Penhaligon's London

Brand Portrait: Penhaligon's London

Penhaligon's: The Barber of London and his noble fragrances

He was "the man who made a thousand noses twitch": William Penhaligon. A humble barber from Cornwall, who rose to the ranks of the royal court as court barber - and whose skillful hands once even groomed the beard of the Shah of Persia. But in addition to the professional services of a barber shop, William H. Penhaligon also pampered the noses of his customers right from the beginning - with exquisite fragrance mixtures that have not lost their fascination to this day.

The man who started it all: William Henry Penhaligon

The story of Penhaligon's began on January 27, 1837: On that winter day, just a few months before Queen Victoria's magnificent accession to the throne, William Henry Penhaligon saw the light of day.

He spent the first years of his life in Madron near Penzance, a coastal town in the English county of Cornwall on Mounts Bay. Here a great plan came into his mind: to delight the world as a barber and as a perfumer with wonderful fragrance magic.

In England, the stepping stone to the big, wide world is - then as now - London. And so, in 1869, William H. Penhaligon and his family moved to the capital of the British kingdom, where they first stayed with a relative in Westminster.

The History of Penhaligon's

In the following year, William opened a barber shop on Jermyn Street. The foundation stone of the now legendary House of Penhaligon's London was laid.
Early on William began to enrich his craft with a very special component: perfumes! As early as 1872 he created his first fragrance: Hammam Bouquet - an enchantingly composed perfume inspired by the Turkish baths where he has worked as a hairdresser. A fragrance so exciting and exotic that it quickly caused a stir among its customers.

The customers wanted more - and more fragrance creations followed.

A new epoch: The post-William Penhaligon era

In 1901, Walter Penhaligon inherited the barber shop from his father - and continued the company's now cherished tradition of pampering the darlings of London society with exquisite fragrance creations.

In 1902 he was commissioned to compose the iconic Blenheim Bouquet for the 9th Duke of Marlborough (the grandfather of the later Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill). Hammam Bouquet is an all-time classic from Penhaligon's London.

In 1903, Queen Alexandra awarded the House of Penhaligon its first Royal warrant. In 1910, a Penhaligon's version of the Fougère perfume appeared. Its name was English Fern. A year later, port supplier Sir Percy Croft commissioned the Douro fragrance - a homage to the Portuguese region of the same name.

Timeskip. It was in 1956 when the Penhaligon's company received its second Royal warrant from the Duke of Edinburgh. With so much royal tailwind, it's all the easier to compose noble perfumes - and so Penhaligon's launched the invigorating Extract of Limes fragrance in 1963.

In 1975, the iconic Penhaligon's boutique opened on Wellington Street in London's Covent Garden borough. A year later, the Anthology collection was launched, a collection of fragrances based on rediscovered perfume recipes from the founding days of Penhaligon's.

This was followed by the Penhaligon's fragrances Bluebell (1978), Elisabethan Rose (1984), Quercus (1996), Artemisia (2002), Endymion (2003), Sartorial (2010) and Juniper Sling (2011). In 2013, Penhaligon's teamed up with the English National Ballet to compose the woody-floral perfume Iris Prima.

The scent of the wide world: the Trade Routes Collection

In 2014, another exciting chapter in Penhaligon's fragrance history began: Trade Routes! The Trade Routes fragrance collection takes us back to a bygone era of great explorers, when journeys on merchant ships were still true adventures.

The goods and spices that these ships brought to the London docks from far away countries and exotic paradises in the 19th century are the olfactory inspiration for fantastic fragrances such as Empressa, Halfeti, Lothair or Levantium.

Aristocrats - and their whimsy and human abysses: the Portraits Collection

After the Luna perfume and a fragrant tribute to the house's roots, Jermyn Street No. 33, another top dog appeared on Penhaligon's stage in 2016. Or, to be more precisely, four of them at once:

The fragrance quartet The Tragedy of Lord George, The Revenge of Lady Blanche, The Coveted Duchess Rose and Much Ado About The Duke is the starting shot for another extraordinary collection - the Portraits Collection.

The secret vices, weird whimsy and human abysses of the high-born members of an imaginary noble family are highlighted by the fragrances of the blue-blooded perfume series. Scandals and scandalous insights are to be expected.

In 2019 and 2020, two new Penhaligon stars were born: Cairo and The Favourite.

The Eau de Parfum Cairo is an ode to the oriental magic of the Egyptian metropolis of Cairo, in which a magnificent Damask rose merges with saffron and patchouli, labdanum and vanilla, frankincense and sandalwood.

The Favorite is a powdery, noble, majestic blend of violet leaves, iris, musk and sandalwood, a perfume for women composed by perfumer Aliénor Massenet.

Penhaligon's today

Today, Penhaligon's is one of the UK's premier fragrance houses. And with good reason: The Penhaligon's company stands for perfumes full of style, elegance and character - noble fragrance compositions for men and women that create a unique connection between history and modernity.

Penhaligon's can now be found around the globe. You can buy the products of the brand in Japan or Ukraine as well as in Dubai. Their boutiques, wherever they are, are unique, attractive, and filled with antique ornaments mixed with modern, quirky artwork.

Penhaligon's products are still manufactured and bottled in the UK. Each flacon is a glass bottle with a delicate ribbon and a glass stopper. This is a tribute to the original Victorian era packaging.
However, their perfumes are also very up-to-date and the perfumers only use the most modern methods of creating fragrances.In this way, the traditional can merge seamlessly with the new.

Order Penhaligon's at Essenza Nobile

Order Penhaligon's fragrances for men and women at Essenza Nobile online! Take your time looking for your favorite Penhaligon's products in our online shop, put the articles of your choice in your shopping cart - and take advantage of the benefits of perfume shopping via internet.

Simply log into your customer account with your password - and make a very personal, heavenly scented choice!

Order perfume from Essenza Nobile: your advantages

At Essenza Nobile you can only expect the best when it comes to fragrances and perfumes - including free shipping from a price / order value of 50 euros (all including VAT) for all orders within Germany.