Eau de Givenchy (1980)
by Givenchy

Eau de Givenchy is an overlooked masterpiece. I wonder how so many fine noses missed the gentle caress of green grassy notes as they part for a brilliantly-executed honeysuckle, lily of the valley, jasmine, and tuberose exposé. Although the florals follow the lemon and bitter mint, they don't take center stage for very long. As the evolution trends dangerously close to floral territory, bitter oakmoss and grassy notes reemerge to flank the sweetness. Eventually everything dries into a citrusy green melange of herbs and spices, tinged by the gentleness of honeysuckle, and darkened by a withdrawn-but-present tuberose. Simply beautiful, and comparable in tonality to Chevrefueille Original by Creed.

17th August, 2011.

It's funny comparing 1980's idea of 'light and fresh' to today's.
The Berga-Mint opening reminds me a little of Paco Rabanne's XS, and EdG performs barely any better, but the ingredients seem okay. Not too much going on other than that light grapefruit-bergamot-mint that quickly blows away and leaves what is basically the scent equivalent of an afterimage of white floral and vague wood. This fragrance is devoid of any personality.

This might serve as my signature 'forgettable scent,' were that not really an oxymoron.

1st April, 2011.

Fruity, grassy, flowery - this is my all-time favorite spring scent and it suits all the same on the first hot days of early summer. Just refreshing and reviving the spirits. I guess, it has no great seductive impact on others, it is just a cheerful ambiance for ME ....

25th March, 2011.

I wore this scent in the late 80s and early 90s, in fact it was one of the very first perfumes I owned. I purchased the original formula on Ebay a few months ago - the one that comes in a round-cornered rectangular bottle with the marbley blue cap. It smells just as I remember it, though I now have a greater vocabulary to described it. Someone here described it as dewy, and that is what I get as well.

As with all perfumes I like, it is so well blended that I have trouble picking out the notes. It's on the sweet side but has a non-distinct citrus sharpness that prevents it from being overly sweet. It also, thankfully, does not smell like any flower in particular. The moss is probably the only ingredient that my amateur nose can isolate. Makes it smell natural and secretory. Should attract folks who revel in the scent of another's skin.

1st August, 2010.

I purchased a mini of the vintage-formula Eau de Givenchy a few years back and never gave it much thought. On first sampling it seemed to fall a little short - not quite pungent enough to be a proper citrus cologne, not as textured as a chypre, and a tad too fruity to be 'green' scent. I came across this mini a few weeks ago and much to my surprise I greatly enjoyed the sampling. With a more sophisticated nose I can now see that what I once interpreted as 'not quite' is actually restraint and balance. Eau de Givenchy manages to straddle being a citrus/green/floral very well without any one component dominating. The slightest hint of fruity notes adds the right amount of sweetness without getting close to ditzy territory.

This is a simple summer-type scent so don't expect a master work of perfumery, but for what it is Eau de Givenchy is excellent. A couple weeks of careful watching on eBay yielded a 60ml vintage bottle for under $10, and even if you're not so patient vintage 100ml bottles can be plucked for around $30. Do not bother with the Mythical re-issue. Like the other re-issues (Vetyver excepted) it doesn't come close to the original.

Thumbs UP.

1st May, 2010.

Spearmint, muguet, jasmine, moss- the notes sounded so fresh to me- but what I got instead was stale and uninspiring, unfortunately- the overwhelming scent impression that I got was "wet hay".

11th February, 2010.