First spray was around 10:30 a.m. I checked back in around 10:44, and on my forearm the fragrance was already very heart-forward. I’m not getting much of the citrus pop from mandarin or bergamot, and the ginger isn’t giving me that fizzy lift I usually notice in other scents. Instead, saffron is clearly the star, with soft white florals supporting it. It feels warm and refined rather than bright or zesty. I did a fresh spray from a little farther back and that made the structure even clearer. The saffron comes through even more strongly, mixed with what I’m guessing is orange blossom and jasmine, but they’re blended together and hard to separate. The overall effect is warm and cozy, not spicy like pepper or cardamom, more like depth and softness. Projection is better than I expected. I tried a trick @Lon Chaneyfield mentiined and sprayed on my knees to estimate projection. Standing upright, I can still smell it clearly. The distance from my knees to my nose is roughly 2.5 to 3 feet, so that’s about where the scent bubble is sitting right now. So far, this feels like a heart-driven parfum where saffron leads and the citrus stays in the background. Really enjoying the profile and curious to see how it develops as it continues to wear. Update: It’s about 11:07 a.m. now, and something interesting just happened. As the heart settled in, I’m actually starting to pick up the mandarin a bit more. It’s not bright or fizzy, but a softer citrus warmth coming through underneath the saffron and florals. Second update: It’s about 12:30 p.m. now, roughly two hours in. Projection has come down a bit and is sitting around a foot to a foot and a half. Saffron is still very much the star. The citrus is mostly gone on skin, but in the air I can still catch a soft hint of mandarin blending with the saffron. It’s subtle and warm, not bright or tangy. This still feels firmly in the mid phase. I’m not picking up the vanilla or amber yet, and it hasn’t shifted into the drydown. The profile remains smooth, refined, and saffron-forward.

Burberry / London for Him — starty holiday week this Christmas-in-a-bottle classic