Armani
Giorgio Armani (1982)

A burst of aldehydes introduces this luminous chypre: galbanum scrawled in neon, and angular, fruity florals rendered colorful as if designed in the style of the Memphis group. The focal point is this deliriously wonderful and pungent, ketonic marigold of the tagetes kind, reminiscent of ripe green apple and piercing green herbs. Ron Winnegrad's ingenious use of a pineapple accord, a supporting addition that is carefully applied, does take all of these piercing minty aromatics and the approaching mossiness to new heights. The tuberose is restrained—in fact all of them, the muguet, the narcissus, play a more ancillary role here while the marigold steals the show here.

Armani is almost the floral chypre counterpart to Kouros, as both share a robust muskiness in the base, tempered just somewhat with the sweetness of resins. This slither of skank is just short of being over the top (the 80s would soon show just how far this could go), but is still exhilarating in its indecency. It all unwinds to an ebbing and flowing moss and woods that lingers for hours with occasional dirty-mind whispers. Its nonlinear development from cool-green and fruity to warm-musky and animalic makes this so satisfying, not to mention that nothing here moves into shrill and bossy territory (we'd have plenty of that in the 80s, and I can revel in that style as well). Sadly, this has been out of production for some time. The version I have was produced by Cosmair, early 90s. 

Giorgio Armani was still relatively nascent when the eponymous Armani by Giorgio Armani (1982) perfume was launched. During these early years Giorgio Armani himself had just left Nino Cerruti to found his own company, starting off with haute couture and ready-to-wear fashions, but it wasn't long before a perfume line was announced, because in those days it was something of a legitimizing thing to be a prestigious enough designer brand to warrant creating a entry-level aspirational product like perfume. Ron Winnegrad was tapped to make Armani's self-titled perfume, and he brings his penchant for dry aromatics and complex but highly-compressed note structures to Armani, creating a perfume that is both dense yet brisk. Here with Armani by Giorgio Armani, Ron gives us an aldehyde chypre tried-and-true, but ups the animalic factor considerably and counter-balances it with stiff woods, bitter florals, and a green touch holding over from the 70's. As can be expected, this is a very big and billowy perfume, with a little going a long way, and the main notes playing a siren song that cuts through any smoke or smog of the era. Tuberose does play a factor in this, but I'd say Armani by Giorgio Armani steers clear of being a "terrible tuberose" 80's perfume. If you're familiar with this era of perfume, Armani by Giorgio Armani won't be a revelation, but otherwise you should strap in tight because you're going for a ride.

The opening of Armani by Giorgio borrows a bit from the 60's, 70's, and tacks on 80's loudness, with sharp bergamot, galbanum, and aldehydes blooming from the start for that big "whoosh" you expect from something like this. There is something fruity lactonic here that Armani described as pineapple, and it adds just a bit of feminine sweetness to the mix, making everything feel mostly academic outside of the powerful dosage. The heart is rose, tuberose, light jasmine indoles, a bit of cyclamen, and the spring-like charm of narcissus polished with some soapy orris to make it clean. Oakmoss, and a quality sandalwood/cedarwood combo add the dry woody background, while civet, benzoin, tonka and amber bring in the smooth musky skin glow, pushed along more by what IFRA would likely consider dangerous amounts of oakmoss these days. The soapiness of the orris and the white florals continues keeping the musk in check, and that woody sharp base profile cuts like a knife through what little fruitiness is here, making Armani by Giorgio Armani a very serious perfume, perfect for the shoulder-pad blouses and teased hair of the take-charge women that wore this. These days, the accord just reads "chypre" to perfume connoisseurs and is quite unisex, with versatility being high since the overall smell doesn't stray to far from that clean/woody/musky middle ground. Projection is out of this world and the longevity has a longer half-life than all the nuclear waste in the US. For those needing context, this is definitely "boss" perfume, so I'd only wear to work if you own the place.

Of course, something this academically chypre, big-boned, and serious goes 100% against most of the fruity florals, aquatics, or sweet fruitchoulis put out these days, plus is next to impossible under IFRA regulations without some serious research and development spending the kind Armani saves for it's Privé lines anymore, so it's long discontinued. Armani made a male counterpart called Armani Eau pour Homme (1984) which is somehow still in production, but likely that has to do with it being a lighter and therefore easier formula to pull off alongside the rest of the current Armani perfume lineup. Fans of huge green woody chypres will like this one, although finding a specimen for a good price will be tough, as Armani by Giorgio Armani was never a huge seller to begin with, and a lot of surviving bottles are already in the hands of hardcore vintage collectors, stockpiled as back-up in many cases. Still, the occasional mini or purse-size spray pops up for the morbidly curious, and as a rather by-the-numbers chypre but amped up to 11, you may not need a lot in the first place. Smelling something like this and comparing it to all the watery fresh and fruity Acqua di Gioia (2010), Acqua di Giò (1995), or Sì (2013) flankers the brand has released for women is quite hilarious, and this debut effort is worlds apart from them, which is perhaps why it is no longer with us. A lovely if not 100% unique woody floral from a time when bigger was always better. Thumbs up.

If you were building a wardrobe of classic feminines, this would be Core Collection.
An old school grande-dame of a rosy chypre, topped and tailed with aldehyde and animalics (and nothing untoward in between) it's a good, solid, bijou-style fragrance - and perfect with crimson velvet; be that fitted dress or smoking jacket.

Thumbs way up for this delicious animalic floral. The early 1980s is a favorite period of mine for perfume, and this is a quintessential example of what was possible back then.

The floral-animalic combination is somewhat like the original Boss (Boss No. 1), if it reminds me of anything from my collection, but this is a bigger floral, also bringing to mind Chanel Coco, although I think I like this Armani even more.

for the vintage version...

An old-style chypre. Unisex, in my opinion. I frequently wear masculine scents that are much sweeter than this. Can stand side-by-side, amongst the now popular niche fragrances; it was created ahead of its time. It is moody, enigmatic, and complicated. What stands out for me is oakmoss, galbanum, jasmine, aldehydes, benzoin, amber, and rose. As it settles on my inner arm I recognize cedar, bergamot, and muguet. There are more notes in this concoction that fuse themselves into this dream called, Armani.

Bergamot-aldehydic freshness with a fruity-green undertone, and combined with galbanum - the recipe for the traditional opening of a chypre - and very well executed. Never really spritely fresh though and always a touch of mellowness draped over the top notes, like a shade over a sunny meadow.

The drydown brings out the floral side, with tuberose and other white florals present. Soon, after a phase where an orris accord develops, the main player on the second half boldly arises: an almighty oakmoss of astounding natural beauty, with touches of skankiness courtesy of a musk sidekick, and, towards the end, with a hint of vanilla-based sweetness. In all this, the oakmoss is the solist accompanied by the olfactory orchestra constituted by the other notes.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection, and a stupendous longevity of an amazing fourteen hours on my skin.

A wonderful autumnal beauty for warmer days, this classic chypre creation is characterised by the top quality of its natural ingredients. Whilst a bit attenuated and maybe a tad dull-ish at times - this is a vintage after all - it is blended masterfully and convincingly. 4/5