Description
“It’s addictive, big, small, soaring, down to earth, and a wicked sense of humour. It’s a wet spring. Roses from Columbia Rd. Georgian architecture. A hint of dustiness. An earthy lush wetness you can almost taste. East end boys and west end girls. Second-hand leather jackets. Creative, new, old, beautiful, ugly, rich, poor. All rubbing along.
It’s a floral leather fragrance. With a watery green head, of cucumber and violet leaves. A floral heart, with Rose de Mai Absolute, rose oil and orris root. And basenotes of leather, sandalwood, patchouli and cedarwood” — press release of the brand. London was launched in 2017. The nose behind this fragrance is Karine Chevallier.
GIBBS – :
reading the reviews this is a very interesting scent, seems like it is really different to everyone.
This has something going for it and i get a similar (but very different) vibe from it as I do some of the Dior Homme Flankers, just not quite as brash as some of those can be and yes I know that’s crazy saying since those aren’t really brash but compared to this they are.
I think this is in that same sort of category of your Dior Hommes (and many flankers but not Intense) and Prada L’homme, it is safe, classy, airy, elegant and different enough to be distinguishable.
It’s good, I have only smelled a sample out of my decant so far and i haven’t worn it out yet but at first sniff i just get that same vibe.
I will really stress that this is blended really smoothly, Dior Homme has a few notes that are really emphasized in it as well as it’s flankers; they may have a varying degree but when you smell it you just know its a Dior Homme flanker or Dior Homme because there are 1-2 really dominate notes at it’s theme.
This doesn’t do that, it blends it to wear it’s pretty tough to pick out 1 dominate note.
I don’t think I would ever say this but this is like a less offensive version of Dior Homme (?) I don’t know how to really explain this fragrance (London) other than that.
It is good though and honestly if it performs and if it’s the same price as Dior Homme, then I would probably pick London because it just smells more natural smelling with how it’s blended
and i just checked the price and it’s actually much more expensive than dior homme and prada l’homme…so 95 USD for 30mL is what I’m seeing, I really like this scent but not for that price.
dimariknovii – :
Rose and animalic leather. But there is also something fresh here. I don’t think it is the cucumber, I think it is the patchouli imitating mint.
Interesting, but I wouldn’t buy it.
Long-lasting. This has impressive longevity.
cwl970elipseskism – :
London is another neat freshie from Gallivant, this time entailing a curious aquatic-like use of cucumber mixed with florals (violet, rose de mai), and a modestly-implemented base of orris, leather, and cedar. It shares in its siblings’ accomplishments of blending interesting fresh accords with an interesting dry down. Each of Nick Steward’s scents evolve fascinatingly, and London is no exception.
I can see how some might regard the opening as more ozonic than aquatic–regardless, for me, it works well, and relatively quickly gives way to the floral heart and more serous base. Overall, an easy wear to make work year-round and for any wearer, quite agreeable.
Performance is decent but not outstanding (it dries down to a skin scent a bit more quickly and decisively than some of the others) so at $95 for 30ml, one needs to really connect with one in order to deem them full-bottle-worthy.
7 out of 10
ktysx – :
I am a woman and London is very nice for career women ! Smells like classy , lively London, then the bookstores (is it leather ?), the prestigious neighborhoods, then the theater…. IT IS LONDON ! We like it. Women at work love it too for daywear. It is not boring at all. Very very London.
kate445 – :
very~nice:)
pistols62 – :
Sydney, January 2000 A.D.
xaker2961 – :
It smells like burning plastic and wood. It’s synthetic to me.
MBeeqsN – :
First up I think this truly is a city perfume. I don’t get any farmyard or country smells. No pretty florals or juicy fruit. It reminds me of the scent of a glossy magazine. The underground ( dust). There is definitely rose. Not sweet though. On spraying on my skin I first notice a bright green scent. Quite strong. I don’t recognise it as cucumber . Then the rose and then sandalwood. The overall impression is sophisticated. The bright green calms down but does linger. I find the scent as a whole then lasts quite well on me.
