I've been wearing Floris "Elite" for years. I always thought you were from London. I just noticed today that you're from Texas. I experienced Jermyn Street back in the 80's and visited Floris back then. A lot of things in London back then were much more original than they are today. At that time there was no such brand terror as we know it today. While I was looking at your wonderful presentation of the Floris fragrances today, I involuntarily thought of watches, which one may also wear on certain occasions. So dress watches like Vacheron & Constantin, Jaeger LeCoultre, etc. Well, the thought just came to me.
I've been really happy with the Honey Oud. It is the first Oud I have purchased and I use it regularly, chose it over Maison Oud Satin Mood. It is very powerful, has great performance too. Also, I am very interested with trying out the Leather Oud too.
I've been inspired to endeavour to become more of a gentleman and thought a signature fragrance was a good place to start. My budget isn't huge but I was pleased with the Floris prices considering their history. I was planning to just buy the 89 online based on other reviews and generally how popular it is, but thought I better head into the shop to smell it first in case I preferred another. Well I have to say I was incredibly disappointed and a little embarrassed. I smelled all of the Floris scents in their Jermyn St store, and I thought the majority of them smelled like the type of scent you get in various bathroom cleaning products and scented bleach. The staff in there were excellent and could list all of the scents in each fragrance on demand, yet I couldn't enjoy any of them and left a little confused and very disappointed. I'm not sure if it is my preference or inexperience. After leaving Floris I visited Truefitt & Hill and absolutely loved their Sandalwood fragrance, so all hope is not lost, but sadly I can't understand how/why so many people can enjoy Floris fragrances.
I would guess it depends not the individual. Some people can pickup different scents and react to them differently as fragrances have a huge variety. If your budget gets bigger or maybe for some big occasion you could try their bespoke experience where you basically create your own fragrance with the help of their fragrance blender
It's amazing what time does to people. One day you just might regret you didn't fell for Floris 89, just like I did. But I'm over 60. Mind you, Floris 89 is all but an old school fragrance, It's a modernized better version of Habit Rouge. In this particular style I found 2 years ago Dior Eau Sauvage extreme. The Black Bottle. Maybe that one will appeal to you. But then again, in the end we all have different tastes.
An aside for the history buffs. I remember reading an interview with Edward Bodenham of Floris where he discusses that “Elite” was David Bowie’s preferred scent. That’s how I ended up buying “Elite” from Kirby. And then №. 89 because of Fleming and Grant. Thanks, Kirby!
Hello kirby , I'm so pleased that you've mentioned that elite was released in 1851 as an after shave cream, its now quite clear that Carlos benaim copied the notes and developed & released polo for ralph Lauren in 1978 thus making polo to appear to be the first of its kind, floris then merely decided to release elite as a bottled fragrance in 1980, so basically for all the polo lovers out there floris paved the way for ralph Lauren polo.x
Between polo and Floris Elite, which is better? they are similar ? Does Floris smell similar to Drakkar noir with that powdery aroma or is it pine like Polo?
@@thomassantur107 personally I'd say that original polo is the same as elite, you can't easily obtain vintage polo these days, if you are lucky enough to people ask a fortune for it, floris elite is more obtainable as its readily available and very reasonably priced, I would say its green with a slight leather base, lovely stuff.
Santal is my personal favorite of the whole range of scents. I use Burberry Hero EdP for every day and I love the woody notes in perfumes and the warm feeling.
