take what they desire.

In Japan, yuzu is used like lemons, adding freshness and acidity to dishes. This zippy citrus fragrance expresses everything about yuzu, from the astringency of its peel to the sweet and sour taste of the pulp. An accord of bergamot and orange bolsters the yuzu, while thyme adds herbal intrigue.

Silky citrus.

A particularly silky fragrance, where Pierre Guillaume transforms citrus acidity into a scented caress.

The kumquat-sandalwood accord seems infused with sunlight and bestows on the skin the charms of a melting creaminess, soft and fresh.

 ***

The Sniff on Sunsuality:
"[it] opens with a delicate white floral note, bolstered with a smooth citrus undertone. It doesn’t really matter if it is lemon blossom, or lemon and blossoms, either way the scent opens light, breezy, and expansive. It’s a transparent scent that conjures up images of white muslin curtains billowing in a Mediterranean breeze, all gauzy and floaty. The floral nuances are sweet, delicate, almost naive, whilst the lemon is sharper, sourer but never very aggressive."

Read the full review