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Similar scents to Givenchy PI

post #1 of 34
12/26/06 at 9:08pm
Thread Starter 
I'm relatively new to the scene and was wondering if anyone would like to recommend similar fragrances to Givency PI? I'm looking for that VERY sweet, sugary, Vanilla cologne. It should be upscale and high-quality. I thought Egoiste would be good, but i absolutely hated it. Casran seems like it might be a nice match? Maybe Joop? So far, every recommendation from people who work at fragrance stores in the mall just didn't appeal to me. Any help would be appreciated.
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post #2 of 34
12/26/06 at 9:13pm
Rochas Man, Cristobal......just to name a few, for sure Thrax will help ya out, as this is his territory.

welcome to the club!
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post #3 of 34
12/26/06 at 9:19pm
If you like Pi.. I wouldnt suggest you try the following:

Rochas Man: a sweet lavender and chocolate based fragrance that has a gourmand quality but isn't quite as sugary as Pi, and is less vanillic

Lomani Ignition: "very" similar to Pi.. but not as thick.. very smooth vanillic fragrance and can be had at a very reasonable price, online.

Gaultier2: a nice thick heavy vanillic scent.. very sensual, as some have stipulated, it has an almost lipstick like, waxy quality

Opium EDP: thick, heady, quite spicy... with a vanilla undertone. Another one that is quite sensual.

Jaipur EDP: in the same vein as opium EDP.. but heavier on the heliotrope (almond) also possessing a thick spicy combo mellowed out with a nice vanilla touch.

Sculpture by Nikos: Orange blossom, vanilla, tonka..and slight woods thrown in. Very smooth, sweet fragrance that feels as frosty as it does delicious.

Creed's Original Santal: Similar to Joop! but not as cloying in my opinion....

Conquest by Agatha Brown: An ambery, smooth fragrance that has a soapy yet sweetened base...

Anyway, I'd get more in depth with these suggestions..but my brain is fried... or, overeasy..

cheers,

a.
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post #4 of 34
12/26/06 at 9:41pm
Yes, I was going to suggest Gaultier^2, but nearfan beat me to it. :-)
Good luck.
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post #5 of 34
12/26/06 at 9:43pm
I wish some of these only had some more wooded notes in them.
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post #6 of 34
12/26/06 at 9:44pm
I would recommend Pi. That or Pi Fraiche. There really isn't anything else too similar.
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post #7 of 34
12/26/06 at 9:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HackerX

Rochas Man, Cristobal......just to name a few, for sure Thrax will help ya out, as this is his territory.

welcome to the club!

Ah yes, the sugary sweet, toothache inducing goodness frags. As nearfantastica said Ignition, Opium PH EDP, and Gaultier2 are all fantastic choices. As for the others, I'm sorry but I fear not (atleast to me anyway). Coty makes a very cheap scent called Raw Vanilla. Its nice but the longevity could be much better. If you want the ultimate sweet scent you should look into Montale's Sweet Oriental Dream. It's sillage, smell, and longevity are nothing short of amazing. It has a nice price tag, but damn...it's worth it.
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post #8 of 34
12/26/06 at 10:25pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks to everyone for your help! This is my first day on this message board and I appreciate all the responses.

Right now I'm leaning towards: Lomani Ignition and Jaipur; however, Sculpture by Nikos, Creed's Original Santal, and Montale's Sweet Oriental Dream (as described) sound very interesting!

I also just bought the Givenchy PI (EDP "parfum") on eBay which I have never tried before (the parfum version).


Rochas, Critobal, Allure, Gaultier2, Obsession Night, and Angel for Men are nice... but not for me.

Armani Code, Polo Double Black, Euphoria, Vera Wang, Happy, and Black were also not for me. LOL

The Coty Raw Vanilla did not even smell like Vanilla to me (or to my mom) LOL

I didn't like PI Fraiche.

I think I wont like Opium EDP because it sounds like it may be very spicy or similar to Egoiste (which I detest).

I never tried Joop or Casran before. I think I might like Casran. Is Casran "vanilla-ish"?

Conquest by Agatha Brown sounds a lot like the new Prada Amber pour Homme as it is described: an ambery, smooth fragrance that has a soapy yet sweetened base. Prada was too mild and smelled sweeter on the paper "test strip" than it did on me.

I tried the "Bond" fragrances at Saks 5th Avenue, but I didnt really care for them.

I bought some Fragonard fragrances at fragonard.com but they were way too sweet and feminine. I think I may have bought the perfume instead of cologne: Fragonard Diamant, Fragonard Vanille EDT, and Fragonard Reve Indien.
The Fragonard cologne samples they sent me I didnt like.