Hi Kiby, thankyou so much for this interesting presentation. I was a fan of Floris till a few years ago, until I think I must have received a bad shipment ie the product itself I found too heavy and to musky. I like the more floral parfams as I rarely use EDC's. However watching this I might give No.127 a try out as well as Cefuro as they might be more in line with my absolute favourite scents wich come from Aqua Di Parma, a family owned Parfam House in Italy. I have been using their products for the last 40 years and they have never failed me yet. I recommend them highly to you. They remind me of the orange and lemon groves back in Italy in particular Tuscany, which is my heaven on earth and I would love to physically be able to move to for the rest of my days, with an apartment on Davies Street or Eton Place1
Excellent breakdown of these Floris colognes Kirby! There's no other video on RU-vid that has more depth/detail than yours. Of the entire lineup, which is best for high heat/desert climates? I am leaning towards No.89, Cefiro, and JF which are all EDT's and Bergamotto Di Positano, which is an EDP. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
This is timely, as I’ve been just discovering Floris fragrances on my own! I was bummed to find out that my favorite so far, Palm Springs (for Spencer Hart) was discontinued a little while back.
Elite once upon a time in my mid 20s was a love for me. picked up a bottle in 2024 (now in my early 40s) and all i get is a burnt hair smell 😢 I'm sure it's been reformulated over the years but i just can't get past the ashtray vibe for Elite. as a US based lover of Floris, it's a little unfortunate that their style now resembles American cleaning products, but Floris certainly has some beauties. Wilde is my current signature, Mulberry Fig, Platinum 22, Santal (Intense) Lily, and Jermyn Street will probably forever stay in my collection as long as they are available. really enjoyed 007 and wish i would've snagged a backup bottle. a rose for, is one i wear in cooler months. i have 20+ Floris fragrances in my collection, but several like Elite, Neroli Voyage, Cefiro, JF, and Special 127, just started to push carpet cleaner/laundry detergent territory for me unfortunately.
I needed this video *badly* because I have been wanting to order a fragrance from your website (almost grabbed a Turnbull & Asser scent from you) but just got too indecisive. Got a feeling this video will help me decide exactly what I need. Thank-you once again, Kirby!
A well curated selection for your online shop (even though Neroli Voyage leaning a bit too far towards the current high street fragrance mainstream, IMO). It's good to see that you've avoided adding some of their more questionable recent releases such as Leather Oud, which simply doesn't really sit well among Floris' timeless scent DNA. Cheers!
@@Psykel Don’t tempt me! I’m trying to gradually overhaul my wardrobe which is proving expensive as it is. I think maybe Jermyn Street for now, and maybe get Santal as we enter Autumn
@@stevenrose86 Well, I guess there’s no point to buy an autumn/winter fragrance right now. But again, can’t have too many! I have about 15 or so different fragrances in the closet, and that’s nowhere near how many the fragrance heads usually own! It’s fun to be able to go with something that suits your mood aswell as the weather.
@@waleed8530 15 isn’t that many tbh. Real fragrance heads got like 40-50. Quality fragrances will keep for years if you store them in a proper place, meaning not your bathroom cabinet. I keep mine in the walk in closet in the middle of my apartment, where it’s dark and an even temperature. Also, most of my bottles are on the smaller size, 30-50ml.
Have the Jermyn Street! I actually find it to be a very suitable all-season fragrance. The Neroli Voyage is next on the list. I plan to wear that exclusively in the Spring/Summer months as well as when I travel to a warmer/tropical country.
Of the Floris fragrances I have tried, c/o Kirby's sample offerings, I really enjoy Santal and Jermyn Street. And I am dying to try more out! Just make sure to sample before buying, gents! Nothing's worse than dropping money on something you won't want to wear, at the end of the day.
I think that something people need to realize, is the fact that not all fragrances work with your body chemistry. So while you like the scent, the fragrance doesn't or may not agree with your body and its picked up by others. This is hard to figure out, but it can be done over time
Hi Kirby, as a fragrance appreciator, you should try more modern fragrances. Please try stuff like Xerjoff, Roja, Fragrance Du Bois, Nishane, Parfums De Marly, Amouage... Fragrance industry went above and beyond in the apst 2 decades, the EDP's and Extraits that you can find in the moders market are impeccable.
