There is something exciting about discovering a fragrance brand before you really know what to expect from it.
No reputation to influence you.
No famous bestseller already sitting in your head.
No pressure to like something because everyone else does.
That was exactly the feeling I had with Gleam London.
I went into this collection almost completely open minded, and that made the experience much more interesting. Five fragrances, five very different personalities, and several moments where what I smelled did not match what I expected from the name at all.
Some felt instantly familiar.
Others needed a few minutes before I understood what they were trying to do.
And a couple genuinely surprised me.
After spending time with Cherry Hook, Kensington, Espresso Please, Vanilla Crush, and Golden Star, I came away thinking that Gleam London is a brand worth paying attention to, especially if you enjoy sweet fragrances with strong character and a few unexpected twists.
My First Impression of Gleam London
The first thing I noticed is that the collection does not follow one strict direction.
This is not a line where every fragrance smells like a variation of the previous one.
Cherry Hook goes fruity and spicy.
Kensington becomes green, warm, and slightly strange.
Espresso Please moves straight into gourmand territory.
Vanilla Crush is soft, sugary, and comforting.
Golden Star explores the darker world of saffron, oud, leather, and amber.
That variety made testing the collection genuinely enjoyable.
I never felt like I already knew what the next fragrance would smell like.
And that is important.
When you are testing several perfumes from the same house, similarity can become tiring very quickly. Gleam London avoids that problem surprisingly well.
Cherry Hook Immediately Got My Attention
This Is Not Just Another Sweet Cherry
Cherry fragrances are everywhere now.
Because of that, I have become a little cautious whenever I see cherry listed as the main attraction.
Some are syrupy.
Some feel too artificial.
Some become so sweet that the fruit loses all personality.
Cherry Hook did not give me that impression.
The black cherry here feels juicy, dark, and energetic.
It has sweetness, of course, but there is also a spicy edge that stops it from becoming flat.
The listed combination of black cherry, amaretto, chili pepper, musk, and amber makes much more sense once you smell it.
The chili pepper is especially interesting.
It does not turn the fragrance into something aggressively spicy. Instead, it gives the cherry a little tension.
A little heat.
A feeling that something unexpected is happening underneath the fruit.
That was what made Cherry Hook one of my favorites from the collection.
It is fun without feeling childish.
Sweet without becoming completely predictable.
And fruity without losing depth.
Kensington Is the Strange One, and I Mean That Positively
Kensington was harder for me to understand at first.
I smelled something green.
Then something herbal.
Then something warm and slightly sweet.
After that came a subtle animalic feeling that made the whole fragrance seem rougher and more textured.
Black Tea and Ginger Give It Personality
The notes include black tea, ginger, amber, and patchouli, and those ingredients explain a lot of what is happening.
The black tea gives it a dry, slightly leafy feeling.
Ginger brings brightness and spice.
Patchouli makes the base earthier.
And the amber adds warmth around everything.
Still, Kensington does not feel perfectly polished, and that is probably the most interesting thing about it.
It has a little wildness.
A little dirtiness.
Something that keeps it from smelling too safe.
I can imagine this being the fragrance in the collection that divides people the most.
Some may find it unusual.
Others may fall in love with that exact quality.
Personally, I would rather smell something with personality than something technically pleasant but completely forgettable.
Kensington definitely has personality.
Espresso Please Completely Fooled Me
With a name like Espresso Please, I expected coffee.
Dark roasted coffee.
Maybe bitterness.
Maybe the smell of freshly ground beans.
Instead, my first thought was almost immediately: hot chocolate.
Coffee Is There, but Chocolate Steals the Show
The fragrance includes coffee, hazelnut, chocolate, tonka bean, and musk.
On my nose, chocolate takes control very quickly.
It feels thick, warm, and comforting.
The hazelnut makes it even more gourmand, giving it that creamy, nutty dessert feeling.
The coffee supports the composition rather than completely dominating it.
And honestly, I liked that surprise.
There are already plenty of fragrances trying to smell like a literal cup of espresso.
Espresso Please feels more indulgent.
More like sitting somewhere warm with a rich chocolate drink while the smell of coffee is still floating around the room.
It is cozy.
Delicious.
Almost edible.
This was easily one of the fragrances I enjoyed most during testing.
If you love gourmand scents, this is probably the one I would be most curious to smell again.
Vanilla Crush Is Pure Comfort
Vanilla Crush is much easier to understand.
There is no mystery here.
And sometimes that is exactly what you want.
Soft Vanilla, Sugar and Marshmallow
Vanilla, iris, musk, and sugar create a soft, creamy profile with a noticeable marshmallow feeling.
It smells fluffy rather than dense.
Sweet rather than dark.
Comforting rather than dramatic.
What I like is that it does not seem to fight against its own identity.
Vanilla Crush wants to be sweet, and it fully commits to that idea.
There is something playful about it.
Almost nostalgic.
It reminds me of soft sweets, powdered sugar, warm skin, and creamy vanilla all at once.
I can also imagine this fragrance being very easy to layer.
Something woody could make it deeper.
Something fruity could make it more playful.
Something spicy could completely change the mood.
But even by itself, Vanilla Crush has enough sweetness and character to be enjoyable.
It is one of the easiest fragrances in the collection to wear.
Golden Star Feels More Familiar
Golden Star takes the collection into a completely different direction.
Here we have saffron, oud, leather, and amber.
If you have spent a lot of time exploring modern niche fragrances, that combination will probably sound very familiar.
And it smells familiar too.
Warm, Spicy and Dark
Golden Star is pleasant.
It has warmth.
It has richness.
The saffron gives that slightly leathery, spicy glow.
The oud brings darkness.
Amber adds smoothness and weight.
Leather strengthens the deeper side of the fragrance.
Everything works.
The problem is simply that I have smelled this style many times before.
That does not make Golden Star bad.
Not at all.
Someone who loves oud, saffron, and amber may find exactly what they want here.
But compared with Cherry Hook or Espresso Please, I found it less surprising.
It feels more traditional within the current niche perfume landscape.
For some people, that familiarity will actually be a strength.
Which Gleam London Fragrances Stood Out Most?
If I had to talk about the fragrances that stayed in my head after testing, three come forward immediately.
This one surprised me with how well the juicy cherry worked against the spicy background.
The chili pepper adds just enough tension to make it feel more interesting than a standard sweet cherry scent.
Probably the biggest surprise of the collection.
I expected coffee and got something closer to luxurious hot chocolate with hazelnut and a coffee accent.
Very cozy.
Very gourmand.
Very easy to enjoy.
The softest and sweetest of my favorites.
It is simple in the best possible way.
Creamy vanilla, sugar, marshmallow softness, and an easy comforting character.
Final Thoughts on Gleam London
Trying Gleam London reminded me why discovering new fragrance brands can still be exciting.
Not everything has to reinvent perfumery.
Sometimes all I want is personality.
A clear idea.
A fragrance that makes me stop for a second and think, wait, what is that?
Cherry Hook gave me that reaction immediately.
Espresso Please surprised me because it went in a completely different direction than the name suggested.
Vanilla Crush delivered exactly the kind of soft sweetness I wanted from it.
Kensington was stranger and more challenging, while Golden Star offered something darker and more familiar.
What I appreciate most is that the collection does not feel boring.
Each perfume has its own atmosphere.
Its own mood.
Its own type of person who might fall in love with it.
My biggest advice would be to test them on skin rather than judging only from the names or notes.
Several of these fragrances developed in ways I did not expect.
And sometimes that surprise is exactly what makes perfume fun.