Envy for Men (1998)
by Gucci

When I first wore Envy for Men, I thought it was a brilliant creation. However, since then, my tastes have developed and become more sophisticated.

Envy for Men now smells cheap, watered-down and unfinished – its longevity and sillage lasts less than an hour on my skin, which is pitiful. There have been rumours that Envy for Men has been reformulated, at least once since its launch, so I'd advise anyone to approach this lame spicy oriental with extreme caution.

[Original submission date: 11 April 2008]

A great contemporary scent that is most versatile though it steers away from depending on citrus to make it nose-friendly. Its very warm and slightly herbal. IMO, one of the best "Modern Classics" in the mainstream industry.

I enjoy Envy: I find it uncomplicatedly pleasant. In the several years that I’ve worn it, I haven’t discovered a note in it that wasn’t obvious the first time I tested it. Envy has no hidden layers to discover — it does not have that Mona Lisa smile. Envy doesn’t move and develop as many other scents do — it’s quite linear and it is an lovable linear wood / ginger accord. It smells like Envy at the first blast, the middle holds excellently for a long time and smells like…Envy. Hours and hours later, the last olfactory molecules rising from the skin offer the faint remnants of… Envy. Even though it is not an intellectual or challenging fragrance, Envy continually and continuously triggers in me an appreciatively spontaneous: ‘Damn, I smell good.’ Unsophisticated and lacking in complexity it is; but it is also a warm, wearable compliment magnet. It has one of the most pleasant smelling aromas in my designer arsenal. (Edit of 10 January 2006 review)

Except for being colored green, Envy for Men has nothing in common with the original Envy. Instead, it is famous among fragrance aficionados for being the scent that brought ginger to designer fragrances for men. This it did with far greater élan than the later, overly powdery and insufferably sweet Bvlgari Blv pour Homme. Envy for Men’s ginger is overlaid upon a solid, if conventional sweet woody oriental structure, and both the bergamot and ginger opening and the spicy-sweet heart are stimulating and pleasant to wear. I would prefer that the ginger note, which is after all this scent’s signature, remained more prominent after the first half hour of wear, but Envy for Men is congenial enough without it.

For its finale, Envy for Men employs an accord that must come in gallon jugs labeled “Masculine Drydown,” though it’s less crude and cloying than it could be, thanks to a judiciously applied soapy note. The potent woody amber component ensures that Envy for Men carries great distances and endures tenaciously for many hours: it is not by any means a subtle scent. On the whole I think Envy for Men is nice work, and clearly preferable to the Bvlgari, or even Serge Lutens’s Five O’Clock au Gingembre. I would have liked it better, though, if it were outfitted with a less crass and banal drydown.

Ginger Sandalwood

Seduction in a bottle. Very refined, quite good, for formal occasions or on a date.

Also try Floris Santal if you love this scent.

Definitely a classic, though not an "instant" one. I bought it in 99 but it took a while to get noticed and only recently has it taken such a prominent spot. Quite sophisticated and always feels new. Radiates seriousness and strength with a mysterious depth. I always think of myself as embarking on a dangerous mission when I have it on. Every woman I ask about it says she likes it. Make sure to dress well when you wear it.