Note Pyramid
The Icon
Suede is not the material you expect to find at this price, and it is what makes Antonio Banderas The Icon Eau de Parfum 100ml more interesting than its shelf neighbours.
Suede reads as soft, dry and faintly powdery, a long way from the tarry hides that older masculine scents were built on, and in this composition it sits in the middle alongside iris, which is cool, rooty and powdery in its own right. Those two together give the scent a grey, tailored quality that is rare below thirty pounds. Lavender and cypress stand beside them, the lavender herbal and clean, the cypress dry and resinous, and between them they stop the powder from going soft or sentimental. Above all that, the opening is sharp and bitter. Grapefruit is the loudest material in the first ten minutes, juniper berry adds a cool resinous bite, and black pepper prickles across both. It is a brisk start, and its job is to set up the quieter middle rather than to compete with it, which is why the scent can seem unremarkable for the first few minutes and then improve considerably. The base goes earthy. Patchouli and vetiver are the frame, one damp and dark, the other dry and rooty, with labdanum and benzoin underneath supplying resin and a faint balsamic sweetness so the finish is not merely austere. Released in 2024, it is the most considered thing the range has produced, and at eau de parfum strength it holds for six hours or more with a close, polished trail.
Use it for work, for evenings and for cooler weather. It is aimed at men and it suits someone slightly older than the Seduction scents do. The range itself carries the Spanish actor's name under licence and is made and marketed by Puig, which has run it as a mass market line since 1997.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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