Right now my favorite is Givenchy PI for winter, and "Issey Myake pour Homme" for summer.

Anyways, thanks again to everyone who replied. I wish I would have found this website before "blindly" spending $300 on cologne solely based on the descriptions from fragrancenet.com and ebay


Now I just have to unload the following fragrances: Le Dix, Caron pour Homme, Estee Lauder Metropolis, Cristobal, Coty Raw Vanilla, Zizanie, Diamant, and Fragonard Vanille.

I already unloaded: Animale Animale, Avatar, Egoiste, Fragonard Reve Indien, and Creed Taborome.

When I was a kid all I had to worry about was wearing Brut cologne, and nowadays I'm just too particular :-)
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post #9 of 34
12/27/06 at 1:41am
You should try the Opium PH EDP. It is NOTHING like Egoiste. Oh, and Conquest isnt like Prada Homme, as far as I can remember, but I say this with hesitance.
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post #10 of 34
12/27/06 at 3:13am
Thread Starter 
Thanks!

Any suggestions where I can purchase affordable "sample vials" with low shipping costs?
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post #11 of 34
12/27/06 at 6:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregmech26

Thanks!

Any suggestions where I can purchase affordable "sample vials" with low shipping costs?

I see you are in my neck of the woods. Do you ever go to Sephora? They will make you up some sample vials no problem. Also, Somerset is a great place to go to check out quite a few of these selections.

I would also recommend Silver Shadow by Davidoff if you are looking for a more upscale vanilla. It comes across as a slightly more mature Gaultier2 to me.
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post #12 of 34
12/27/06 at 7:08am
Thread Starter 
Sephora in 12 Oaks mall! Great idea.

I usually buy cologne on fragrancenet; however, they have sent me some old/bad cologne in the past. Perhaps perfumebay is better.

My "TOP 10" hot list thanks to you guys:

givenchy parfum
opium parfum
jaipur parfum
lomani ignition
creed original santal
sculpture by nikos
montale's sweet oriental dream
casran
agatha brown's conquest
silver shadow
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post #13 of 34
12/27/06 at 7:13am
They should have Silver Shadow at Macy's.
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post #14 of 34
12/27/06 at 2:21pm
Thread Starter 
A friend suggested "Hanae Mori" but I didn't like it when I sampled it.
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post #15 of 34
12/27/06 at 2:55pm
We seem to have a similar taste. My trip to sephora today resulted in obtaining samples of the following

John Varvatos Vintage
Versace Dreamer
Hanae Mori

The hanae mori and vintage didn't seem to be what I was looking for at first but after the dry down I found myself constantly smelling the sample paper.
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post #16 of 34
12/27/06 at 3:16pm
If you really want something similar to Pi EDT, try the EDP version. Personally, I prefer the EDP.
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post #17 of 34
12/27/06 at 4:11pm
Thread Starter 
I bought Givenchy EDP on eBay. I hope it's still fresh. I don't think they make it anymore? What store sells the parfum these days?
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post #18 of 34
12/27/06 at 4:17pm
It's not easy to come across - I bought my bottles on ebay too. I'm not sure if it's been discontinued but it's definitely not widely available.
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post #19 of 34
12/27/06 at 4:19pm
does vanilla extract count?

all joking aside, ignition, cristobal, le male, and the rest of the sugary-fairyland fragrances are like Pi.
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post #20 of 34
12/27/06 at 4:37pm
Not exactly, Redcomet.

Ignition is heavier and creamier than Pi but lacks decent longevity (unlike Pi), Cristobal is a horrid synthetic mess, and Le Male consists of many more notes and is therefore more complex.
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post #21 of 34
12/27/06 at 5:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trebor

Not exactly, Redcomet.

Ignition is heavier and creamier than Pi but lacks decent longevity (unlike Pi), Cristobal is a horrid synthetic mess, and Le Male consists of many more notes and is therefore more complex.

Wow.. Ignition lasts monumentally long on me..at least as long as Pi does....

a.
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post #22 of 34
12/30/06 at 4:21pm
  • Mic
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Laguna by Salvador Dali has that "Toffee feel" that I also find in Pi - try that and fall in love!

Mic.
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post #23 of 34
12/30/06 at 11:06pm
Thread Starter 
OMG! This is so interetsing.

My two favorite fragrances are "Givenchy PI" and "L'eau d'Issey Pour Homme".

