Givenchy Gentleman (1974)
by Givenchy

The cinnamon-bergamot topnotes don’t scare me off at all, and I particularly like the way the tarragon spikes the opening accord before segueing into the sweet patchouli that follows. After that, I experience Gentleman as a largely conventional woods and patchouli fragrance on a powdery sweet amber base. What leather there may be isn’t terribly assertive, and if there’s any civet in this blend I’m missing it entirely. Carnation surfaces from time to time, but not with the panache it showed in the late and lamented Patou pour Homme.

I’m inclined to believe the rumors that this was once a bolder and more animalic scent. The Gentleman I’ve tried is ever so polite and undistinguished, not the dangerous, if sophisticated, rake I’ve heard described. I might have enjoyed that one’s company, but the new guy’s just a yawn.

Whoowhee this stuff stinks! It's that enchanting musk of old man. Not just any old man either. It's the scent of a millionaire that doesn't care. This is leather that's been used. This is actually most interesting and amazing. Again, this is stinky! Strong! Potent!

First let me say that in my quiet contemplative moments I have to admit that I love Givenchy Gentleman. Second let me say that in my public persona, I am deeply concerned about even possibly wearing Givenchy Gentleman. This is a very potent fragrance, with a very upfront patchouli that really carries. I might consider wearing this in private, or in public after about five hours of development. I couldn't, however, put this on before dressing for work and expect that anyone would sit next to me on the comuter train with anything short of the disdain one might have for a fellow traveller smelling of insecticide or mothballs (not that this smells like either, that's not the point). My concern about being a NYC commuter and wearing this is based upon a true test application. When I was testing GG I sprayed some one evening before going to my 7:08 Express, the last express out of NYC on my line. A fellow commuter sitting on the other side of the train obviously noticed the GG, made a pronounced sniffing sound and gave me a look that was not subject to misinterpretation. That look said, "your stink is making it hard for me to concentrated on my laptop, you 'idiot'." I conclude that the public no longer accepts or understands these kinds of uber-masculine scents. We have to face that fact, and admire it in the privacy of our own domains. But that's not really what I buy fragrances for......... If it didn't smell so damnably fabulous, I would give it an unreserved thumbs down; but it smells so good! This would go very well with a sharply cut Savile Row suit, and hand made gloves-- the kind of things we hardly ever see anymore. To me the image of Dean Acheson comes up when I smell this. He was the last great Democrat bureaucrat. A liberal cold warrior from the late 40s and early 50s Acheson was a great dresser, but perhaps he pushed the envelope a bit with his obvious style. He had a dramatic face and sported a small slightly turned up moustache. GG would have been perfect for him in those early Truman years....

First, I was quite uninterested by the combination of minimal citrus opening, paired with a strong leathery drydown. I mean, I love leathery scents and I have great respect for Givenchy, but I expected more from a leathery creation. But...I discovered an undisclosed smoothness, a certain almost unexplained refinement in it. The fascination for this scent was love at many, almost countless sights, which didn't start right away for me, but rather it took time, re-testing and reapplying on repeated occasions. And suddenly, I was smitten by the animalic background, which has both a dirty, bad-boy side as well as dose of intoxicating, wasteful, indulgent luxuriousness about it. Strangely, both ( and apprently conflicting ) opinions i frequently read about this scent in other reviews seem to be confirmed to me- without any dissonance, I can smell in it both the clean-cut, even slightly overdressed Wall-Street millionaire as well as the rebellious hippie with a greater passion for incense and exotic essences rather than hygiene, by the plain means of soap and water ( I know both statements sound a bit like prejudice, but I guess this scent takes the liberty to play around a bit with our most common misconceptions, without however being too experimental, but rather remaining a conservative above these controversies ). I guess i was at first put off by the base notes of this scent, which at firts bothered me not as much trough their harsheness, by their in-your-face display of almost juggernautish manhood, but a first impression of- yes, it was a superficial opinion, which I revisited, I radically changed in the meantime- a quite generic impression, generic meaning in this scent erathy, neutral, slightly choking and powdery, opposite to the subtelties of a multilayered fragrance, but not exclusive or focused enough to be a " soliflore " either- just a few " dirty " herbs ( characterization which I found more accurate here then in YSL PH Concentree, often accused for this reason ) and an either too yuppie or too psychedelic, to earth-bound finale. How wrong I was - and in this process, I also undesrstood Boateng's ( whom i deeply respect ) fascination
for this fragrance. Yes, while the overtly leathery and animalic base might be loud, offputting, long-lasting in a disturbing way, even stuffy and unidimensional, it's the very same source that fully justifies the genius and stylish simplicity of this scent. Take your time, don't overapply, take more time and then... all or most unclean, unsavoury associations this strong-willed base, not for the weak-hearted generated, are turned ( at least on my skin ) in while a while not groundbreaking or bedazzling, still very sober, distinguished, slighly reserved and formal but nontheless warm, self-confident and genuinely elegant old-school chypre male beauty. This very chypre impression is what i like most about it, as it becomes so richly fulfilling, so poetic without being falshy or artificial, if I not only wear it, but I also take enough passion. I would almost call it slightly, quite remotely, reminescent of two other French classics- Eau Sauvage and Chanel PM- plus the extra edge. And this very edge is actually that very opposite of the genericness that i first sensed- in fact, it has a certain very slow ( even as developement on the skin ), but very smooth and steady way of reviving associations rather with the old-world, with a certain ancien regime nostalgia, way before both yuppies and hippies were an issue, it takes one ( or at least in my associations ) back to a time of opulent aristocratic residences and musty, slightly decaying fortress walls, dramatic, almost theatrical landscapes, collectible old books, a fondness for masculine pursuit, for cigars and brandy, and a certain taste for formal wear ( arguably including leather, in the form of various costly accessories ). And all these associations can hardly be forgotten by me- this is why I actually, altough terribly late learned to discover and love this underrated gem, whose strenghts and deligths are not so easily acessible as it seems, nor as linear and unsurprising, as this scent's simplicity is just an apparent pretext for many hidden and passionate lurking behind an appearantly uninspiring, equal and unilateral first impression.

Yann Vasnier says of his creation L'Homme Sage that he called it L'Homme Sage because a wise man knows how to control his craziness. I like L'Homme Sage very much but it doesn't strike me as crazy. The idea seems apt of Gentleman, though.
It reminds me of a guy I knew in high school. Brilliant guy, not at all a sociopath to be clear, a kind and loyal friend. But almost entirely without physical fear, constantly seeking the ragged edge of destruction in whatever situation, in this cool, speculative, hmmm-bet-that-can-be-done sort of way: climbing out onto the luggage rack at highway speed, dangling from a cliff on an otherwise calm hike. He went on to become a Navy Seal for a time. So he was a great guy but there was always this good natured wildness behind the eyes that was not at all an affectation but just a bit of wiring that got assembled differently. The civet in Gentleman strikes me that way, and I like it.

This review is under revision.