The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
The 1872 collection exists because Clive Christian wanted to honour the year Queen Victoria granted the Crown Perfumery Company permission to display her crown on its bottles. That royal imprimatur, granted, not purchased, runs through every fragrance in the line. The Twist Bergamot arrived in 2017 as a reinterpretation of that founding year, taking the citrus-aromatic structure of the original and dialling the bergamot note into something more deliberate. Where the original 1872 kept its cards close, the Twist version commits to brightness without apology. The house doesn't reinvent itself often. When it does, the result carries weight.
Bergamot and mandarin orange open together, a double citrus charge that reads immediate and sparkling. The difference is what happens next. Most citrus fragrances fade into sweetness or stay flat. Here, rosemary and lavender arrive within minutes, shifting the composition from bright to herbaceous, almost savoury. Clary sage and neroli form the heart, an unusual pairing that brings a quiet floral quality without sweetness. Patchouli anchors the base, giving the whole structure something to stand on long after the citrus fades. The result is a fragrance that earns its complexity.
The evolution
The opening is a one-two punch. Bergamot and mandarin orange arrive together, bright and unapologetic. The citrus doesn't linger alone for long. Within minutes, rosemary and lavender move in, softening the initial brightness into something herbal and almost savoury. Not your typical fresh fragrance. The heart unfolds over the next hour or two, revealing clary sage and neroli, a pairing that brings quiet floral calm without sweetness. The herbs keep everything grounded. Patchouli arrives late in the drydown, earthy and woodsy, taking its time to develop as the citrus and florals recede. It lingers. Eight to ten hours on most skin types, according to the community. That's not an accident, Clive Christian builds concentration into every formula. People notice this one. Not because it's loud, but because it's different. The herbaceous quality stays with you. It's the kind of scent that makes someone lean in and ask what it is.
Cultural impact
The 2017 launch of 1872 Twist Bergamot arrived during a period when luxury fragrance houses were reinterpreting their heritage collections with contemporary sensibilities. Clive Christian's choice to use the 1872 founding year, referencing Queen Victoria's granting of Crown Perfumery Company rights to display her crown, positioned the fragrance within a narrative of historic British perfumery legacy. The house's high-end positioning at $295 for 50ml also reflected the growing luxury fragrance market where price itself signals quality and exclusivity. The bergamot-forward citrus-aromatic genre gained renewed attention in the late 2010s as consumers sought sophisticated fresh fragrances that moved beyond mass-market citrus.
