The stripes on the hot-air balloon are lined in gold. The neat bows on every glass bottle on the shelves exude elegance. The names of the perfumes are alliterative and alluring, hinting at magic and magnificence, cheeky charm and opulence. The ingredients listed are rare, expensive and unique. Through it all runs a very British sense of humour and eccentricity. The store display at a Penhaligon’s perfumery appeals to the modern sophisticate as much as to the romantic craving a sense of history.
In May 2025, the iconic British brand Penhaligon’s turned 155. To commemorate this, an exhibition aptly titled Eau So British brought together never-before-seen mementos and sketches by the founders, offering a rare glimpse into the history of the fragrance house.
The scent story so far
Cornish barber William Penhaligon arrived in London in 1869, his dreams being too ambitious to be contained in the small fishing village that he came from. Within a year, he had opened his own establishment in Jermyn Street, where he became famous for his gentlemen’s grooming services. But he soon conceptualised something radical that complemented the hair and beard work – a fragrance inspired by the neighbouring Turkish baths. Hammam Bouquet, redolent of lavender, rose and sandalwood, was his first ever fragrance, and the start of something big in 1872 with many more scents taking over London gentry’s sensibilities. There was no looking back once his pathbreaking perfumes were recognised with a Royal Warrant by Queen Alexandra, Queen Consort to Edward VII, a ‘devotee of natural products which was Penhaligon’s trademark’.
William passed away at the turn of the century at the age of 66 and his partner Jeavons followed in his wake soon after, but Walter (Penhaligon Junior) kept the perfuming tradition alive. Penhaligon’s not only continued creating bespoke fragrances for royalty but also introduced lines that celebrated all that was British. From English Fern that embodied brisk walks amid the fresh woodiness of the British countryside, to the aptly named Victorian Posy. In 1978, Bluebell’s disruptive floral profile captured the imagination of politicians and poets alike.
Smells like success
Penhaligon’s has kept creating fragrances that break the mould and stayed true to that certain ‘Britishness’. For example, Sartorial draws from the ideals of fine British tailoring, crafting an amber fougère with notes of violet, black pepper, and the startlingly metallic note of aldehyde, which brought to mind the tools of the trade.
The collection called British Tales (£175 for a 100 ml bottle) is a clutch of olfactory hat-tips to fables and classics. But it’s the Portraits Collection which has caught the imagination of consumers the world over, giving us a whiff of the whims of British aristocracy at £245 a 75 ml pop. Topped with various animals in gilt that are a tongue-in-cheek take on the celebrity characters at the centre of scandals, each fragrance is part of a complex story involving the heart of the family, the ravishing lovers, the raucous relatives, and the Who’s Who of London.
The scents are cleverly designed to appeal to today’s consumer while offering a context and connect to qualities of the characters each represents. Like The Coveted Duchess Rose is a coy eau de parfum that blends mandarin, rose, and vanilla with a come-hither musky wood. Much Ado About the Duke, with its complex combination of pink pepper, gin, and vetiver, is all about alluring ambiguity. Or Changing Constance, a very modern aroma for a very modern woman featuring cardamom, hot pimento, salted butter caramel and tobacco. Their most recent additions to this range even take you below the stairs of a stately home, where you can find the staff, with The Omniscient Mr Thompson. Named for the ever-present butler, the fragrance is at once reassuring and yet bursting with secrets. Think reliable rumand leather tempered with magical orris root and unexpected sesame seeds.
Penhaligon’s Trade Routes collection (£215 for a 100 ml bottle) brings a touch of the exotic to the UK, with intoxicating fragrances like the best-selling Halfeti with mysterious black rose, Cairo, Alula, Babylon and Empressa, each bearing gifts from afar such as saffron, oud, bergamot, and plum. The brand even asked master globemaker Jonathan Wright to create a bespoke Penhaligon’s globe depicting the botanical world of perfumery to embody this collection, as part of their bid to celebrate British craftsmanship.
Travelling into 2025
The legacy brand isn’t just about history and quirky aristocrats though. They’re very much on trend with a bath and body range, customised bottles, in-store personalised experiences with a fragrance expert, and even going sustainable with a refills service. And their newest scents are very 2025 too. We especially love their Potions & Remedies range (£215 for a 100 ml bottle), where it isn’t just the fragrances that enchant you, but the quirky names that stir up your emotions too – A Balm of Calm, Liquid Love, VraVra Vroom, A Kiss of Bliss, Eau the Audacity – promising the realisation of distilled desires. After all, what else do you want your perfume to do?
