Burberry London for Men
Eau de Toilette, Burberry (2006)

Man, it’s a good thing I’m not rich. I tried this on my wrist and went back in the shop to talk to the guy about how great it was right afterward. I might have just bought it then and there. Then the dry down got a little too powdery soft for me. It’s a good scent, but it reminded me of one of the older folks I used to go to Bible study with. Not a fault with the scent…Just not one I would buy.

A winter favorite of mine at a reasonable price. I love the hints of tobacco and the just right amount of spiciness.

Pleasant enough. Smells like cinnamon, leather and wood. Has a Christmas vibe and reminds me of scented candles burning during the holiday season. The top note is dominated by cinnamon.

All of this is irrelevant because the scent is literally gone in less than an hour. I have never experienced such poor longevity. Almost like it was designed to disappear. Unless you want to reapply this hourly, stay away.

Smells nice, pleasant, and masculine. Very boozy and smokey, so it smells like "old fashioned, old man" rather than something with a youthful or strong connotation. The smell is a double thumbs up but the 15 minutes longevity is inexcusable. There's reason why this can be found for $20 for 100mL.

Instead of buying this, I suggest you pick up a clone of Layton, which in itself is a niche clone of this fragrance. A Layton clone will smell almost exactly like London but certainly last you much longer.

No disrespect in the thumbs down of the grandfather of this DNA, but there are just better options out there now than when I got this maybe 10 years ago.

I love the smell of this fragrance - it's a warm, fall/winter scent with lots of spices and tobacco. Quite similar really to Insurrection II Wild by Reyane Traditions, just minus the cherry or almond-heavy aspect to the tobacco. This is more of a straight-up light blonde tobacco, to my nose. Others say they really get the cherry or almond, but after smelling Insurrection II Wild, I can say that for me this is more just blonde tobacco. Spices are more dominant here, I get a ton of the cinnamon, which is so nice. Black pepper, bergamot, lavender all help round this out. And the drydown is nice as well, as some leather and opoponax (sweet myrrh) notes join in, and, as someone else described - I definitely get that 'cigar humidor' vibe from the drydown.

BUT (and it's a big but) it's a good thing I got a sample of this first, because this fragrance does not last on me at all. After only a minute or two (seriously) this has become a skin scent on me - I've asked people around me if they can smell the fragrance sillage within 5-10 minutes, and they cannot. And shockingly, I can't even smell the fragrance where I sprayed it directly, like 30 minutes in! So that's a huge bummer, and makes it a no-go for me, no matter how much I like the fragrance itself. Thankfully the Reyane Traditions offering outperforms this fragrance by a mile, and is close enough (though not quite as pleasant overall, it's harsher, and that cherry/almond note in the tobacco really stands out. I prefer Burberry London, which is just... pleasant.)

If Burberry made London in an edp or an extrait, I'd grab that sucker in a heartbeat. Until then, I'll just save the decant I got for the winter holiday months, when it's most appropriate. As so many people have said, it's a perfect Christmas scent, with that comforting warmth, and has earned its nickname "Christmas in a Bottle." Speaking of bottles, I do think the plaid cloth that comes on the bottle is pretty cool, it's certainly the thing that initially drew my attention to this fragrance - although in practical terms, I can see it getting dirty or messed-up rather easily. But it's cool.

Orient spices
As Occident holidays
Recapitulate

Spice road time travel
Seen through a kaleidoscope
As flatland wonder.