Gentleman Eau de Toilette Intense
Givenchy (2021)

The Iris and cypress opening with basil gives the scent that fresh spicy feeling which I find a little invigorating. Perfect for that after a shave/shower spring in your step in the morning as you go about your business.

As it dries down you get a powdery vanilla, woods with a very nice touch of caramel/toffee.

I find the scent to be addictive and just lovely to wear, a perfect daytime scent for the gentleman. Very nice!

A very good combination of modern and classic in an (un)unique way. Givenchy Gentleman EdT Intense almost directly copies Dior Homme Eau while also using the sweet -cold axis that is almost identical to one in Xeryus Rouge.

As I kind of think about it, Givenchy Gentleman EdT Intense is a bit more "succulent" than Dior Homme Eau and I absolutely support this idea, even though I never was a fan of DHE. For those who never tried DHE, this Givenchy flanker is a must try.

The notes one can't escape from here would be the cardamom and iris, with basil and cumarin in the background which will be noticed by those with a bit more experience.

Conclusion: cold, sweet, airy and fresh in an non-citrus way. For the colder days and warmer nights and all occasions. Job well done. Givenchy Gentleman EdT Intense deserves more attention and mentioning.


Originality 6/10 relatively high due to discontinuation of DHE
Scent 7/10 well composed, not overly synthetic
Longevity 8/10
Projection 7/10
________________________________
subjective, overall impression 7/10

Truth be told, I haven't been the biggest fan of the fragrances reusing the "Gentleman" designation from the original Givenchy Gentleman (1974), which the house has at least been gracious enough to keep around (a shocker considering most designers outside the biggest ones have sacked nearly all their legacy masculines by this point), but there have been a few here and there that passed muster. Gentleman Eau de Toilette Intense (2021) proves to be another such example of one that I like, although I must say it seems to have less DNA than the rest to the original Gentleman Givenchy (2017) which started this mess, which may be why I like it so much. Nathalie Lorson of Lalique Encre Noire (2006) fame pairs up with Olivier Cresp here, meaning there are good hands at work, even if the latter perfumer rarely seems to make something that has me weak in the knees. For the most part, this is an iris fragrance, a shocking plot twist considering iris seems to be a controversial love/hate note in the men's market, which is why fragrances with the note keep bouncing onto then off said market with a quickness unless you're Prada, who doubles down on the note.

Gentleman Eau de Toilette Intense seems to go head-to-head with Valentino Uomo Intense (2016), a fragrance that the usual YouTuber sycophants constantly cry about being discontinued even though it seems higher end department stores continue to carry it, possibly as an exclusive. Outside of that, maybe the discontinued Dior Homme Eau (2014) or or Halloween Man Shot (2016) can be seen as rivals, but that's about it. More notorious men's iris fragrances like the original Dior Homme (2005) discontinued for the North American market and relabeled "original": for Europe, or any of Prada's noteworthy soapy iris masculines, will likely take sway over this for enthusiasts. What you get here is cardamom and basil with a bergamot aldehyde puff that descends almost immediately into iris ionones, padded out with some of the patchouli from Gentleman Eau de Parfum Boisée (2020). Simple stuff so far, and it stays that way into the tonka and woody amber base, with some atlas cedar and that "pickle sandalwood" vibe which doesn't feel like genuine New Caledonian (not pickled enough), so it might be something else. Wear time is good at 10 hours, and as the name suggests, the sillage is intense, so be easy. Best use would be cool weather office and formal occasions for me personally.

Gentleman Eau de Toilette Intense feels like a fragrance formula maybe intended at one point for its own pillar launch, but then probably shelved due to cold feet and re-used as a flanker to Gentleman Givenchy, since it has so little if anything in common with the line. Maybe someone over at Givenchy decided "hey, we need an iris fragrance too, because every good house has at least one failed attempt at one", wanting to join the exclusive "we tried to be like Hedi Slimane" club that Valentino and Prada have seemingly joined because they see how much jabberjaw Dior gets for playing the hot potato game with Dior Homme flankers. I don't really know guys, but I do know that like with many of these soapy clean woody iris exercises, Gentleman Eau de Toilette Intense rides perfectly unisex, and should be sampled as a potential replacement for the once-hated-now-venerated DIor Homme Eau (funny that), which is worth more as an asset investment than a fragrance these days. Pretty good stuff Givenchy, just why did you need to call this a Gentleman flanker? Why not bring back Givenchy Insensé (1993) since everyone clamors for it? We may never know. What I do know, is this scent is pretty good, just likely not long for this world due to the hit-or-miss nature of iris masculines. Thumbs up.