British design house Burberry is famous for its distinctive check pattern and its long history of high fashion. One thing that this firm does extremely well is to create fantastic fragrances for men and women.
One such fragrance is Burberry London. Burberry London was one of the first colognes, that I bought while I was in college, and it is one that I truly enjoy wearing.
There have been plenty of colognes which I have worn since but I don’t think that any of them were as masculine in their essence as London.
As such, I thought that I’d do another review and give my impressions on London. What it contains. How does it smell? How does it perform? Is it worth a purchase? Top Burberry Colognes
What does Burberry London for Men Smell Like?
Burberry London Notes: bergamot, cinnamon, pepper, lavender, port wine, mimosa, moss, tobacco leaf, leather
Shop on Amazon: BURBERRY London for Men Eau de Toilette, 3.3 fl. oz
My Full Wear Review
What I love about London is its depth and complexity as a cologne. It’s notes blend together to create a sexy and masculine scent full of spice. It is a rich and full scent with plenty of character and woodsy charm.
Tobacco is a major player here, it’s a rather sweet tobacco note which is a nice play off of the leather and cinnamon to give it something rather unique.
Something that is a bit smoky and aged just right like a cask of whiskey, but without that type of boozy element. It does have port wine, instead of whiskey.
The opening is a blast of that tobacco note, which is flanked by the super warm spice duo of cinnamon, and pepper. Oh yeah, plus that wine note.
Tobacco, booze, spice and leather! That start can be quite heavy and bold, but I really enjoy how it hits, with just enough bergamot to keep it from being overwhelming.
As it moves along, the spices fade somewhat, and are replaced by a rich leather note that helps to smooth out the composition.
The port wine present in the opening, is pretty much gone at this point, and woody/forest notes begin to emerge from the base.
It very dry and mossy, with bits of calming lavender coming through. It all comes together as tobacco, leather, cinnamon, woods, with a dry and slight sweetness. Lovely.
London is a scent that is great for guys with a certain level of presence and maturity. The scent almost has a confidence of its own and if the man wearing it doesn’t, it almost seems in-congruent that he is wearing this cologne.
The kind of comments that I get while wearing London are phrases like “That’s sexy”, “You smell really good”, or that it is “manly”.
Many other colognes that have a spice to it like to blend that spice off of citrus based notes or only floral notes. London as you can see from the ingredients adds spice to woodsy scents as well as floral ones to help create a different take on spice.
Sillage, Longevity, When to Wear
Like the other Burberry scents, this one is a moderate in how it projects and moderate in its longevity also. The opening act can be fairly powerful and intense. Though, that will settle down, along with the spiciness and boozy qualities.
It lasts for a long time on fabric, but on skin it’ll usually fall into the 6-8 hour range. Every time that I have owned a bottle of London, this is the longevity that I get. No more, no less.
In my opinion, Burberry London is a scent made for the Fall and Winter months, when the air is crisp and not weighed down by the humidity.
I’ve always liked to wear it in the evenings but it works well in the daytime also. Not a summer scent at all, so don’t expect a year round wear.
It’s good dressed up or with a more rugged look, at a bar, or something of the sort. I think Burberry for Men is probably a more moderate option for the daily wear, while London is a sexier bet.
It works for younger men, but has enough maturity to be a solid option for older guys as well.
Overall Impressions of London
Overall, is Burberry London worth a purchase? I’d say yes. I love to alternate between this, Brit (London vs Brit), and Burberry for Men during the autumn and winter.
London is the most masculine of the three scents and is for those who want something spicy/woodsy/refined and who happen to really enjoy the tobacco note and/or leather.
I definitely fall into that camp and London had been close at hand in my collection for years. It’s a very good scent and does almost everything well. Yet, it still flies under the radar somewhat nowadays.
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