Gucci Eau De Parfum by Gucci, 2002

The bottle itself and the darkness of the liquid inside, was certainly intriguing to say the least. Gucci eau de Parfum was one spicy fragrance that I was dying to try. The opening was good, spicy yet smooth and I saw that this fragrance had potential, however what followed was rather strange. The scent just vanished, it was barely detectable, a wimpering hint of spice the only thing left on my skin. Where were those enticing flowers, the double dose of caraway seed and herbaceous thyme? I began frantically sniffing coffee beans, almost shoving them up my nose in order to smell a faint hint of something, but to no avail. It was only about 5 hours later when the drydown began to immerge that Gucci eau de Parfum reminded me of its existance. I can see where the comparison to Dior's Hypnotic Poison comes in. The base is very vanilla with a musky and nutty feel to it. The incense and leather notes are only very faint. Overall, from what I can gather, Gucci eau de Parfum is intentionally a soft and intimate fragrance, not so heavy with the spices as some may think and quite feminine rather than being unisex or masculine. What I expected and what I experienced were two different things entirely.

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a sexier 'modern' scent. Gucci Eau de Parfum is just sublime. There is no other word to describe it. It is extremely well-crafted, skillfully blended, very deep and layered, and seriously seductive. It is a luminous scent that reminds me of heavy-lidded bedroom eyes, dirty thoughts and regretful morning-afters. (in a good way) The most important thing is, this scent is extremely luscious and it has a addictive drug like feeling. It is dark, or makes me feel dark. It has a synthetic sort of facade to be honest, yet a very good one at that. The list of notes are: Top notes: orris, heliotrope, orange blossom, and vanilla absolute. Middle notes: cistus, cumin, and thym. Base notes: patchouli, vanilla, and deep musk. Musk is particularly dirty here, as many have mentioned, but vanilla is not that over-powering. It is a floral scent (particularly white flowers I detect), yet it is warm and rich, and not a innocent, sweet floral, but a dangerous and intriguing one at that. And you don't get any annoying fruit notes like many other women's (and men's by the way) scents seem to push forward nowadays. (As if I want to smell like Fruit Loops) I am addicted, and I am a guy. There is a coldness and innate arrogance of this perfume: it is complete, sensual, yet not very tender. It is an extremely confident statement. I wish they had released a masculine version of this particular scent. Yet it seems less and less likely, since the much more demure pink Eau de Parfum II seems to get more push from Gucci nowadays. They don't care that much about this perfect Tom Ford creation anymore as much as they used to. So no luck there I guess. And finally the heaviness of the gorgeous bottle, the weight, the shape, how the juice sprays itself out of it, the packaging, the amber color of the perfume, and the ad campaign with the model Natalia Vodianova with the bedroom hair and that haunting expression on her face (if you guys remember it) are all perfection. It is not for everyone I'll admit, but to me, it is riveting, controversial, sexy as hell. Truly exquisite. Eau de Parfum is flawless in every way. EDIT: I am certain Gucci has now discontinued this, and this is the most asinine decision any company has ever made. This gem was the only redeeming quality remaining in the company's perfume portfolio and without Gucci Eau de Parfum, they won't have anything that will make them stand out in today's watered down, 'peony-and-pink-pepper'-ed scent market. Frankly, they should be ashamed of themselves.