Dunhill Custom
Dunhill (2011)

This is a decent musky wood fragrance, reminiscent of a designer scent. However, its weak performance is a letdown. It's not what you would expect from a fragrance that promises incense and pepper notes. The fruity opening is nice, but the clean musk dominates the overall scent. If you're looking for a fragrance with more depth and projection, you might want to explore other options.

I can confirm that this does smell a lot like Baldessarini Ambre during the first few hours. Ambre smells much better to me after those few hours when these two scents start to separate from each other. I also find it similar to Bill Blass Mr. Blass but more through the late drydown stages. If you have not smelled either, it has a dark, slightly sweet incense that straddles mature and modern. It feels like it leans more formal than casual. Also, feels better for cooler temps.

I will say I received a, "Oh, you always smell good" compliment after applying, so it's a decent, pleasing scent.

Performance is pretty poor on my skin, only lasting 3-4 hours before it is hard to pick up in the air. Projection is good during the first hour.

Simply put, a really weak version of Baldessarini Ambre. Ambre exceeds in all aspects. The only cool thing about Custom is the the bottle, the bottom of it is especially cool.

This is a good scent that should have gone further--the apple note, which is nice and well-integrated, could be amped up. The pepper could also play a more prominent role. The finish, with its cedar and incense is nice although a little bland. In all, CUSTOM is well made, good smelling and safe. Too safe. Some unexpected overdosing or risky counterpoint could have made this great, but as it is, it is a classy, easy to wear, safe fragrance. The realistic, natural apple note and pepper are not gourmand-they are aromatic without being edible. When P&G came out with their ridiculous 007 fragrance which also had an English apple note, this is what they could have achieved, something that James Bond might actually have worn. As with most Dunhill scents, the bottle is fantastic, whether you have it engraved or not.

Custom begins with a simple apple and pepper opening which, on paper, might suggest a mall fragrance, but is actually very well-delivered and almost delicious. The amber and incense body is extremely similar to that of Mr. Blass by Bill Blass, minus the coriander and vanilla, and costs about as much. Both are seriously good for their price range, but Custom suffers one fatal flaw - While the opening is lovely and full of promise, there is almost no projection. I tried two sprays to the chest and two to my scarf and still could not detect the slightest iota of Custom after a couple minutes. The idea is sound, but the execution is feeble. As a skin scent, however it lasts until the next day, so if you are looking for close-quarters allure this may actually fit your style. This is a Venus fly trap of a scent, in that it basically doesn't exist at a distance, but can be fatal at proximity, and it's an absolute steal at the current going rate. The projection issue is the sole reason I can't give a thumbs up, and I'm sure some readers won't mind much at all about that. This isn't the kind of scent that calls for attention; this is a soft scent reserved for the one closest to you, a love note rather than a mating call. It's beautifully simple, especially if you harbor a bygone love for old school musks but wish they had a touch more English class.

Anyone looking to graduate to a richer take on this would do well for themselves to try Catalyst by Halston. There is a solid chance Custom was meant to be a reworking of Halston's apple-Oriental blueprint, but Catalyst is a rich intoxicant with none of the decorum exhibited by Dunhill's version. It is also equally inexpensive.

Dunhill custom is your average run of the mill fresh/spicey/boozy that doesn't do any of the 3 very well. This fragrance smells incomplete and thin. There's just no depth to any of the notes and what you wind up with smells like a watered down clothing line fragrance. This makes for a decent work fragrance if you work in a fragrance free environment.