Givenchy Gentleman
Givenchy (1974)

It is like it`s name, a fragrance for the MATURE gentleman, dont wear this if you are under 30, the older and more well dressed you are the better.

I picture myself an older gentleman in a suit, like george cloney wearing this and everyone around him would catch a sniff in the air thinking he smells absolutely wonderful, but if to young and or casual dressed this would be massive mistake, it would just smell wrong in every way, tricky fragrance to wear this one, but if done right it`s a big thumbs up.

If this were a lighter eau de cologne it might work. But as it is, it is too strong, too heavy and too spicy. You can typically smell this in an elevator five minutes after the guy left to get off on another floor. In fact I definitely remember this experience from the Eighties. Too much....

I picked up a hint of this fragrance before I walked in an office of multiple desks to find a lone man sitting at his desk hunched over working. The closer I got, the more powerful the aroma. Within about 10 feet, I could tell this man was the source. It made me want to linger to enjoy the fragrance. In the end I had to ask what he was wearing. He told me and that started a conversation about how he was turned on to the EDT from his uncle who used to wear it. I ended up giving him my number when he asked and we ended up dating for a time. He is no longer in my life but left a bottle with a small amount of juice still there. I have held on to it and from time to time, I may pass by and pick up the bottle just to enjoy the captivating wave of patchouli wrapped in spice and leather.

From a woman's perspective, in a world of copycat fragrances, I have come across very few that have this same character. Maybe not the best and most pleasing to me, but this one makes a really bold statement and much like the man I once knew is unforgettable .

The perfume my father used (together with Equipage by Hermés) when he met my mother, was in 1978. And my father himself spoke to me about this perfume for years, describing it to me as magnificent, dense, robust, super masculine but extremely elegant and classy with an underlying odor that was inexplicably beautiful to him.

A few decades later I managed to get my hands on some old bottles, actually quite old I'd say since I'm talking about inventories dating back to 1980 or so. What to say? It really is a gorgeous scent, period.

1980-1983 version
The opening is irrepressible, an explosion of patchouli tamed by spices, citrus fruits, honey, rose and something creamy perhaps given by the iris. Once the initial phase has passed, the heart of the fragrance opens into its main accord of earthy and creamy patchouli (as dichotomy as it sounds, it is...), leather and a mixture of vaguely sweet flowers; no, I'm not repeating what I wrote for the opening, it's just that the scents are the same if it weren't for the fact that now they are much less defined, more amalgamated and less sharp. Finally, the base is a very homogeneous accord of musky, creamy and vaguely sweet patchouli accompanied by leather.
Gentleman by Givenchy is NOT:
an extremely complex perfume,
a bombastic trail and projection,
a "modern" fragrance,
a pleasing perfume,
a perfume suitable for everyone.
Gentleman by Givenchy IS:
a perfume with a good persistence (6 hours without problems),
a perfume with an average projection at the beginning and discreet in the evolution
an extremely classic smell,
perhaps dated,
of great class
for an adult person
very masculine
damn beautiful
never cloying
suitable for cold autumn or winter days.

In short, as long as you're willing to spend the right amount for a vintage bottle, I think it's one of the best men's perfumes you can buy today.

An the award for most spellbinding opening a fragrance goes to: GIVENCHY GENTLEMAN ORIGINAL (1974). And the mid and base are scintillating as well.

What a showstopper. There is high fidelity in this icon of the 70s. It really does warp time and takes you out of the dystopian now, with its winsome confidence that dares to proclaim patchouli, honey, civet, and leather all at once.

I am a GENTLEMAN. I KNOW myself. And I don't care what you think, but I do care about the magnetism that this elixir imbues to my skin. I'll draw you in...

Immense. 10/10.

GIVENCHY GENTLEMAN EdT.
This write-up is for a 2010-version (silver cap, black collar, single front-label, fat spray-tube).
Doing a sbs with my deep-vtg wrap-around label version, I "could" tell you that the 2010 version is criminally inferior shadow-of-its-former-self yadda-yadda-yadda and that you should only get the wrap-around label versions...but then I'd be a snobby bag of hot air and a liar, 'cause it's simply not true. YES, IT'S ALL SUBJECTIVE, however, the matter of fact is that you're simply not worse off getting a 2010 version. Vtg is beautiful but so is this. The only, to me, really percievable difference is that the patchouli in vtg is more pronounced, clear and defined (of the sweeter Indian kind). The rest is all there. Here comes the rambling part: "But what about the oakmoss and russian leather beep-beep-beep?!!". Yeah, whatabout it? Nothing! I can't smell those things in the vintages anyway. Like those folks saying "Whoooooaaa that's an Oakmoss-bomb! The oakmoss just jumps right out at ya and holds you hostage for hours, and..and..!". Uh, okay. And when does that happen, 'cause it's been a couple hours now and so far we're only talking, like, trace amounts here...? Disappointed...every...friggin...time. BUT this Gentleman delivers just as well as ol'-balls-Vintage! It's all about the patchouli, carnation and creamy woods anyway. Even hammering away better in the longevity department (10+ hrs on me). It's got it ALL! Trust me, it's ALL good with this "inferior" version! Subjective as this is, maybe YOU can smell all of these wonderful restricted and forbidden yummy notes?
Either way, 2010 was still a damn fine year for Givenchy Gentleman! Beep-beep, Ritchie..