Monsieur de Givenchy (1959)
by Givenchy

Exciting? Exhilarating? These are certainly not terms that come to mind when one thinks of Monsieur de Givenchy. This is way too herbal for me. Go with Eau Sauvage or a traditional eau de cologne.

A very clean, gentlemanly scent featuring lemon and verbena notes, ably supported by lavender and spice, a hint of fresh floral, and an oakmoss-woody drydown. An eau de cologne-style scent whose sandalwood, oakmoss, and musk base gives it a hint of the oriental genre. Very classic and chic, it has a minimalist feel that makes it seem much more modern than the Cold War baby it is. At almost fifty years old, it is still in style today.

Typical olden-style chypre. Having tested more than a handful of similar-type fragrances, this one doesn't possess anything worth raving about. A good scent with more notable peers.

Notes:
Top: Lemon, lime, Bergamot, Petitgrain
Middle: Clary Sage, orange, lavender, basil
Base: Musk, cedar, civet

The bottle lists the notes as Bergamot, lemon, lavender, verbena, oakmoss, sandalwood but the Osmoz pyramid is the one which seems more accurate. Monsieur de Givenchy (MdG) is a citrus-aromatic/chypre from Givenchy's mythical line: classics from the Givenchy vault, and arguably the high point of Givenchy parfums. MdM is a conventional fragrance; its structure exhibits fine balance, and its made of good materials. The lemon/lime top notes are sharp but extremely fleeting...one may need to spray 3-4 times in quick succession to let the nostrils grasp 'em. Almost immediately the central powdery, musky, lavender accord takes hold with a herbal spicy-sweet basil note anchoring the other end. As the fragrance progresses I detect a lite, doughy, bread like note (is it the petitgrain?) and a sweetish, slightly animalic note (civet) and woods in the base. The musky powdery lavender heart is never overbearing, and the whole shebang lasts for a decent 5-6 hours.

At times, MdM seems like a lighter version of Signoricci (they both share a lime top and a lavender-woody heart). Sure it can boss around the anemic newer citrus chemicals of today, but when compared to its illustrious compatriots from 50 years ago it lacks the creativity of Eau Sauvage and the grand chypre finish of Chanel pour monsieur. MdM is a fine fragrance, but one can't help feel its the Andy Roddick of the 1960s citrus classics.

Rating: 8.25/10.0

Lemony, fern-green and all-natural (as natural as I find CK Eternity to be synthetic). Very classic and smooth. Has kinda an old person's house vibe to it, like an attic full of bay leaf scented room freshener in a musky, dusty aura...Almost has a pine or evergreen sap/resin base, but only/just slightly...very old fashioned and beautiful.

What you might smell lke after gardening in the 1950s or rolling about in a spice garden with fresh dill, oregano and mint. A must have, or at least worth trying.

A very nice and classic chypre -- stylistically, very much in keeping with Chanel Pour Monsieur. As you'd expect with old-school frags that aren't stuffed to the gills with modern, synthetic molecules, longevity and sillage are both poor by modern standards. There's a tiny touch of civet that blooms fairly early and remains discreet.