English Lavender
Atkinsons (1910)

Atkinsons English Lavender embodies the spirit of pure lavender. While of course there is a fair amount of genuine lavender oil, no doubt, we know that even the absolute of lavender has its limitations on longevity, just reaching into the heart of fragrance, so there is support here, by way of clove, clary sage, some rosemary and geranium, rosewood, Evernyl, and musk. Yet these props in no way detract from the sensation of unadulterated lavender.

The only sweetness here is the subtle coumarin that is naturally present in lavender oil. Here, it is the herbaceous nature of lavender that is given full attention, never veering toward an excessively powdery detour. At one point in its development, it reminds me exactly of inhaling a bundle of freshly dried lavender. There is a surprising heartiness to EL that sets it apart from other classic lavender toilet waters. Traces linger for hours on my own skin but as always, YMMV.

I love lavender so I can be biased... however Atkinsons lavender is one of the best for me. I've tried several over the years and I always found something I didn't like (often the sweet bases of coumarin or vanillin or musky and powdery) and it made me move on to the next one. I rediscovered the Atkinsons one (because a relative used it years and years ago and it is with her that I had the imprinting with the scent of this aromatic herb) a couple of years ago and it was immediately love. It's an almost usual lavender, if it weren't for the dry woody notes in the background, a very light geranium that gives it "movement" and nothing else. It is linear, herbaceous, cold and dry, not sweet at all and it is precisely this last characteristic that makes me love it so much. I find it perfect after the shower but also to use in the morning, on sunny and mild days, to be sprayed inside the shirt and on the neck to feel clean and fresh. Obviously for many it may seem like an "old style" perfume, in the sense that nowadays those sweet and nauseating filth that are masculine (for a lover of classic masculine like me) are in fashion, so perfumes of this kind are "out of fashion", but sticaxxi...

I always have a lot of this in the house. During the week, I like to wear it. I actually use it as an aftershave on my neck and top of my cheeks which I shave. I also have a non scented balm and I add a bit of English lavender to it as well and smear it on. Unlike some posters here, it doesn’t last long on me at all. And I check this with my wife and even co-workers to be sure. My skin chemistry won’t hold “light” scents for long, so it’s perfect for during the week and during the day. I have even tried layering it with Caron Pour Un Homme. The deals we get on it here in The Netherlands where I live are amazing. A huge bottle, almost a pint ( 320 ml) costs €42. Can’t beat that. And also like another poster, it was a scent my father used to wear. He used to soak his pochet with it and it hung out of the top of his top jacket pocket. Some online retailers even have gift sets with a small travel spray thrown in for above price. I am 66 years old, my father when I was young, wore this, and therefore it has some good memories for me. My dad even had a bath talc of the same. But I haven’t seen it around, or I would buy it too.
I do get lavender in the scent. My wife has a large allotment garden and grows flowers as well as veg. Anyway, she also grows two types of lavender along the edges of her garden,. She hang dries bunches and puts them in our wardrobes. I just love lavender. I also have the above mentioned Caron Pour un Homme and that is a different lavender from the English. I guess French. Just bought only this week the L’Occitane. 75 ml of that costs more than 320ML of EL. So won’t buy that again. Not because of price, but I found it lasting less than the English one.

This is a very natural lavender with a hint of zest. No sweetness at all - just like squeezing a cedrat and natural lavender together. Slightly woody as it calms down but the lavender is always the star of the show.

I tried this as an alternative to l'Occitan thinking they're both billed as more natural / herbal but they couldn't be more different. L'Occitan is much better balanced and blended, richer and more complex - it does have a slightly astringent lavender opening but it mellows quickly, receding into the overall herbal accord. The other big difference is the bergamot in EL vs l'Occitan is more woodsy.

It's not that EL is a bad fragrance - it's just more of a freshy vibe, but there are fragrances that do that far better for me.

Unforgettable: it was my father's lavender, a lot of years ago, but I used to wear it as well. A very sharp and fresh fragrance, a great classic, a real English lavender without compromises: if you're looking for a smooth kind of lavender, with some sweet drydown (like Caron's Pour un Homme, I mean), don't look for this. Here you'll find a well composed bouquet of lavender with a background of other herbs and citruses, for a very dry and clean aroma.

A stable in the wardrobe of many gentlemen and the unforgetable scent of my grandfather's brother, my grand-uncle Gino that for 27 years had lived his exotic life between Italy and Venezuela. I was an innocent child at time he came back with his grease on gray hairs, the white linen clothes and the herbal/aromatic English Lavender over. I catch similarities with several traditional Creed's creations and I see the association with the Royal Scottish Lavender that Naed Nitram previously underlined. The fragrance starts with a marvellous citrus-lavender aromatic accord to die for. The accord retains an herbal feel along the trip because of the addition of clary sage and rosemary. The latter is great with its bracing aroma of hight mountain. The evolution slides towards a mossy woody aroma with the smoked touch of seasoned tonka plus hints of fir resins. The outcome is light, woodsy and uncompromisingly virile and while being basically dry it tends to soften towards a sort of soapy muskiness despite the declared absence of balsams, vanilla or myrrh. Ethernal fragrance that many will never intend to pull apart.