Mr. Burberry Fragrance Profile

At a glance

Mr. Burberry is a Burberry eau de toilette, composed by Francis Kurkdjian and launched in April 2016. It is an aromatic woody fragrance: grapefruit, tarragon and cardamom at the top, birch leaf, nutmeg and cedar in the heart, and guaiac wood, vetiver and sandalwood in the base.

It was the counterpart to My Burberry (2014), also by Kurkdjian, and one of the main launches of the years when Burberry ran its fragrances in-house.

Creation and context

At the end of 2012 Burberry bought its fragrance license back from Inter Parfums and began running fragrance and cosmetics itself as Burberry Beauty. The new team tied the fragrances more closely to the clothes. Kurkdjian’s My Burberry of 2014 was built around the image of the trench coat, and Mr. Burberry followed two years later as its companion; Fragrantica quotes the brand presenting it as a counterpart to My Burberry.

Fragrantica, Parfumo and The Perfume Society all credit Francis Kurkdjian. The Perfume Society, writing on 5 April 2016, said the fragrance would launch later that month, and Cosmetics Business reported on 4 April that it had just launched. According to the brand text quoted by Fragrantica, the scent is “a classic aromatic fougère” remodeled to make “a radically contemporary creation”. Fragrantica also notes that the bottle uses gabardine, the cloth of the house’s trench coats.

The launch film was the first commercial made by the Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen. Cosmetics Business and The Perfume Society both report that it starred the actor and musician Josh Whitehouse and the model and actress Amber Anderson in a London love story; Cosmetics Business adds that the soundtrack was by Benjamin Clementine, and The Perfume Society that scenes were shot at the Café Royal.

The composition

The structure below uses the notes named by at least two of Fragrantica, Parfumo and The Perfume Society.

Fragrantica’s list is longer and adds mint, lavender, amberwood, benzoin and oakmoss, which explains the brand’s fougère framing: lavender and oakmoss are the classic fougère materials. On skin the fragrance reads less as a traditional fougère than as a modern aromatic wood, with the grapefruit and tarragon giving way to cedar and guaiac.

Why it matters

Mr. Burberry is a clear example of Burberry’s Kurkdjian period. Together with My Burberry (2014) and Burberry Her (2018), it made Kurkdjian the perfumer most closely associated with the house, after an Inter Parfums period in which perfumer credits were often poorly documented.

It also shows a designer house reworking a traditional structure rather than chasing a trend. The brand’s own brief pointed back to the fougère, the family that began with Houbigant’s Fougère Royale in 1882, and the published notes keep its herbal-woody logic while putting citrus, tarragon and dry woods in the foreground.

Finally, the campaign mattered in its own right. Commissioning Steve McQueen’s first commercial, shot in London with British actors, tied the launch to the same British identity as the clothes.

Reformulation and editions

Fragrantica and Parfumo both date an eau de parfum to 2017 and Mr. Burberry Indigo to 2018; Parfumo credits Kurkdjian with both. The eau de parfum is warmer, with Parfumo listing tarragon, cinnamon, patchouli, amber and vetiver. Indigo is a fresher version built on citrus, rosemary, blackcurrant, spearmint and violet leaf.

The license passed to Coty in 2017, a year after launch, and Parfumo lists Coty as the current marketer of the eau de parfum and Indigo. No reformulation of the eau de toilette has been publicly documented.

Wearing it today

Start with the eau de toilette if you want the fresh grapefruit and tarragon opening; choose the eau de parfum if you prefer more warmth and spice. Parfumo users rate the eau de toilette’s longevity and sillage as moderate.

It suits daytime, the office and spring or autumn. If you like its dry woods but want something softer, compare it with Burberry Touch for Men.

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