Reviews of GFT (2001)
by Geo F Trumper

My love affair with colognes continues and GFT offers one of the most bracing citrus openings you'll encounter. The transition to the cypress and lavender heart takes place while the citrus still exists, very smoothly blended, the cypress doesn't dominate. The cedar base follows and the overall experience is fresh and clean without any calone; a winner then!

Longevity is above average for this excellent fragrance. Truly versatile GFT will not scare anyone in an office environment, but is also suitable for any occasion where one requires understated elegance.

I must say GFT is one of the most interesting fragrances I have tried as of late. At first I tried the shaving cream and was intrigued by its musk and woods and decided to order the cologne. I think the staying power is excellent lasting until the end of work. The sillage is modest, which is desirable for me and my coworkers. Though the scent is rather one dimensional, it eventually exposes the musk and moss base. Recommended! Now off to try Wellington and Marlborough.

Robust, yet rich lemon opening, that has sufficient sweetness to allow a pleasant and amiable descent into the drydown. The big cedar heart begins to pump, initially in unison with the citrus notes, then finally dominating the whole affair. A well balanced blend of diverse ingredients that succeeds in holding your attention for the majority of it's lifespan. Good longevity and sillage ensures that it gets a thumbs up from me

Love the opening but I have to agree with JackTwist, it turns a little sickening in the middle. Oh the cypress! It kills me like in Cypres-Musc by Creed. I recommend GFT if you like Cypres-Musc. The top notes in GFT really last long for being top notes, about two hours but the rest... blah. This is almost the same as Art of Shaving Lemon EdT but not as sweet and minus the cypress. Definitely refreshing and I love lemon scents so I can't turn my nose nose up at this. Did I mention the cypress?

Notes: mandarin, bergamot, lemon;
tarragon, lavender, cypress;
light musk, cedar, moss;

under construction

I hate to add a negative response to an otherwise totally positive strain of reviews, so I will say that GFT's interaction with my skin and my nose is not a pleasant one. Yes, the initial burst of citrus is delightful and yes, it's long lasting. However, for me there develops after a half hour or so an unpleasant plastic aroma that takes over. This may be the tarragon which other reviewers like, but that does not react well with my nose. I have tried this twice from two different samples with the same result.

I'm glad everyone seems delighted with it and regret I can't join the crowd on this one.

Straight up citrus in the opening volley—an excellent, non-synthetic accord that bubbles with effervescence. It reminds me a bit of a more refined, less minty Monsieur Balmain opening—it’s that bright and lively, and like MB, GTF’s opening is very long lived for a citrus. The herb utilized in the heart notes is the more rarely used tarragon, which makes it rather different from many other citrus / herbal fragrances, and gives the heart notes an atypical warmth —atypical for a citrus fragrance, that is. I must say that the tarragon is beautifully presented because I often have trouble liking accords with that herb. The cedar in GFT is a dominant note, second only to the citrus accord, but this particular cedar is not as domineering as cedar notes can very easily become. In fact, after the bright and lively citrus opening, this fragrance is quite warm, rich, and very well behaved. GFT is a clean and long lasting citrus fragrance with just plain wonderful accords.

One of my favourite from this house. Nice citrus top that actually LASTS YEAH! Lavender makes this barbershop-masculine but I have no trouble with this worn by a female. The heart remains a good dosage of citrus, and does have a sort of cool minerality that reminds me of Terre d'Hermes, but is still quite different as TdH has is more of a radiating warm mineral note. Reminds me of good dry white wines that has good amount of influence from the soils. This is better made than most other simpler citrus scents.

I agree with the majority. There is nothing typical about this scent at all. The dry down has leaves a fresh feeling as if I have been lying on a pile of brand new sheets all day. You want to take a deep breath and just go "Ahhhh". The lemon note, which I am not a big fan of normally, is not overbearing at all!

A soapy, clean and well-behaved citrus/lavender, agreeable and unmistakably British, but like 4711 or Acqua di Parma, too good-old-barbershop-cologne-y to be thrilling. Safe office/everyday wear.

Notes: mandarin, bergamot and lemon, a heart of tarragon, lavender and cypress on a light musk-like base with notes of cedar and moss.

For sure, there are a LOT of fragrances which have the typical citrus-herbal pyramid construction. And GFT is no different. But GFT is worth a try because of its good longevity.

At first GFT smells like lemons. Nice lemons. Fresh uplifting lemons to perk you up. The cypress in the middle notes is whats most evident from there onwards - the base of musk and moss lends a pleasing citrus-herbal accord to GFT. The top notes of citrus never go away - rather, the herbal middle and basenotes just add to the overall structure. The fragrance progresses like this: lemons, lemons+cypress, lemons+cypress+moss.

GFT lacks the startling quality of Neroli Sauvages top notes, and the complexity of the herbal-citrus mix of Royal Water. On its own, though, it is a nice lemony fragrance with good longevity. I just feel that Royal Water has it completely beat.

I finally got a bottle of GFT after having initially tried a small sample.
I noticed similarities between it and Bowling Green. Both have strong citrusy top notes, but while GFT's is sharper,more like Lemons, Bowling Green's is sweeter with a heavier
scent, possibly more toward orange.

It's the dry down that really emphasizes the differences, although they both become more subtle and sophisticated.
Yes, there is something smooth and almost powdery,but it is more complex than Bowling Green.
I find it too be quite long lasting,just not intense.
A very comfortable scent indeed, and with a little web searching available from private sources.
A worthy addition to anyones wardrobe.

An excellent, fresh, sunny, clean scent. It's citrus, which I think of as sharp, but GFT is smooth, almost powdery. Long lasting. Basically just an excellent scent, in every way that it could be.

Tried GFT initially from a sample sent by Trumper. Have since purchased two bottles! Everything gets compared to everything else, so let me state unequivocally that I believe GFT to be the best citrus scent on the market. While strong initially, it is never overpowering. Unlike most of this class, it lasts the whole day! The middle and base notes, which make or break any fragrance, seem to be in perfect balance, thus enhancing rather than modifying the original citrus notes. The result is that GFT smells (almost) as good at the end of the day as when you first spray it on. It exudes both class and refinement. While somewhat expensive, at least you know that you are getting what you pay for since by default, GFT must contain a high percentage of essential oils. An additional plus is that on this side of the pond, you will not smell like anyone (or everyone) else!

Trumper GFT is one of the best well-balanced classic citrus fragrances I've tried. It comes on strong with top notes of mandarin, bergamot and lemon, middle notes of tarragon, lavender and cypress with a base of musk, cedarwood and moss. The cypress really shows up as it dries down along with a pleasant, light oakmoss note. If you aren't a fan of highly mossy fragrances (like myself), don't worry; the moss note is very light. A classy, casual scent with a classic, fresh, barbershop citrus feel. GFT is a very nice fragrance and it lasts pretty well too.

Before I delved into this scent very far I said to myself that this was yet another in the long line of classic citrus fragrances. Well...yes, it is one of those, but at the same time I would definitely state that it should you be searching for just the right classic citrus to add to your collection, Trumper's GFT to most certainly be in the running if not the top few. I like this better than Acqua di Parma because, though they certainly share that fresh burst of citrus at the top, they take wholly different turns from the latter heart notes to the base notes. Something pleasantly green/musky and somewhat floral floating around in there. I would still be concerned as to its longevity, as all citruses tend to fade quickly, but I should think that with those other nice base additions to this fragrance, it should last longer than would be expected. Definitely worth a try!!