Cornubia
Penhaligon's (1991)

Cornubia is dry and effervescent like ginger ale, but replaces the ginger with heliotrope. This big, neon heliotrope, an oversized bouquet, flanked with talc-soft orange blossom and jasmine. It's showy, verging on strident, but what keeps it in check is a warm amber and lubricious musk.

Somewhere in the heart I get something that reminds me of creamy, peachy plumeria blossoms, and there are definitely phrases in the development that echo L'Heure Bleue and Cacharel LouLou. However, Cornubia is more gregarious than the former and a bit more polished and perhaps more unisex than the latter, but like both, it has a strong personality, and would likely require a strong personality to wear it with panache.

This can conjure up all sorts of old world tropes like boudoirs, ornate vanities, viewing the opera through lorgnettes, penny arcades and croquet. It is sepia toned photographs on purple velvet, gothic arches at sunset, and a potent potion of devotion, sitting on a shiny, cold pew and asking for forgiveness the following morning.

The opening combines a pleasant mandarin with a very gentle sweet notes of marzipan with a touch if neroli. Very soon a wave of florals drenches us, with a lovely orange blossom increasingly dominant in the mix. It is accompanied by a intense and delightful freesia, and whiffs of oleander.

In the drydown a bright jasmine develops, which mixes in well with the rest.

In the base an ambery vanilla moves centre stage, with the amber only lending a helping hand in the background. Fleeting whiffs of caramel are notable. Touches of cheery pie come and go too. A woodsy tone arises with a note present that reminds me of some African whitewood, with some underlying white musks adding further depth. A very subdued powderiness develops with time.

I het moderate sillage, very good projection, and an superb longevity of eleven hours on my skin.

This is a delicious nigh-gourmand scent is perfect fir a cooler romantic spring evening. Rich, a bit creamy, sweet and soft, with ingredients of high quality and blended very well. The performance is excellent. Not sure about the Cornish connection though. 3.75/5

white floral-oriental. orange blossom heliotrope clouds condense into an absolute, obdurate softness with the notes one big puddle, later met with a dollop of spices in the heart.
It persists and the vanillic drydown is worthy of admiration by itself.

For the penhaligon's brand image (urbane, understated, staid) this one is somewhat anomalous in terms of strength, with very good sillage and longevity.

The scent itself is just shy of full opulence relative to other florientals, so take that as you will.

A truly nice mix, Cornubia is a combination of heliotrope, with its sweet marzipan smell, fused together with clove. There's a really nice cherry/jasmine/rose element in the topnotes, as well as powdery vanilla soap in the base.

I like Cornubia, but (and this is going to sound kind of ridiculous) I find it frustrating because it's *almost* wonderful. With a little more effort (perhaps some chypre basenotes for added complexity, a little sparkle on top, and tweaks to the concentration to amplify the richness), this could have been a masterwork along the lines of the legendary Carons and Guerlains. Don't get me wrong - Cornubia is a good perfume and deserves an enthusiastic thumbs-up, but I just wish they'd put in the extra effort to create something amazing for the ages.

The other reviewers on this page have obviously smelled something totally different than what arrived in my sample- directly from Penhaligon's. I got a reedy, tweedy dry blast and then nothing for an hour, finally resolving itself into a warm, vanilla musk, but no florals at all.

Their Artemesia seems to have been copied somewhat for Cornubia. The same reedy, woody initial scent, then warm vanillas and musks.

Nothing outstanding and too much like the earlier scent to be distinguished.

Feminine and comforting - the heliotrope is responsible for the luxuriously comforting quality, I think. Lasts very well and doesn't overpower the wearer or the people around them. A truly charming fragrance.