Burberry
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The green apple hits like cold water—bracingly tart, almost sour, with none of the candied sweetness that plagues contemporary apple notes. Blackcurrant adds a dark, jammy richness underneath, creating a fruit accord that's simultaneously fresh and slightly fermented, like walking past a cider press in autumn.
As the fruit recedes, the sandalwood and cedarwood emerge with surprising dominance, creating a creamy-dry woodiness that feels more refined than the opening suggested. Jasmine floats through this woody structure with subtle indolic warmth whilst the moss adds an almost dusty, vintage quality that grounds everything in old-school sophistication.
The base settles into a powdery musk-vanilla haze, but the woods never entirely disappear—they remain as a subtle scaffolding beneath the softer elements. What lingers is quietly skin-like and slightly soapy, with just enough sweetness to feel comforting rather than confectionery, like expensive body powder applied after a bath.
Burberry for Women opens with a crisp, almost startling blast of green apple and blackcurrant that feels more audacious than the typical '90s fruity floral. This isn't shy or apologetic fruit—it's the scent of biting into a just-picked Granny Smith, all tart juice and verdant skin, darkened by the jammy depth of blackcurrant. What makes this fragrance fascinating is how quickly it pivots from that fruit-forward opening into a surprisingly woody heart, where sandalwood and cedarwood create a creamy, pencil-shaving dryness that holds the jasmine in check. The moss adds an old-fashioned chypre quality, grounding the composition so it never tips into screeching sweetness, whilst the jasmine weaves through with indolic whispers rather than dominating the conversation.
This is a fragrance for women who grew up loving Dior Dune or Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse—those who appreciate when fruit serves as an introduction rather than the entire story. The vanilla and musk in the base soften everything into a gauzy, skin-like powder, but there's always that thread of wood running through, keeping it from becoming completely ephemeral. It's the scent of someone who wears cashmere and owns actual books, not just Kindle collections. The formula has that slightly soapy, proper quality that British perfumery does so well—polished without being prissy, feminine without pastels and ribbons. In a sea of modern fruit-drowned florals, Burberry for Women maintains its dignity through structure, letting wood and moss remind you that 1995 still remembered what restrained elegance smelled like.
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3.6/5 (165)