London Cologne

The women's London leans warm and floral; the men's edition takes the same city and gives it a darker, more tobacco-forward character instead. Cinnamon, lavender and bergamot open this London Eau de Toilette spiced and aromatic, a more assertive start than most fresh men's colognes attempt. Leather and mimosa fill the middle, an unusual pairing of something tactile against something powdery. Tobacco leaf, guaiac wood, opoponax and oakmoss close out a rich, resinous base. Marketed as London Cologne, Burberry classifies this Eau de Toilette as oriental woody, an evening fragrance suited to cold weather. Mimosa is the surprising inclusion in that leather-driven middle, a soft, powdery yellow flower more commonly found in women's perfumery, and its presence here tempers the leather just enough to keep the fragrance from reading as purely severe. Set against its women's namesake, the difference in mood is deliberate: this reads considerably less romantic and considerably more atmospheric, closer to a study lined with old books than a bouquet on a windowsill, still a comparatively underappreciated choice for anyone who wants an actual oriental woody without paying prices closer to niche perfumery territory or hunting down a discontinued release from a smaller, harder-to-find house.