Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › trouble with original gucci pour homme (1976)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

trouble with original gucci pour homme (1976)

post #1 of 10
3/22/08 at 11:36am
Thread Starter 
Here's my problem. I bought a mini and a 1 oz bottle of gucci pour homme 1976. The logo on a mini is different than on 1 oz bottle. Apparently, the mini is less than 10 years old. And the 1 oz bottle is more than 20 years old. I suspect that 1 oz went bad or lost some notes. The juice has different color, mini is almost water-like, sort of greenish but the juice in another bottle is even more yellow than Dolce and Gabbana pour homme. It leaves yellow spots of a card, while the stuff is a mini doesn’t. It seems to me, the scent in a mini is lighter, while 1 oz has something medicinal in it, to my nose. I can't get anything other than old school lavender and alcohol harshness plus some dominant note from ysl rive gauche pour homme, in other words: it's a decent bugspray – I wouldn’t wear it.

Maybe, at this time my nose just doesn't work right, after testing a few other frags, so I really can's say whether the difference between a mini and 1 oz is significant, by the way: a mini has no spray, but 1 oz bottle has a massive white vaporisator.

Here's a picture of that 1 oz , it came with a bottle of "eau de gucci" as a bonus (concentrated for women)) the amount of "juice" in both bottles was on the same level, so I suspect that they were owned by some collector for all those years and maybe the rest of the liquid just evaporated during this time (is that possible?), both bottles have loose caps.

Eau de gucci - smells even worse, it defiantly has something feminine, but it’s very harsh and old school, smells very cheap - another bugspray.

Don’t get me wrong. I like manly colognes and I don’t like the modern light stuff. this one (gph) is harsh, but it’s not manly at all, I just can’t perceive lavender as a masculine note and it dominates the scent. Of course maybe my nose is to blame.

Any opinions? Why is the color different? Did they alter the formula or it really went bad? Could it be fake? Does anyone have a full list of notes?




"30 ml 1 fl oz"
"90% vol"

flip side:

SCANNON S.A.
"LES PARFUMS GUCCI"
"PARIS/NEW YORK"
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 10
3/2/12 at 6:34pm
Hello!
I have a bottle just like that one GPH1976 (bought it BNIB) and smells exactly like you described, i think its just the way its supposed to smell... I feel many of the 70's early 80's fragrances have this similar bitter, lavenderish vibe...
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
11/13/12 at 7:18pm
Hi.

I have quite a few 7.5ml bottles of this classic chypre, an entirely dry masculine fragrance where the lavender is fresh but not soapy, the citruses bright and refined, with the florals in the mid notes and strong oakmoss and leather providing a drydown that is exquisitely classical. I really don't think any of the mini bottles I have opened have turned, they smell exactly the same as the larger bottle my father owned in the mid '90s did.



Reply
Reply
post #4 of 10
11/13/12 at 7:52pm
** paging **
ericrico
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
11/13/12 at 8:45pm
Sounds to me like the mini weakened and the spray bottle is true to the original, though perhaps with some top notes (especially citrus oriented) diminished. I have a 2 ounce splash bottle and a 4 ounce spray and the smell exactly the same to me, and more or less as you describe as bugspray. Use my top notes avoidance technique and try again. LOL.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 10
11/13/12 at 10:51pm
Thanks Dimitrios - I picked up the white courtesy phone, my friend.

Hi Olibanum - okay, I carefully read what you wrote. The mini you bought "is less than 10 years old" and the bottle pictured is, indeed, Gucci Pour Homme Original (1976) - and, more than 20 years old. It is one of my favorite scents of all time. The marketing tagline, "There can never be too much elegance in life", holds true and dear to me. Eau de Gucci is a woman's scent - let's forget that. You are comparing two different male scents, as the mini you have would be another recent release from Gucci, not this.

About Gucci Pour Homme Original, it opens (in true form) with wonderful lemon and bergamot with some sharp lavender and nice basil. It is a classic chypre with wonderful rich florals, including a slightly powdery iris note in the heart along with other wonderful blooms in the bouquet (carnation, jasmine, geranium) and sharp, green patchouli that warms to the base with earthy orris root, spices and wood (very nice light cedar and sandalwood in the late heart moving towards drydown). The entire wearing for me is not "dated" - it is classic and timeless. I don't know if your bottle has muted top notes. I have some older small bottles that are like that, but the heart and base are very rich and fully intact. I layer that with the excellent After Shave and fully-intact bottles and it exudes sophistication, class and gorgeous depth. However, being a chypre it doesn't ever get too heavy...but it keeps a wonderful richness that only Gucci Pour Homme Original can offer. It is a classic masterpiece by Guy Robert, in my humble opinion.

