Icon Racing
Dunhill (2017)

My best guess is that Dunhill needed a quick cash grab to put on shelves that would sell for full MSRP at department stores, and not go instantly to discounters where they'd only make 25-50% of that suggested retail price back; and they didn't want to go the "new pillar" route with such a scent because it gives the impression of "joining the pack", when Dunhill has been around much longer than most of said "pack" and wants to keep some air of superiority about itself. Never mind all the years of direct-to-discounter releases from the 2000's that really cheapened the brand; they don't want you to remember that era anymore than they want you to think they've aligned with the "live fast die young" aesthetic of brands like Paco Rabanne or Carolina Herrera, which come up with one horrific gimmick after another to adorn their myriad smell-alike men's releases. Nope, instead of doing that, what Dunhill has done with Icon Racing (2017) is sneak a flanker that smells like it follows that commercial cop-op direction, but with a bit of ostensibly British class and pomp that defined the "brand-redefining" Dunhill Icon (2015) range, complete with heavy metal-clad glass bottle that could bludgeon and unsuspecting intruder to death. In this case, the commercial DNA du jour is that of trusty old friends Gucci Guilty pour Homme (2011) and Paco Rabanne Invictus (2013), that tell-tale bubblegum sweet grapefruit smell injected into an otherwise soapy aquatic ambroxan-based general-use vibe but retaining touches of what made Dunhill Icon a charmer. It works I suppose, but it isn't going to be mine nor anyone hobbyist's favorite from the line.

The opening has that bright neroli found in the original Dunhill Icon juxtaposed with the sweet grapefruit boosted by ethyl maltol and a bit of green cardamom. The smell is mulled and milky-sorta just like Invictus in its earliest moments, just sans the shampoo shower gel vibes of invictus. The cardamom really brings to mind Emporio Armani Stronger with You (2017) which released the same year, but it has no further oriental-themed elements than that. The lavender of the original Icon pops up here and there but quickly dies into a heap of rounded pepper like a mix of pink or sichuan and some nondescript hedione materials. The rest of this quickly becomes about the usual woody-amber nonsense of ambroxan and norlimbanol, but it's drier and not with the salty animalic virility that Invictus has in it, instead choosing to mimic guaiac wood in how it goes into a bit of itchy woodiness. It's an interesting choice to try and make a drier and more mature Invictus vibe, like Dunhill asked perfumer Laurent de Guernec to imagine something in the common style of the 2010's but being worn by someone technically too old to be wearing it without embarrassment, and since the prevailing logic is that drier or greener equals more mature, that's the direction taken here. In this case, if stuff like Invictus would seem good to you if less sweet,you now have your alternative. Wear time and performance are about average, and this is no monster like many of the things it seeks to compete with; but maybe that is a blessing in disguise. Icon Racing is thoroughly a year-round signature.

Icon is the one I'd still reach for first, as it has the timeless class the bottle it comes in suggests it should have, while Icon Absolute (2015) is for the Western "oud dudes" who want the medicinal designer takes on the subject, and Icon Elite (2016) is more for the straight-up woods and vetiver crowd with a bit of juniper, and the most mature vibe overall. Icon Racing, well this is one that theoretically seems like it is made for the kiddos, but also tries to take the prevailing "mall juice" style of the 2010's and put a bit of a stiff upper-lip to it, which is either a godsend or a travesty depending on who you ask. As for me, I'm a bit indifferent overall to the existence of this, and made even more so by the release of Dunhill Icon Racing Red (2021) and Dunhill Icon Racing Blue (2021). Although this review isn't about them, it can't go without saying that if Icon Racing wasn't the best-seller of the bunch due to its low-hanging fruit design, Dunhill wouldn't have been inspired to flood the market with flankers for it like they do Dunhill Desire for a Man (2000). I guess some old habits die hard. If you love the original Icon because of what it chose to be in the face of modern trend, you won't like this one at all; but if on the other hand, you wanted something in the Icon line that feels a bit more contemporary and carpe diem in place of classic, Dunhill Icon Racing is the entry for you. I won't besmirch it, although I don't see myself picking it up either. There are really low-effort things in this style like Jimmy Choo Urban Hero (2019), then there are some good takes on the style like this one. Thumbs up

A wearble flanker of the original Dunhill Icon fragrance.

I wasn't sure why this one was needed, given the existence of three total "Dunhill Icon" men's fragrances. At any rate, Icon Racing is a woody-aromatic scent that seems to fit somewhere between the original Icon (silver bottle) and the Icon Elite (black) one.

My only guess, based on my test of Icon Racing, is that this flanker is attempting to line up with the "modern melange" men's colognes that seems to be chic today: Ferragamo's Uomo, Rabanne's Invictus, Armani Stronger With You / Acqua di Gio Absolu, JPG's Le Male Ultra, Herrera's CH Men Prive, YSL L'Homme Ultime, et. al. There is that requisite pungence, freshness, and sweetness, which younger wearers would definitely appreciate.

Icon Racing has nearly no connection to the original, and that seems to be the point. It is squaring off against an increasingly larger array of scents aimed at the younger deomographic wanting a part-beast mode scent that fits their lifestyles. For me, I appreciate its place in the field, but I feel no compulsion to have it in my own collection (esp. as I happen to have all the scents that I'd put in my "modern melange" list above!).

Smells good in a synthetically sweet, fresh way, similar to many modern scents made to appeal to the masses.

My issue with this fragrance isn't the smell but the lack of projection. It became a skin scent very quickly on my skin, which is no good for a scent that should be so mass appealing. If people could smell this, they would like it. Longevity is pretty good, so although it's a skin scent, it does stick around all day.