The first review for Laguna by Salvador Dali says this: "One of the most unique aqua scent I've smelled. It's like an aqua/oriental like the idea of taking Pi and mixing it with Issey. The scent starts off with rich fruit scents really not citrus like..kind of like mango and exotic fruits you'd find on a tropical island, the scent then slides to rich oriental notes of amber, benzion, and vanilla..WOW! Such a unique and surreal scent...you've gotta try this scent you will not be disappointed!"


I must try Laguna by Salvador Dali... if I can find it!


The 5 colognes left for me to try are:

Nikos Sculpture
Casran
Lomani Ignition (I have a feeling it might smell like Avatar which I kinda like)
Creed Original Santal
Salvador Dali Laguna

I might want to try "Agatha Brown's Conquest" but not at $90 a bottle ;-)
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post #24 of 34
12/31/06 at 4:13am
gregmech26, I have a full bottle of Laguna that been sprayed twice that I would happy to sell to you. Pm me if you are interested. As far as scents that are similar to PI, I would have to say A*men. And by similar I do mean complete opposites. PI caters to one end of the spectrum (vanilla) and A*men caters to the other (chocolate). Becasue of this I find them completely different yet the same because they are both full extensions of the respected poles. If that makes any sense.
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post #25 of 34
12/31/06 at 4:32am
Thread Starter 
I wish I would have seen your post earlier but I just ordered a bottle on fragrancenet.com

Thanks for your thoughtfulness though
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post #26 of 34
12/31/06 at 8:10am
  • Mic
  • offline
  • Gender:
Wearing Pi today and I really like it. But I LOVE Laguna.....

Mic.
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post #27 of 34
1/3/07 at 2:19am
I may be too late here but two fragrances that are very close to Pi for me are Bulgari Black and one of the Lalique men's fragrances (unfortunately I cannot remember which).
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post #28 of 34
1/3/07 at 3:08pm
i was a recent Pi virgin...
i love it...
the closest thing that comes to mind is Gaultier2 but 2 basenoters already said it....oh well....
i need to get a Pinow...
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post #29 of 34
1/3/07 at 3:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dante

I may be too late here but two fragrances that are very close to Pi for me are Bulgari Black and one of the Lalique men's fragrances (unfortunately I cannot remember which).

I am pretty sure the Lalique you are talking about is "Le Faune"... the blue juice

a.
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post #30 of 34
1/3/07 at 10:03pm
Thread Starter 
I bought the Givenchy PI edp on ebay and it is very nice and delicate; however, I prefer the regular Givenchy PI edt because it's more "manly" smelling. But both fragrances are very nice.

Over the Christmas holiday I "blindly" purchased 9 colognes based on reviews and suggestions from fellow basenoters. They are listed in my wardrobe under the "pending" section.

I would love to swap some of my fragrances listed in my swap section.

Anyways, this gentlemen and his elderly mother walked into this upscale restaurant I was at. I believe he was wearing an excellent fragrance and I really wanted to know the name of it; however, I was too shy to ask him what cologne he was wearing (incase it was his mom' perfume).

I guess I need to be more assertive because now I'm driving myself crazy tyring to figure out what it was, and chances are I will never know.
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post #31 of 34
1/11/07 at 12:13am
Thread Starter 
Liz Claiborne "Spark" for men is supposed to be similar to Givenchy PI as well.
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post #32 of 34
6/10/08 at 10:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregmech26 View Post

Sephora in 12 Oaks mall! Great idea.

I usually buy cologne on fragrancenet; however, they have sent me some old/bad cologne in the past. Perhaps perfumebay is better.

My "TOP 10" hot list thanks to you guys:

givenchy parfum
opium parfum
jaipur parfum
lomani ignition
creed original santal
sculpture by nikos
montale's sweet oriental dream
casran
agatha brown's conquest
silver shadow

I would add ST Dupont Signature. It is very similar to Pi with a few more wooded notes, but just as sweet and has decent sillage. Some say it is a subdued version of Opium, but I think it is a more refined take on modern orientals. Jaipur is absolutely amazing but it is as sweet as it is powedery, and that might not work for all.

Cheers,
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post #33 of 34
6/11/08 at 12:12am
I'd recommend Gaultier2 as well - it's the closest thing you'll get to Givenchy Pi.
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post #34 of 34
6/11/08 at 6:15am
D&G THE ONE has a similar note in there that I can smell at 1st. The drydown is very different though...not really as sweet. Bear in mind i've only sampled D&G once and own PI. When I tried PI it instantly made me think of THE ONE. I might be totally wrong...
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