The base notes are wonderful - rich oakmoss (a great mossy note that is required to be a chypre, but also a great fixative), leather (Italian, smooth and expensive), a warm musk that is almost clean, labdanum, amber and a touch of coumarin (tonka bean). The beauty of a quality chypre is in the harmony and integration. This is where Gucci PH Original from over 35 years ago still shines. You can wear it year-round and feel wonderful. It has very good longevity but doesn't overly project, but is definitely a noticeable and distinct scent. Wear it in situations you feel comfortable in...

I have worn it to birthday parties, church and just on a day that I was in the mood for it - that day became "special"...that is what Gucci Pour Homme does for me, but I adore the composition and lavender as a note. It simply may not be for you, truth is - this whole fragrance world is purely subjective to the individual. I described what I get from a scent that I know very well, love and adorn (not just wear). If you don't, try something else...and stay away from lavender.

Here is an easy suggestion - and it fits your name, olibanum. Try Gucci Pour Homme I (2003) in the squared, "paperweight" bottle that is a wonderful modern masterpiece full of incense, wood, pepper and could be the best release in designer fragrance in the last decade. It is that good. It is discontinued and prices are going up - but if you love olibanum (rich and smoky incense) and have not tried it - well, you simply have the wrong bottle of Gucci Pour Homme. ;-)

Cheers and good luck.

ericrico
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
11/14/12 at 6:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsly View Post

Sounds to me like the mini weakened and the spray bottle is true to the original, though perhaps with some top notes (especially citrus oriented) diminished. I have a 2 ounce splash bottle and a 4 ounce spray and the smell exactly the same to me, and more or less as you describe as bugspray. Use my top notes avoidance technique and try again. LOL.

Has to be the finest bugspray ever created! The beauty of this is that when worn in the summer you not only smell divine, but the flies and mosquitoes stay well away too!

ericrico, your description of the notes is truly educational, and as a fan of this scent I enjoyed your review very much too.

Thanks also to the BN member who sent me a pm with a link to membership, but I don't want to be a BN Plus member, merely a supporting one - although the link still escapes me, any help would be appreciated.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
11/14/12 at 6:24am
BN plus = Supporting membership. The term has changed, and fees went up over the years, but they are the same thing.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
11/14/12 at 7:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by olibanum View Post

Here's my problem. I bought a mini and a 1 oz bottle of gucci pour homme 1976. The logo on a mini is different than on 1 oz bottle. Apparently, the mini is less than 10 years old. And the 1 oz bottle is more than 20 years old. I suspect that 1 oz went bad or lost some notes. The juice has different color, mini is almost water-like, sort of greenish but the juice in another bottle is even more yellow than Dolce and Gabbana pour homme. It leaves yellow spots of a card, while the stuff is a mini doesn’t. It seems to me, the scent in a mini is lighter, while 1 oz has something medicinal in it, to my nose. I can't get anything other than old school lavender and alcohol harshness plus some dominant note from ysl rive gauche pour homme, in other words: it's a decent bugspray – I wouldn’t wear it.

Maybe, at this time my nose just doesn't work right, after testing a few other frags, so I really can's say whether the difference between a mini and 1 oz is significant, by the way: a mini has no spray, but 1 oz bottle has a massive white vaporisator.

Here's a picture of that 1 oz , it came with a bottle of "eau de gucci" as a bonus (concentrated for women)) the amount of "juice" in both bottles was on the same level, so I suspect that they were owned by some collector for all those years and maybe the rest of the liquid just evaporated during this time (is that possible?), both bottles have loose caps.

Eau de gucci - smells even worse, it defiantly has something feminine, but it’s very harsh and old school, smells very cheap - another bugspray.

Don’t get me wrong. I like manly colognes and I don’t like the modern light stuff. this one (gph) is harsh, but it’s not manly at all, I just can’t perceive lavender as a masculine note and it dominates the scent. Of course maybe my nose is to blame.

Any opinions? Why is the color different? Did they alter the formula or it really went bad? Could it be fake? Does anyone have a full list of notes?




"30 ml 1 fl oz"
"90% vol"

flip side:

SCANNON S.A.
"LES PARFUMS GUCCI"
"PARIS/NEW YORK"

In the photo you are showing the male and female fragrances from that period.
Also, I am certain that the mini you have is a completely different (more modern) version of the fragrance which has nothing to do with the original Gucci pour homme.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 10
11/16/12 at 10:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 30 Roses View Post

BN plus = Supporting membership. The term has changed, and fees went up over the years, but they are the same thing.

Thanks for clearing that up 30 Roses.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: MFD Archive
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › trouble with original gucci pour homme (1976)