# Penhaligons — Legacy of Petra

> A 2022 woody-spicy unisex entry in Penhaligon's Trade Routes collection, composed by Natalie Gracia-Cetto and inspired by the ancient Jordanian rock-city of Petra and the Silk Road goods traded throug

## Essence
A 2022 woody-spicy unisex entry in Penhaligon's Trade Routes collection, composed by Natalie Gracia-Cetto and inspired by the ancient Jordanian rock-city of Petra and the Silk Road goods traded through the London docks.  Its defining gambit is licorice - a polarizing anethole-driven black-licorice note - set against myrrh, olibanum (frankincense), green tea, fennel, and a creamy benzoin-vanilla base.
## Scent Profile
The top is a herbaceous, zesty open  -  green tea, fennel, and bergamot  -  with the fennel and bergamot combining into what one reviewer called an almost "cilantro/curry-like accord." The heart is where the signature emerges: licorice (anethole), myrrh, olibanum, and rosemary, producing a spicy, intense, edgy black-licorice effect that a reviewer likened in taste to "Slow crafted" by Lakrids by Bulow rather than trivial Haribo sweetness. Myrrh runs through it as a "slightly medicinal and ashy" resin. The base is a creamy benzoin-vanilla and woody-amber that reins the herbal medicine in from going too far. The signature accord is dry licorice-and-myrrh over creamy resinous vanilla. It is notably skin-dependent: one reviewer reported "on me, it's vanilla and a hint of myrrh and bergamot  -  resin-y and rich... But on my friend, it's a licorice BOMB. Like she rolled around in salt and black licorice." Persolaise praised its "relative boldness." Development is moderate; the licorice/fennel stays close while the vanilla/olibanum/myrrh project outward.
## Performance
Solid for a resinous EDP. A detailed reviewer reports "it lasts 8 - 10 hours," with a notable projection split: "anyone close to you will pick up the licorice and fennel, but the Vanilla, Olibanum, and myrrh project out a few feet." Another notes "longevity is good" and that it works well as a layering base. The consensus is good-to-very-good longevity with moderate, intimate-leaning projection that varies by skin chemistry and setting  -  the same reviewer found it "underwhelming" in a stuffy indoor environment but well-balanced when moving indoors-and-outdoors. As both Persolaise and wearers note, it "calls for warm, outside air." A caveat from the wearers: some find Penhaligon's resinous synthetics "nose-burning."
## Wearing Context
Autumn and winter, and warm dry outdoor air; evening-leaning but wearable in daytime; unisex. Reviewers cast it as exotic, oriental, and "witchy," well-suited to cooler weather and atmospheric occasions rather than the office  -  one wrote she'd "happily wear this as a woman, though likely not to work." Social-perception skew is niche, distinctive, and adult; this is a conversation-piece scent for someone who wants licorice-incense rather than a safe crowd-pleaser. Persolaise effectively warned it's the kind of bold Penhaligon's release that doesn't win mass-market favor.
## Comparisons & DNA
Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin is the dominant licorice reference, sweeter and more gourmand where Petra is drier and myrrh-forward. Dior Eau Noire adds a lavender-licorice path. Yohji Homme and CDG Black are genre neighbors for licorice, smoke and darkness.
## Reception
A devoted minority loves its bold licorice-resin character; others find it harsh or risky.
## Versions & Reformulation
Single composition, no known reformulations. (It exists only as the 100ml EDP within Trade Routes; the discontinuation question concerns availability, not a formula change.)
## Acquisition Notes
A 100 ml Trade Routes EDP with uneven regional availability. Decants are the right entry point because the licorice accord is genuinely divisive.
## Notable Facts & Lore
- The Trade Routes collection was inspired by the spice and silk goods traded through the London docks, with Legacy of Petra evoking the ancient Jordanian city - a theme that prompted near-universal Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade references in the wearers (Petra's Al-Khazneh featured as the Holy Grail temple).
- Penhaligon's own copy foregrounds bergamot, balsam, woody amber and "warm myrrh," asking "is it all a facade?"
- Constantinople preceded it as the prior Trade Routes release.
- The most concrete piece of lore is Persolaise's on-record 2022 prediction to the brand that this commendably bold scent would be discontinued within a year - a prophecy the subsequent US delisting and discontinuation chatter largely bore out.