D.R. Harris and Rapturous Windsor

Fine English Scent

Too many perfumes smell exactly the same. I don't know if it's because they're redirected to different bottles in the same manufactory or the big perfume makers play too safe and work within the self-imposed restrictions of knowing what sells.

Thankfully, there are some perfumes that are utterly distinct. We shall continue to cover them.

The Windsor eau de toilette from D. R Harris is a recent addition, released by Harris in 2012. And look at that! The label on the bottle goes very well with my Alan Paine cricket sweater.

I'll be honest with you, the old medicine cabinet is fairly bulging with old-school unguents and timeless scents. I was looking to reduce the inventory, not add to it. But I took a quick squirt of Windsor when oscillating idly around the Harris shop in St. James's — there to pick up some of their matchless coconut shampoo — and I had to take a bottle.

Wide-eyed, pink-cheeked expression of rapturous delight

I'm not saying that first sniff changed my life, but my face became stuck in a wide-eyed, pink-cheeked expression of rapturous delight for several minutes. Embarrassing. This is good scent, chaps. I mean really good. And it is ideally suited for a summer's evening.

From my rather literal photo below, you can see the bottle resting next to a geranium flower and a lemon. I was trying to express the freshness as the fragrance contains these elements.

At first the scent introduces itself like Jeeves hemming politely in the background, proffering a salad bowl of thinly-sliced citrus fruits and a plate of dusted Turkish delight. On my slim wrists the volume swiftly goes up, morphing quickly into a bold spiciness that gradually settles into a soapy vetiver with a subtle undertone of warm leather. The evolution is remarkable and v., v. pleasant indeed. It's hard describing a fragrance. But at least I avoided describing Windsor as having 'understated luxury' and 'contemporary vibrancy', as I read elsewhere. Contemporary vibrancy — what on earth does that mean in a fragrance? And does this bottle speak contemporary vibrancy to you? If it did, I think we'd run a mile.

I'm packing this one for my just-around-the-corner summer break — and the essential cricket sweater. You might want to think about it too.