Layton

How it moves

Up top: apple, bergamot and mandarin. Enjoy them; they will not stay. By the half hour it has become lavender, geranium and violet. It dries down to vanilla, guaiac wood and cardamom, close to the skin and hard to forget.

What wearers say

18,300 people have rated it, and they land at 4.45 out of 5. That is close to consensus, which almost nothing in this hobby achieves.

• Widely called the sweet apple-vanilla crowd-pleaser; a cozy spicy-gourmand that most people find easy to like and compliment-heavy.
• Performance is a strong point for most, with heavy projection and all-day longevity, though a few feel newer batches run slightly weaker.
• Seen as a versatile cool-weather signature and date-night pick; critics call it safe, generic, or too sweet for its luxury price.

Who made it

Hamid Merati-Kashani composed it in 2016, for Parfums de Marly in France. Parfums de Marly's breakout gourmand, part of the house's revival of the perfumery that once dressed the court of Louis XV.

Wear it with

• Xerjoff NaxosIconic combo; honeyed tobacco-vanilla melds into an irresistible gourmand powerhouse
• Gucci Flora Gorgeous GardeniaFloral gardenia over the spicy vanilla, balanced and exotic
• MFK Baccarat Rouge 540Amber-saffron sweetness glows over Layton's apple-vanilla for extra radiance