Penhaligons’ fragrances have a longstanding connection to the Royal Family, with four Royal Warrants under their belt and even a scent crafted in partnership with King Charles himself (the Highgrove Bouquet Eau de parfum was inspired by the Highgrove Gardens and created in collaboration with The King’s Foundation). However, the royally-approved perfume and aftershave range doesn’t come cheap. Some of the cheapest fragrances in the range start from £145, and prices soar to as much as £250 depending on the scent.
But thanks to Penhaligons’ Discovery Sets, you can try out a selection of the luxury perfumes for £50 or less. The scent discovery sets are great if you want to test a few different fragrances before splurging on a larger bottle, and they can make a special gift.
The Ladies’ Fragrance Collection is arguably one of the best value-for-money sets in the Discovery range, containing five 5ml perfumes in dainty versions of the classic Penhaligon bottles. Working out at just £10 a bottle, you can try five of the brand’s classic scents, including The Favourite, Elisabethan Rose, Empressa, Halfeti and Luna.
Full-size bottles of The Favourite, Elisabethan Rose, and Luna retail for £175, while Empressa and Halfeti cost £215 for a 100ml bottle.
The Favourite has top notes of violet leaf, mimosa and musk, with previous shoppers describing the scent as a fragrance with many “layers”. In a review, one shopper explained: “There’s delicate floral, wrapped in gentle Musk that gives this very feminine scent a maturity that will suit a day or evening wear. This fragrance has an effect on my confidence that mirrors putting on my favourite dress.”
As you can imagine from the name, Elisabethan Rose is a floral scent inspired by England’s national flower, the Tudor Rose, along with hints of hazelnut leaf and vetiver.
The Empressa has key notes of patchouli, bergamot and peach. With an overall rating of 4.5 out of five stars on the Penhaligons website, one previous customer said: “A beautiful eau de parfum with a fabulous sweet, floral scent with a wonderful warm undertone of amber, musk and sandalwood. I love it and found it lasted most of the day before I needed a light top-up. Suitable for day or night. Although it does have a high price tag, you do get what you pay for, and this is an amazing quality fragrance.”
Halfeti is one of the brand’s more expensive fragrances, with grapefruit, oud, Levantine spice and rose notes. Though it’s included in the Ladies’ scent collection, it’s unisex.
Luna is the fifth fragrance included in the collection, a floral fragrance with a top note of jasmine, along with fir balsam and bergamot.
If you decide to buy a full-size perfume, you can shop Penhaligons directly on their website or at Sephora or Selfridges.
Are you looking to try out even more of the Penhaligons fragrances? Then, one of the brand’s scent libraries could be a good option. The sample sizes are smaller than the Ladies’ Fragrance Collection, with 2ml bottles rather than 5ml bottles. However, you do get 10 different popular scents to test, delivered in a Penhaligons presentation box.
The Scent Library costs £35, which means each sample-size fragrance is just £3.50. The set includes 10 of the brand’s best-sellers: Luna, Halfeti, Lord George, The Coveted Duchess Rose, Endymion, Empressa, Blenheim, Juniper, Quercus, and The Favourite.
You can buy the Scent Library either from the Penhaligons website or from Sephora.
