Antoine Maisondieu’s cool, spiced woody oriental of 2004, the second fragrance in Burberry’s Brit line.
At a glance
Burberry Brit for Men is a Burberry fragrance composed by Antoine Maisondieu and launched in 2004. It is a woody oriental: a spiced citrus opening of ginger, cardamom, bergamot and green mandarin, a heart of cedar, nutmeg and wild rose, and a soft base of tonka bean and grey musk.
It is the second fragrance in the Brit line, which began with the original Brit in late 2003, and it remains widely available at retail.
Creation and context
The original Brit arrived in late 2003 and this version followed in 2004. The Burberry house page counts the pairing among the brand’s most commercially important fragrance lines, and it names Brit as the house signature.
Fragrantica, Now Smell This and the fragrance blog The Scent of Man all credit this composition to Antoine Maisondieu and date it to 2004. Now Smell This lists several later Burberry credits for him, including Burberry London for men (2006), so Brit was the start of a longer working relationship with the house.
The bottle is part of the idea. The Scent of Man describes it as a rectangular, transparent grey glass flacon with the Burberry check embossed across it, designed by Fabien Baron. Fragrantica’s listing describes the brief in similar terms, as a modern English spirit “inwrought with tradition”.
The composition
Burberry has not published the formula. The structure below uses only the materials named in at least two of the standard references (Fragrantica and The Scent of Man).
The interest lies in the balance. The ginger and cardamom make the opening feel cool rather than hot, the cedar and nutmeg give the heart its dryness, and the tonka and musk round everything off into a smooth, slightly powdery finish. The Scent of Man notes that some wearers read that drydown as close to baby powder, most likely the tonka and musk at work.
It is a quiet oriental. There is no heavy resin or leather, and the rose in the heart is a supporting note rather than a feature. That restraint is why it wears more like a soft woody spice than the dense orientals of the previous decade.
Why it matters
Brit for Men was recognised quickly. The FiFi Awards named it Men’s Fragrance of the Year in 2005, in the prestige category according to Wikipedia’s list of winners and the “Men’s Luxe” category according to Fragrantica. The women’s Brit is also listed among the 2004 winners of the women’s prestige award.
It also matters for what it did to the brand. Brit tied a fragrance line to the check pattern that defines Burberry’s clothing, down to the embossed bottle, and the line has since been extended into a family of flankers.
Reformulation and editions
The original is an eau de toilette. The Brit family grew through flankers such as Brit Rhythm; Now Smell This credits Maisondieu with a Brit Limited Edition for Men in 2010.
Parfumo lists a newer Brit for Him eau de toilette dated 2019 and credited to Elizabeth Moriarty Barrial, with a gourmand note list of hazelnut, coconut milk, sandalwood, lavender and vanilla. Only that source documents it, so check the box and the listing carefully if you want the 2004 composition. Burberry fragrance has been licensed to Coty since 2017, and no reformulation history for the original has been published.
Wearing it today
Expect a gentle, cool-spiced opening, a dry cedar-and-nutmeg heart and a soft, powdery tonka finish. The Scent of Man found it stayed fairly close to the skin for four to five hours, which makes it an easy office and autumn fragrance.
Apply two or three sprays and do not expect much projection. If you enjoy it, Mr. Burberry and the house’s other fragrances in the archive show where the house went next.