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journalism → support → readers
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we → purchase → commission
Without fail, perfume is on my Christmas wishlist every single year.
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perfume → fail → wishlist
There's something about ringing in the new year with a new scent that feels like a reset.
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that → be → reset
Penhaligon’s is a go-to for anyone after exquisite branding and high-performing niche scents.
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Penhaligon → perform → branding
The luxury scent brand is renowned for its heritage and Royal roots – Princess Diana’s reported favourite fragrance was Penhaligon’s Bluebell.
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fragrance → renowne → heritage
Now, the house has debuted a 24-day advent calendar packed with its best-selling scents, along with some newer launches, in perfume, lotion, shower gel and candle form.
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house → debut → perfume
Ahead of the festive season officially kicking off, I got my hands on Penhaligon’s 24 day Advent Calendar to see if it’s worth investing in for 2027.
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it → kick → 2027
How I tested
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I → test → ?
When unboxing the calendar, I considered how festive the range felt.
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range → unbox → calendar
A calendar with candles and perfumes can naturally feel Christmassy; however, I noted any extra details that made it stand out from the crowded advent calendar market.
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it → feel → market
I also assessed the variety of the contents inside, and whether any products felt repetitive, while considering value for money.
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products → assess → money
At £450, this calendar needed to feel glamorous, from the packaging to the design of the pieces.
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calendar → need → pieces
★
What we love: Every piece in the calendar feels luxurious, expensive, and the pieces do not feel repetitive.
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pieces → love → calendar
The scents are unisex, so this calendar would work for anyone
Take note: The scents are musky, so if you like sweet/ very floral scents, this calendar is not for you
Every product in the Penhaligon’s advent calendar feels expensive, which can sometimes be lost when a luxury brand does miniatures.
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brand → work → miniatures
But in this calendar, each miniature feels purposefully designed and considered.
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miniature → feel → calendar
The scents are unisex, but lean towards the muskier side – in my opinion, this is ideal and appropriate for this time of year.
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this → lean → year
Immediately, what stood out were the three 9ml perfumes, which each came with a unique gold animal head to place as the bottle cap.
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which → stand → cap
The replication of the full-size bottle has been elegantly done and elevates the miniatures to the house’s iconic and recognisable packaging.
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replication → do → packaging
On day 24 (spoiler!), you receive a 30ml bottle of Penhaligon’s best-selling fragrance, Halfeti.
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you → receive → fragrance
This spicy and woody scent has top notes of bergamot, grapefruit, and green notes, a heart of rose, nutmeg, and jasmine, and a deep base of oud, leather, amber, and vanilla, and it can guarantee to stay on all day.
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it → have → oud
While the Halfeti, Damascena and Luna candles are all ideal cosy night-in treats, it was the First Class Fizz candle that impressed me most.
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that → impress → me
This festive holiday scent features sparkling notes of grapefruit and champagne that evoke a Christmas morning mimosa and feels very fitting to have been included in the calendar.
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that → feature → calendar
The luxury of Penhaligon’s is not lost on its advent calendar.
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luxury → lose → calendar
The consideration towards the logo wrapping paper, the additional gold animal head caps, the trunk-style box and the quality of each product does not go unnoticed.
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consideration → go → product
This year, Penhaligon's Christmas collection is inspired by vintage travel trunks and the golden era of train travel, when the journey home was as important as the destination.
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journey → inspire → destination
And they have successfully taken the essence of that chic, golden era and packed it into the advent calendar.
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they → take → calendar
As stated, this calendar really does take you on the journey promised.
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calendar → state → journey
With only two scents repeated, after the 24 days, you feel like Penhaligon’s has invited you in to get to know every highlight the brand has to offer.
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brand → repeat → highlight
While £450 feels steep for an advent calendar, this one feels more than worth it.
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one → feel → calendar
If you’re after a scent reset, are a Penhaligon’s lover, or are simply looking for lavish gifts (each day is wrapped in individual printed tissue paper, making them perfect for regifting), this advent calendar really is one of the best ones out there.
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calendar → ’re → ones
The Aporia
