There comes a time in every fragrance collector's journey where they finally stop looking down the fork in the road and step boldly down that windy and treacherous path named Xerjoff. Today my birthday present to myself arrived, a full size full presentation of the one the only - often imitated and never duplicated - Naxos. As a first purchase, I think this is a fairly safe bet for almost anyone, but I did purchase a sample of this and several other fragrances prior to my European trip in March and felt that this definitely was one fragrance that felt like it was worth the cost of admission. There's a couple of others from the house that I'm interested in as well, but at the price point they are not impulse/blind buys. Anyways, I've been pretty quiet on here lately and thought I'd share my recent haul with you all came with samples (not pictured) of Bois Imperial by Essential Parfums and PDM Layton - which I've never actually had the privilege of trying or smelling. So I'm actually pretty excited for that sample as I've smelled and own a couple of samples of Bois Imperial. Stay fragrant my friends!

Penhaligon’s is one of those houses I respect probably more than I actually reach for. This is a British perfume house with a lot of history behind it, and you can definitely smell that heritage in the way many of their fragrances are put together. Even when they release something modern, there is usually a polished, proper, almost old-world British character running through the house. I would put Penhaligon’s firmly in the high-end retail niche category today. It is niche, but this isn’t some tiny underground artisan operation anymore. The presentation is luxurious, the storytelling is strong, the bottles are instantly recognizable, and you’ll find the house in major luxury retail. Where Penhaligon’s really separates itself is personality. The Portraits Collection especially turned the house into something much more theatrical. You have fragrances built around fictional British aristocratic characters, animal-head caps, elaborate names, and entire stories surrounding them. Normally I don’t care much about marketing if the fragrance doesn’t deliver, but with Penhaligon’s the presentation actually fits the fragrances pretty well. Some of the standouts for me: Halfeti – Probably one of the easiest fragrances from the house to recommend. Spicy, woody, slightly sweet and very polished. This is one of those fragrances where you immediately understand why it became popular. The Blazing Mr Sam – Warm, spicy, woody and confident. Probably one of the better masculine-leaning fragrances in the Portraits collection. The Tragedy of Lord George – Boozy, woody and somewhat old-fashioned in a good way. Very gentlemanly fragrance. Endymion – Softer and more understated. Aromatic, slightly creamy and elegant. This represents the older Penhaligon’s style more than something like Halfeti does. Sartorial – One of the fragrances that really captures that traditional British barbershop / tailored-suit feeling. Very classy, but I could also see younger fragrance enthusiasts finding it dated.