Portraits : The Bewitching Yasmine
Penhaligon's (2017)

A warm vanilla surrounded by incense and oud.

The opening blast is a shot of cardamom syrup in a vanilla latte, sometimes with a cough syrup vibe but don’t let that scare you! It quickly dries down to a smooth vanilla oud with wisps of incense. Cozy, smokey and not too sweet

Very good silage. On a walk with friends they kept catching whiffs of a “very nice incense”

The yasmine is combined with other notes from the start: some coffee/cocoa and a slightly peppery cardamom.

The drydown sweetens by adding a somewhat average tonka impression, and a nonspecific woodsy undertone comes and goes towards the end.

I get moderate sillage, good projection and six hours of longevity on my skin.

The olfactory - not the pastiche-like stereotypical marketing and naming - concept is not badly designed, but this spring scent's rather synthetic nature brings it down a few pegs to being quite average. 2.75/5.

Creamy vanilla and cardamom coffee, not unlike a coffee shop holiday hot beverage. I agree with HouseOfPhlegethon that the jasmine doesn't appear until a good hours into wearing. Interesting gourmand that turns into a floral amber. I can detect the vanilla from start to finish and it's the rich baking vanilla that I loved so much in the Shalimar Ode de a la Vanille series.

I smell cardamom, coffee, vanilla, and oud right away. Intense. Warm. Thick. A tobacco-like accord underneath. Fir and incense create smoke. Funny - I can't smell any jasmine. There IS a note I cannot pinpoint that reminds me of cognac or brandy. Anyhow, I love this perfume!

Sweet but not too much.
Woody, with darkness...

Jasmine appears later, after I had been outdoors for some fresh air.

Yasmine goes on with a nice shot of saffron and pepper. The jasmine is mostly buried, acting as more of a sweetener than a direct smell. There's some fairly forward butter, as well as burnt caramel creme brulee adding to the sweetness. I'm guessing there's also some currant at play, as there's a hint of piney green urine in the background. It's an interesting smell, likely inspired by the indie perfumes that define the cutting edge right now, in that it's really rough, clearly informed by Slumberhouse and the like, where it's less about complimentary notes and more about achieving a sweet, dark continuity of texture.

But there's a problem. About an hour in, an inky "woody amber" aquatic base comes in and cheapens everything. By hour two, all that's left is a hint of caramel smothered by what's basically the cheapest base available, leaving Yasmine smelling like an Axe body spray for most of the day. Too bad - this had promise but ultimately fails. Thumbs down trying to pass off a cheap cliche of a drydown in a $250 exclusive perfume. Nope.