Honestly, I find most of Penhaligon’s fragrances a bit of a heavy-hitter and overpowering. So far, Artemisia is the only one from their collection that spoke to my nose. It is quietly beautiful but with the painful price tag to match (my wallet is still crying).

No complex intermingling of notes

Penhaligon’s Artemisia opens up with a burst of creamy nectarines. Unlike most perfumes, it’s a straightforward scent that I don’t particularly notice certain notes emerging at different stages of the dry down. Perhaps it’s meant to be super well-blended and intentionally simple.

When it comes to performance, projection is weak to moderate and longevity is about 2-3 hours before it settles into a skin scent. Sillage-wise, it’s intimate and leaves a very faint trace of soft vanilla. The best I can describe its dry drown would be: soft, milky, musky and powdery.

Christmas and Self-care in a bottle

I like scents that are polite, approachable and fairly subtle. And to my nose, this is reminiscent of Christmas too – something that can be both enticing and comforting, merry and warm. I normally prefer wearing this on rainy days but in order to wrap yourself up in it, you might need to go heavy on the trigger.

I personally don’t find this too sweet nor too floral. Like every fragrance in my collection, this has a refined, airy, powdery feel to it. It’s like a perfect muted company for slow and lazy afternoons in bed that soothes the wearer and gives off an overall smell of “self-care”.

I wonder why there’s not much rave about this perfume (yet). Could it be that Perfume Lalaland find this too simple for it’s price? Nevertheless, Penhaligon’s Artemisia warrants a review from someone with sensory obsessions.

If you’re into fragrances that captures the feeling of calmness and doesn’t induce olfactory migraine, you might want to consider adding Penhaligon’s Artemisia in your perfume wardrobe. This perfume currently occupies a spot on my list of Top 10 Favorite/Signature Perfumes.

Composition as detailed on fragrantica.com:

Notes of Nectarine are mixed with Violet, Vanilla, Lily of the valley, Jasmine and Green apple. Base notes are a perfect blend of Musk, Sandalwood, Oakmoss and Amber.

Hope you find this review useful. I can say that this perfume is not likely to turn anyone off and it’s a good place to start if you’re exploring the ocean of minimal scents or looking for a nice change from strong-performing perfumes.