Honey and bergamot on the spray, oud and rose underneath, warm vanilla by the afternoon. 100 ml eau de parfum.
Poured in small batches. Batch 3 is the last of this run.
I did not buy this expecting anything. It arrived, I wore it to the school run and then to a birthday thing later on, and by the end of the day three separate people had asked me what I had on. One of them guessed a brand I could not afford. I did not correct her straight away, which I am not proud of. It is sweet at first and then it goes warmer and a bit smoky, and that second part is what people actually comment on.
It was meant to be a birthday present and I made the mistake of trying it first. I wore it for one day and then quietly ordered her a different one, which I am aware is not my finest moment. It goes sweet for the first ten minutes and then turns much warmer and slightly smoky, and that second half is what I kept getting stopped about at work. She has since smelled it on me and worked out what happened.
The first ten minutes were far too sweet and I honestly thought I had wasted my money. I left it on and by the time I got home it had turned into something completely different, much warmer and drier. If you try it and hate it immediately, give it the hour before you decide anything. That is the whole review.
Honey and bergamot on the spray - sweet, bright, and the part people react to first. Fifteen minutes in, the sugar settles and the citrus goes.
From about an hour it is oud, rose and patchouli. That is the actual fragrance, and it is where the compliments start. By the fourth hour it has dropped into amber, vanilla and musk, sitting close to the skin.
It depends on you, and the reports are split. Some people still catch it in the evening; some lose it after lunch. Skin type does more here than price does.
What reliably helps: spray onto skin you have moisturised, because dry skin will not hold fragrance. Use the pulse points - collar bone and the inside of the wrist - and do not rub your wrists together, which crushes the top notes. And put one on a scarf or coat collar, because fabric holds it long after skin has let go.
It is sweet for the first ten minutes and then it is not. That is the design, not a fault.
If the opening is too much, do not wash it off - wait for the hour mark. One of the people who now wears it most days nearly returned it in the first ten minutes. If you still dislike it dry, it is genuinely not your scent and we would rather have it back.
At two sprays, no. At five, yes - and that is true of any eau de parfum.
It is loudest in the first ten minutes, which is usually the walk in, and by the time you are at your desk it has dropped close to the skin. If you want it quieter still, put one spray on a scarf instead of two on your neck. It is a cold-weather scent and it suits a room with coats in it better than a warm one in July.
One 100 ml bottle, boxed. There is no travel size in this - the big bottle only, so there is nothing to arrive missing.
| Eau de parfum | 100 ml / 3.38 fl oz |
| Sprays per bottle | around 900 |
| At two sprays a day | well over a year |
| Travel size included | no |
Orders leave within one business day. Shipping is calculated at checkout.
60 days, opened bottles included. Fragrance is personal and buying it unsniffed is a gamble - we would rather carry that than have you keep something you never reach for.
Nobody buys a perfume to smell it themselves.
A fragrance is three things arriving in order. The top is honey and bergamot, the loudest and shortest part - bright, sweet, gone within the hour. The heart underneath is oud, rose and patchouli, and that is the fragrance proper: smoky, a little dusty, the part that reads as expensive. What is left at the end is amber, vanilla and musk, which is the warmth people mean when they say honey and cinnamon. Judge it on the heart, not on the opening.
Nobody buys a fragrance to smell it themselves - you stop noticing your own within a week. What you are buying is the moment somebody leans in and asks what you are wearing. That is the most common thing in the reviews for this one, and the second most common is the small pleasure of telling them what it cost. Warm, sweet and slightly smoky, reading far more expensive than it is. That is a specific thing to want, and this does it.
Eau de parfum carries a higher oil load than the body sprays it gets compared to, so two sprays is the dose and more is genuinely worse. Collar bone and the inside of the wrist, onto skin you have moisturised - dry skin will not hold fragrance whatever you paid for it. Do not rub your wrists together; it crushes the top notes and shortens everything after them. And one on a scarf or a coat collar, because fabric holds it long after skin has let go.
Sprayed at eight in the morning, on skin.
4.8 average from 7,400 people
Asked twice on the first day. Twice.
Nadia R.
Sweet for ten minutes, then it turns into something much better.
Tamsin H.
Bought it as a gift and did not give it. Sorry, Mum.
Andrea M.
The one I reach for when it gets cold.
Priya S.
Sweet honey and bergamot for the first ten minutes, then oud, rose and patchouli, and finally amber, vanilla and musk. Warm and gourmand rather than fresh or clean. If you like sweet and slightly smoky, this is squarely that.
It varies, and the honest answer is that reports are split - some people have it into the evening and some lose it after lunch. Moisturised skin holds fragrance and dry skin does not, which accounts for most of the difference. A spray on a scarf or coat collar will outlast anything on skin.
Collar bone and the inside of the wrist, two sprays in total, onto moisturised skin. Do not rub your wrists together - it crushes the top notes. One on fabric if you want it there into the evening.
Possibly not, and it is worth being honest about that. This is the opposite of a clean citrus or a light floral - it is sweet, warm and a little smoky.
If you have ever liked a vanilla, an amber or anything described as gourmand, it will land. If your usual is fresh and soapy, try it on one wrist before you commit to wearing it out.
Send it back within 60 days, opened. Buying fragrance unsniffed is a gamble and we would rather carry it than have you keep a bottle you never reach for. One thing first though - give it the full hour. More than one person has nearly returned it during the sweet opening.
A woman in a lift asked what I was wearing, which has never once happened to me. I told her and she wrote it down on her phone. That is the entire appeal of this and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
Bought it after smelling it on a friend. On me the honey goes quickly and what is left is drier and a bit smoky, which is fine for the office. I started with four sprays and that was too many.
First impression was a candle shop and I was annoyed. By lunchtime it had gone warm and slightly smoky and I liked it a great deal. I nearly returned something I now wear most days.
The scent is gorgeous and I have had compliments on it. My complaint is that on me it fades by mid-afternoon, so I keep it in my bag to top up. Spraying my scarf helped more than spraying more on my neck did.
Too heavy in July, which is on me and not on the perfume. I came back to it in September with a coat on and it made sense. It wants cold air and knitwear.
For external use only. Avoid contact with the eyes and with broken skin. Discontinue use if irritation occurs. Keep away from direct sunlight and open flame. Keep out of reach of children.
Honey Oud Eau de Parfum
