Quercus
Penhaligon’s Quercus being a light cologne reveals itself as a curious combination of citrus notes, basil/herbal notes, and woody notes that hang fairly close to the skin.
A little about Penhaligon’s. Penhaligon’s is an English perfume house founded by William Henry Penhaligon in the 1860s. William Henry Penhaligon was court barber and perfumer to Queen Victoria. The flagship store is in Covent Garden, London, UK. Penhaligon’s is now owned by Puig. The Quercus fragrance was created in 1996 and is included in around 8 products, one being the Quercus cologne.
The Quercus is a curious cologne. It has a light citrus fragrance much unlike that of an orange, a lime, or a lemon. It is smooth and kind to the nose. It doesn’t charge out of the bottle but wafts out with a clean sanitary quality to it. There is a hint of fruity sweetness when first applied to the skin that quickly wares off and is followed by a more stable woody and herbal fragrance. It isn’t very exciting off the bat but would make a good day time fragrance. In the end it is a safe choice.
Monday
My first day wearing the Quercus cologne. I put it on after my shower and was pleasantly treated to the citrus scents.
Half way through the day I first noticed that what I believed to be a citrus cologne had turned into a creamy, woody, slightly herbal (basil) cologne.
Tuesday
Wearing the cologne for the second day in a row wasn’t as exciting as I expected. It wasn’t a fresh experience but during the course of the day I was walked through a citrus fragrance that morphed into a woody, herbal fragrance.
Wednesday-Thursday-Friday
Very few people noticed that I was wearing the cologne. The fragrance to me was quite apparent when I sniffed my wrist. Quercus hangs close to the skin, great for office wear.
However, the scent didn’t feel new like the days before but felt very safe — something I could use without being judged.
140 Character Review
A citrus cologne that morphs into a herbal woody fragrance. Monotonous, hangs close to the skin. Great day time fragrance.
Composition
Being a citrus cologne, Quercus is probably composed of 2%-5% by volume of aroma chemicals or aroma ingredients and around 80%-90% alcohol. By aroma ingredients I am referring to essential oils, aroma chemicals, natural extracts or anything that contributes to the fragrance.
The aroma ingredients include lemon, lime, mandarin, and bergamot top notes, jasmine, lily of the valley, and cardamom middle notes, and oakmoss, galbanum, musk, amber, and sandalwood base notes. The citrus top notes — lemon, lime, mandarin, and bergamot give Quercus the lemony, citrusy fragrance one smells while opening the bottle. Being top notes and relatively volatile small molecules the citrusy notes are carried quickly to the attention of the wearer. The rapid rise of the citrusy molecules, which is aided by the high alcohol content, gives the wearer the initial sweet orange smell. The top notes quickly disappear though.
One would expect the middle notes to stand out during some part of the fragrance experience, but it is unlikely that you will notice the jasmine or the lily of the valley. Jasmine, typically a small molecule, rises off the skin fairly quickly like the top notes, but is overpowered either in composition or strength by the top notes. I believe the middle notes that rise as quickly as the top notes take the edge off of the top notes resulting in the smooth quality of the fragrance. They also aid in giving the fragrance a slightly spicy and flowery color that one notices every now and then.
The base notes, oblivious of the carrier (alcohol), hang on the skin for a day or two and are quite noticeable in close proximity. The woody and herbal smells are qualities of the base notes. The herbal smell can be attributed to the combination of oak moss and galbanum. The woody smell comes from amber, musk, and sandalwood. I believe the base notes make up a majority of the composition of the aromatic ingredients owing to the longevity of the fragrance on the skin. However, this may have resulted in the less than impressive initial experience of smelling the fragrance.
To Conclude
Quercus is a curious but not overwhelming cologne. It is a monotonous experience that starts with citrus notes and ends with woody and amber notes. The high alcohol content gives you that clean feeling one comes to expect from every cologne. In the end it is a good day fragrance that hangs close to the skin making it good for office wear.
