In the 2018 guide, I reviewed one of the Grossmith fragrances, Shem-el-Nessim, and was impressed by both the fragrance and the story of the company—a proper, sincere revival of a genuine firm from the mid-19th century by actual descendants of its founders. I had a chance to revisit their fragrances and speak to the owners recently, and my opinion has not changed. They are the real thing, and the thing is such an outlier point in the modern perfumery landscape that it deserves special mention.
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