Why? The market is over-saturated with mass marketed scents. There are so many nobody could ever possibly try even a plurality. The brands you mention are less common (good), but unless there is a reason, a gap in offerings, a connection, a strong specific recommendation, etc. one is just constantly trying new stuff. How many can one actually distinguish? The idea of a signature scent is to tie it to the individual, so others associate the scent with them. Changing it 17 times a day defeats the purpose.
Thank you for this video, Kirby. Could you please discuss how, where, and how much you apply to have an elegant smell without being overpowering? I used to spray two sprays on my neck, but that came across as overpowering. Now I spray one spray in either my right or left inner elbow and that seems to do the trick. Curious about how you apply.
Between polo and Floris Elite, which is better? they are similar ? Does Floris smell similar to Drakkar noir with that powdery aroma or is it pine like Polo?
I come from Amouage fragrances, which i have a lot of. When I picked up a passion for shaving stuff I encountered Floris London. I’m very curious how they compare to a brand like Amouage.
Everyone who knows anything about fragrances knows that a combination of synthetic and natural ingredients are vital to a proper forumation. You need both. You don't see respectable fragrance brands touting all natural ingredients to get sales because that would make for terrible fragrances with poor performance. If someone touts all natural ingredients they are either lying and still use synthetics, they don't know much about perfumery, or they think you don't know much about perfumery.
All very confusing unless you can sample product and in our neck of the woods(Canada ) it is not commonly found even in the finest stores. French and Italian scents prevail mostly, however it would be nice to find an equivalent Floris product that closely reminds me of a 'fougere' scent that I prefer? Any suggestions ? Thank you.
I love floris but I’d say reach out and try some other brands. Like other well known niche houses, xerjoff, byredo, Parfums de marly, initio and many others
A fragrance works differently from one body to the next. I've had fragrances I can still smell the dry down on my skin 24 hour's later. Others the scent has gone in 10 minutes. And I'm talking expensive fragrances. By the way, I like JF and ELITE. Dave
Choosing my favorite Floris fragrance was indeed simple: ELITE I have a bunch of Floris fragrances. After Elite, my favorites from my collection are: Santal (very similar to the discontinued Gucci Envy for Men) Honey Oud 1962 Neroli Voyage Leather Oud No. 89 I would love to grab the new limited edition Mulberry Fig, but the $310 USD price tag has caused me to balk.
Between polo and Floris Elite, which is better? they are similar ? Does Floris smell similar to Drakkar noir with that powdery aroma or is it pine like Polo?
@@thomassantur107 You know, this fragrance appreciation game is all a matter of personal tastes. Very little objective appreciation involved. I love both Polo and Elite and both are high up in my collection. Elite is described as sort of a hybrid of Creed Bois du Portugal and Polo Green. I think uts closer to Bois du Portugal, so maybe 70% BdP and 30% Polo. But Polo is MY favorite frag of all time. Polo is a pretty rough and tough pine, leather, tobacco and Aromatic Chypre., whereas Elite is a smoother, slightly soapy Fougere.
@@JT-rx1eo Could you recommend an alternative to Polo? I use Esencia EDT Loewe, but unfortunately it has not been saved from the reformulation and worse still, they have changed the bottle for a rather ugly square thing. But it is much fresher than Polo but with that very characteristic green and pine.
I’m a male, and I just want to smell like fresh laundry, so I use Lilly of the Valley. Unpretentious and clean. Can’t go wrong, unless you choose anything other than Floris.
As a man who loves his perfumes, yes I’m a builder and you might think, you drag your knuckles you ape, but I do decently well, but here’s my take on floris, it has good top notes, heart notes and base notes. But I’d stay away from this brand unless your 55yrs +, think of Karen Chanel No.5 a stand up sent, but boy has it aged. Floris is not something I’d consider, yes they have been around since 1730, but your also buying a outdated, bland fragrance. Either your buying the brand, but even so may clones are out there more exciting and original.
Easy pickings in that case, since bergamot is a top note in about 80% of the Floris fragrances (other than things like A rose for…, China rose where bergamot would really clash).