Godolphin by Parfums De Marly

Yes, I am indeed still working my way through the samples of all of the Parfums de Marly colognes that I received a month plus ago. If you want to check out the rest, they are along with every other review I’ve ever done, on the fragrance reviews page.

We have now made it to Godolphin from this line and as always I want to explore and break down what makes this scent tick. How it performs, smells, what’s inside, etc. Godolphin was released in 2010.

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What does Godolphin Smell Like?

Notes include: saffron, leather, iris, rose, jasmine, amber, musk, cedar, thyme, mate, and vetiver

Click here to try: Parfums de Marly Godolphin Men’s Edp Spray, 4.2 Ounce

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My Full Wear Review

Right off the bat, I’m going to tell you that I enjoy this fragrance. In fact, I’ve already placed it on my top five fragrance from Parfums de Marly. Just so there’s no confusion about where my thoughts are going to fall on this particular cologne.

The opening is a leather and musk mix. Like the primal animal spice of the musk is sitting on top of the leather note and it also seems to feature some sort of metallic like aroma, of which I’m not quite sure what it is.

Perhaps, that is just the way the saffron is mixing with the other herbal notes and how it is all pieced together.

In a lot of ways, it is like Tuscan Leather and Ombre Leather by Tom Ford. It’s not an exact replica of either, but if you’re familiar with those, this is along those lines.

After the initial 10-15 minutes or so, the musk dies down quite a bit, and I get some sweeter fruit undertones and the emergence of the floral notes. Rose, in particular.

It has that bit of sweetness but it is combined with a dark and intriguing warmth one would expect from a masculine type of fragrance.

The saffron is the other main player here with the dominant leather. I don’t want to make Godolphin seem like an overly masculine scent because it does have those floral notes which give the cologne a great depth and moderation.

This is what I get for pretty much the rest of the way, a sweet leather blend, with a rich rose note, and a somewhat metallic aroma. I really love the saffron note in here. It’s such an underutilized ingredient outside of these more niche designers, but it’s fantastic. 

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, it is fairly strong for the first couple of hours, but then becomes much more of a moderate scent. The sillage isn’t as powerful versus some of the other options by PdM, but it still has a nice strength to it. 

Godolphin also has very good longevity, easily eclipsing the 8+ hour range, and comfortably hitting double digit hours in most situations. It’s not the elite of the elite, but it does give you at least a full standard workday.

Update: Coming back to this fragrance, it seems to hit the 11 hour mark consistently. Occasionally, I’ll still pick it up after that, but 11 is about what I expect to get each time. 

I would say that it is a very versatile scent, at least within its seasonal range. Yes, this is a colder weather fragrance, but I’ve worn it in indoor environments here in the summertime.

It can be worn casually, but I think that it fits best when dressed up. Not necessarily formal wear, but for work or for a night on the town. It has a sense of intrigue and sexiness that will draw complements.

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Overall Impressions of Godolphin

Overall, do I like Godolphin? Obviously. I think it is a great leather based scent with a complex and amazingly put together profile. Like other Parfums de Marly colognes, it is pricy, but if you’re in the market for this scent…that shouldn’t be too much of a hurdle.

It smells great, performs well, and has a versatile ability to be worn in many situations. It has its similarities to the Tom Ford leather fragrances, while still maintaining its own unique character and providing you another option. 

The leather and saffron combination is very good. It’s probably never going to be a super mass appealing cologne, but Godolphin is easily one that can become a signature scent for the right man.