The Favourite
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- Authentic original perfume
- Try before the full bottle
- Travel-ready 3ml, 10ml, 30ml
- Long-lasting scent
The Favourite by Penhaligon's opens with freesia, mandarin orange and violet, light and a little powdery from the start. Iris, jasmine sambac and mimosa build the heart, soft and slightly sweet rather than sharp. The base carries real weight: musk, sandalwood, benzoin, tonka bean and vanilla, with ambroxan adding a smooth, almost skin-warm lift. Unisex in spirit, it suits anyone who wants a floral with a woody, slightly sweet undertow rather than something purely pretty. Voters wear it through autumn and winter, at night, in the evening and during the day alike, an easy scent to reach for whenever the mood is right. The longevity vote here leans long-lasting, and sillage leans strong too, worth knowing before your first spray. A 10ml decant carries you through a season of wear before you decide on the bottle.
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The community verdict
Long-lasting wear and strong projection are the most common reports for The Favourite, with moderate close behind for both. Freesia, mandarin orange and violet lead into iris and mimosa, then musk and sandalwood. It suits autumn nights best, while winter and evenings work too.
Summarised with AI from perfume-community reviews
- Topfirst impression
- Freesia
- Mandarin Orange
- Violet
- Heartafter a few minutes
- Iris
- Jasmine Sambac
- Mimosa
- Basewhat lingers
- Brand
- Penhaligon's
- Scent profile
- Unisex
- Decant sizes
- 3ml, 10ml, 30ml
We ship across the EU. Orders over €75.00 ship free. Returns are accepted within 30 days of delivery.
Penhaligon's The Favourite, hour by hour
How it opens, settles and lingers on skin.
Mimosa and iris on a cashmere wrap by evening lamplight.
What you smell
First spray0–15 min
- Freesia
- Mandarin Orange
- Violet
Heart15 min – 2 h
- Iris
- Jasmine Sambac
- Mimosa
Dry-down2 h – 7–12 h
- Lasts
- 7–12 h
- Long lasting
- Sillage
- Strong, 3 of 4
What wearers say
Votes from fragrance communities, most-voted answers first.
Longevity385 votes
Most voted: 47%Long lasting
31%Moderate
Sillage330 votes
Most voted: 48%Strong
29%Moderate
Season335 votes
Most voted: 42%Autumn
25%Winter
Time of day335 votes
Most voted: 37%Night out
28%Evening
See all votesHide votes
Longevity385 votes
- Very weak4%15 votes
- Weak12%45 votes
- Moderate31%120 votes
- Long lasting (Most voted)47%180 votes
- Eternal6%25 votes
Sillage330 votes
- Intimate11%35 votes
- Moderate29%95 votes
- Strong (Most voted)48%160 votes
- Enormous12%40 votes
Season335 votes
- Spring19%65 votes
- Summer13%45 votes
- Autumn (Most voted)42%140 votes
- Winter25%85 votes
Time of day335 votes
- Daytime22%75 votes
- Office12%40 votes
- Evening28%95 votes
- Night out (Most voted)37%125 votes
Which size is right for you?
Every size is decanted from the same original bottle.
At 3 sprays a day.
Loved by 50,000+
Why scent lovers try it with us before they buy the bottle.
Hand-decanted from the original bottle
Decanted by hand from authentic bottles, never diluted.
Wear it for days before you commit
Live with it at work, at night and at the weekend before you buy a full bottle.
Just like the full bottle
A fine-mist atomiser sprays like the original, so it opens, projects and lasts on your skin the way the full bottle does.
10ML vs a blind buy
What a decant gives you that a bottle bought unsmelled can’t.
Why 10ML?
Blind buy
Authentic original perfume
Yes
Yes
Smell it on your skin before you buy
Yes
No
Try several scents for one bottle’s price
Yes
No
Travel-ready atomiser
Yes
No
No full bottle wasted if it’s not for you
Yes
No
If you like Penhaligon's The Favourite
Perfumes that share its most characteristic notes.
- Sale · 10% off
Shares mimosa · mandarin orange
- Save 36%
Shares violet · benzoin
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Shares violet · benzoin
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Shares benzoin · iris
- Save 36%
Shares violet · benzoin
- Save 38%
Shares benzoin · mandarin orange
- Save 36%
Shares violet · benzoin
- Save 36%
Shares mimosa · musk
Layer it with
Chosen for rose, bergamot and geranium, notes that often share a formula with its ambroxan, musk and mandarin orange in the perfumes we stock.
Penhaligon's
The Favourite layered with
- Save 36%
- Save 35%
- Save 37%
- Save 31%
The house
More from Penhaligon's
Penhaligon's goes back to 1870 in Britain, when William Henry Penhaligon, a barber from Cornwall, founded the house and later served as perfumer to the court of Queen Victoria. Today it pairs that history with playful, character-led scents, many named like people in a story. Warm spice runs through much of it: cardamom, saffron and black pepper over vanilla, amber, tobacco and sandalwood. Start with Halfeti, woody and spiced with an aromatic lift. Changing Constance is caramel and vanilla with a peppery glow, and The Blazing Mr Sam is tobacco and spice over woods. Empressa is the bright one, citrus and fruit.
Frequently asked questions
What does Penhaligon's The Favourite smell like?
Penhaligon's The Favourite opens with Freesia, Mandarin Orange and Violet. The heart brings Iris, Jasmine Sambac and Mimosa. It dries down to Ambroxan, Benzoin, Musk and Sandalwood.
Is Penhaligon's The Favourite long lasting?
Shoppers on fragrance communities most often rate its longevity as long lasting (47% of votes), and 53% rate it long lasting or eternal. They most often rate its sillage as strong (48% of votes). How long it lasts on you also depends on your skin and how much you apply.
Is Penhaligon's The Favourite good for summer?
Shoppers on fragrance communities rate it mainly for autumn; summer takes only 13% of season votes.
Is Penhaligon's The Favourite good for winter?
Shoppers on fragrance communities favour other seasons, but winter still takes 25% of season votes.
Is Penhaligon's The Favourite for day or night?
Shoppers on fragrance communities mostly wear it after dark: 66% of time-of-day votes are for evenings and nights out, 34% for daytime or the office.
Can I wear Penhaligon's The Favourite to the office?
Shoppers on fragrance communities rarely pick it for the office: only 12% of time-of-day votes go to the office.
Who makes Penhaligon's The Favourite?
The Favourite is made by Penhaligon's.
How many wears is a 10ml decant of Penhaligon's The Favourite?
A 10ml decant of Penhaligon's The Favourite holds about 200 sprays, roughly 67 days of wear at 3 sprays a day. The 3ml decant holds about 60 sprays, around 20 days. The 30ml decant holds about 600 sprays, around 200 days.
Which other Penhaligon's perfumes can I try?
Besides Penhaligon's The Favourite, 10ML has Halfeti, Changing Constance and The Blazing Mr Sam from Penhaligon's, each decanted from the original bottle.
Is this Penhaligon's The Favourite decant the original perfume?
Yes. Every Penhaligon's The Favourite decant is filled by hand from an original Penhaligon's bottle, with nothing added or diluted, so it opens, dries down and lasts on your skin the way the bottle does. We sell only authentic originals.
What is a decant?
A small amount of a perfume, taken from its original bottle and put into a travel atomiser. You get the real fragrance in a size that lets you live with it for days before you decide on the full bottle.
How does the money-back guarantee work?
If a scent isn’t right for you, get in touch within 30 days of it arriving and we’ll arrange a refund. Terms apply. See our refund policy.