review: Penhaligon Artemisia EDP

I received a bottle of Penhaligon Artemisia for Christmas in 2020. It was my very first Penhaligon perfume so you could imagine how excited I was. It was the it niche fragrance house at that time, but its more popular fragrances was Luna, Halfeti, or the Favourite. I had minis of those so it didn’t bother me too much, and woah I’m grateful to have a full-sized bottle as this can cost as much as 12k++ each

Despite the “sweet” “fruity” or “vanilla” notes written, I never got any of those when I sprayed this on me. Not on the top, not in the middle, and definitely not on the base notes. At first spray it was grass and green, slowly maturing to strong violets and wood. Where is jasmine?Where is green apple? Where is vanilla? Then it ends up as the lightest, powdery, violet musk you can smell, but only if you sniff your wrists. BUT! Even if this is a skin scent, and has little to no projection at all, the longevity here is strong.

But do you know what I love most about Penhaligon Artemesia? It reminds me of old houses, castles, royalty. The scent would make me picture an old queen in her throne.

This is not the perfume you’d want to wear on a date, rather a subtle power scent to put on when you want to feel and smell like a girl boss, without offending their noses at the same time. As most “power perfumes” project too strongly at that.

Curious? You can get yourself a vial here.