I would not choose to wear this for a romantic dinner. But during the day at work or shopping in town, or an evening at the theatre it would be on my list. I like it.
orion740 – :
I really wanted to like this, but all I get is sour cucumber with a hint of barnyard. There’s something reminiscent of Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers here.
RomanSkorpion – :
My first impression was: oh no, why this beautiful, and I must say unexpected, opening have to go away so quickly and all moves toward pleasant and classy, but not so interesting and original anymore.
At second wearing I realized my initial disappointment was more related not to scent itself, but because it progressed not toward getting sharper and more masculine, as I hoped for, but rather in opposite direction after arrival of the rose at about 15 min mark. Due to presence of cucumber, leather and cider, at opening it had vibe of Autumn version of Phaedon Concombre – and that was direction I was hoping it would go when didn’t knew what to expect at first try since I haven’t saw notes pyramid. In process of progression from opening to what it would become for most of duration it really changes several times. As a matter of fact, for about 5 minutes in process of scent development it smells like pure undiluted peony and nothing else.
Though I must say, as much as I usually dislike fragrances dominated by rose (as this definitely is), here rose is not overly sweet and cloying, but rather ozonic or metallic type, and in accord with other dominant note, leather (very soft here, gloves leather like), it renders entire composition perfectly suited for men.
Still strong like, but not a love for me.
Is it FB worthy? It depends. For me it’s not because roses based scents aren’t my cup of tea, and I already have few alternatives in this category in case occasion would call for this type of perfume. First comes to mind Rasasi Al Wisam Day, although not totally similar, would fill that sector for me at 1/4 price and it lasts even longer. However, if you like roses, than you definitely should try it.
Arxangel77 – :
The fragrance of London portrays, in its creative concept, the blend of old and new, beautiful and ugly, the Georgian architecture (typical of Anglophone countries throughout the century XVIII) with a hint of dust.
London has, in its composition, notes of cucumber and violet leaves in the head; May Rose absolute, essential oil of roses and iris root, in the body; Leather, sandalwood, patchouli and cedar in the bottom.
On the skin, the fragrance explodes with many violet leaves and walks towards a heart of metallic roses. Here, the roses are not dirty, nor delicate. They are like roses of a good attar, but domesticated. This is how the perfume behaves on my skin, for a long time, when a beautiful patchouli appears, slightly bitter and earthy, bringing along a subtle nuance of leather, which shows the little known side of London’s long summer days.
I do not know the City of London, but I know it is famous for being gray and rainy. And as much as I can perceive some diurnal nuances in the fragrance, it was exactly this feeling I had, during all the long hours that the fragrance remained on my skin: a melancholy, almost sad, of those days when the sky is dark and the rain falls without stopping, hitting on the window.
London is another Gallivant fragrance that showed me a subtle and slow evolution. Many will say that it is a linear perfume, but it is not. However, one must be attentive to details, as a good tourist behaves in an unknown location, capturing all the colors, sounds and smells.
If you like fragrances that are rich in violet leaves, this one was made for you.
Stalker-freeman – :
Beautiful juicy grapefruit and rose opening which gradually melds into a barely animalic (castoreum?) orris leather. This is fresh and sophisticated and good for any gender and situation. Really lovely.
mitek12 – :
File this under “bizarre” but after 5 minutes on skin, I am getting straight-up horse barn. This is not a bad thing, but very surprising. I’m getting everything from fresh hay to leather to….horse. Wow!
w00dman – :
London opens with a lot of patchouli and leather. For almost 15 minutes all I can smell is a mix of patchouli, leather, woody notes and a hint of roses. Its frustrated because I tried so hard to love it. I sprayed it on my skin and waiting and waiting but finally gave up and bought Brooklyn instead. An hrs or so some interesting scent hit my noses and guided me back to my wrist where I found a sweet perfectly blended of cedar, rose, leather, orris, and a hint of patchouli. It’s like an elegant London man with everything is just right about him.