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Derby After Shave

post #1 of 15
11/12/09 at 7:30am
Thread Starter 
I was lucky recently to pick up a bottle of this on ebay. I just wondered if anyone else had tried this and if so how does it compare to the EDT. Is it the same old rule of thumb of the aftershave being a toned-down EDT with limited longevity? I would love to hear from someone who has managed to make a side by side comparison. Thanks.
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post #2 of 15
11/12/09 at 11:32pm
this could get a bit more complicated because there is an older version from the 80's and a newer version, which i believe may have been recently discontinued. This new version was only sold at the guerlain flagship store and in sachs, nyc.
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post #3 of 15
11/13/09 at 7:29am
Can you post a picture of the bottle? I've never ever seen this - I didn't even know it existed.
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post #4 of 15
11/13/09 at 9:30pm
Thread Starter 
This is the link to the listing on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...:X:AAQ:CA:1123

Thanks and I hope this helps

Joe
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post #5 of 15
11/14/09 at 3:34am
Yeah, Derby was originally made in both EdT and aftershave. A very 1980s-like set. Or actually 1970s. Derby was all the time 10 years behind, both in scent and design. Jean-Paul Guerlain "forgot" to make it while he was busy with Parure and Nahéma! The aftershave was discontinued in 1993, the same year as the eagle bottle itself, giving way to the oblong "Habit Rouge" bottle to the Derby EdT. Derby was totally discontinued at some point in the 1990s.
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post #6 of 15
11/14/09 at 6:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Guerlain View Post

Yeah, Derby was originally made in both EdT and aftershave. A very 1980s-like set. Or actually 1970s. Derby was all the time 10 years behind, both in scent and design. Jean-Paul Guerlain "forgot" to make it while he was busy with Parure and Nahéma! The aftershave was discontinued in 1993, the same year as the eagle bottle itself, giving way to the oblong "Habit Rouge" bottle to the Derby EdT. Derby was totally discontinued at some point in the 1990s.


The oblong "Habit Rouge" bottle of Derby was released in two different boxes, originally in blue and then later in gold, without the words "Pour Homme" on the gold box. I don't know if the gold box version was specifically released for the Middle East, but I do know from my very good friend, Killer_Vavoom, that it was marketed in the Middle East as a unisex fragrance (hence the removal of the words "Pour Homme"). I seem to recall that he also mentioned the gold box formulation differed from the original vintage formulation. Perhaps, if he sees this post, he will comment.

scentemental

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post #7 of 15
11/14/09 at 7:44am
I remember that post, actually. It's possible that it was very intended to remove the Pour Homme, but if it was really meant to appeal to women, then the masculine oblong bottle was not well chosen. I have no evidence, but I'm very confident that the formulation was the same. Guerlain removed the Pour Homme from all their masculines in that period - in the 50s and 60s when men's perfumery was very new, it was important for the houses to state that this was FOR MEN, not some girlie stuff. Now it's almost opposite: they have to write Pour Elle to prevent the guys from buying it!

Btw, that Derby was called "unisex" totally suits the thought that it was the missing men's scent from Guerlain's unisex period in the 70s...

Quote:
Originally Posted by scentemental View Post

The oblong "Habit Rouge" bottle of Derby was released in two different boxes, originally in blue and then later in gold, without the words "Pour Homme" on the gold box. I don't know if the gold box version was specifically released for the Middle East, but I do know from my very good friend, Killer_Vavoom, that it was marketed in the Middle East as a unisex fragrance (hence the removal of the words "Pour Homme"). I seem to recall that he also mentioned the gold box formulation differed from the original vintage formulation. Perhaps, if he sees this post, he will comment.

scentemental

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post #8 of 15
11/14/09 at 8:01am
Please make sure you let us know what you think of it when you get it!
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post #9 of 15
11/14/09 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
I have a sample of the vintage EDT and once I get the aftershave I'll do a side by side comparison and post it. Thanks for all your input on this.
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post #10 of 15
11/15/09 at 8:18am
In fact, it was sold in the UAE market (with Pour Homme on the box and bottle) as a men's fragrance, but in Saudi (in the golden box), it was sold as a fragrance for women. It was kept in women's sections too. This was not dictated by Guerlain at all. The marketeers thought it was better sold as a wonan's perfume. I have it and I have the older ones (falcon-shaped bottle-splash/spray and the long rectangular bottle. The ones that state Pour Homme are quite different from the ones without it (in the golden box). Even the juice color is different. I like the Pour Homme one more. The Chalhoub importer told me that the one in the golden box was the exact re-introduced Derby in Paris (but now discontinued again). It lacks that moss extravaganza the older one had and has more carnation. Not bad at all but refined for no reason, IMO.
Sad thing though is every time I wear either Derby, people complain and tell me it's heavy and outdated.
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post #11 of 15
11/15/09 at 8:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Guerlain View Post

I remember that post, actually. It's possible that it was very intended to remove the Pour Homme, but if it was really meant to appeal to women, then the masculine oblong bottle was not well chosen. I have no evidence, but I'm very confident that the formulation was the same. Guerlain removed the Pour Homme from all their masculines in that period - in the 50s and 60s when men's perfumery was very new, it was important for the houses to state that this was FOR MEN, not some girlie stuff. Now it's almost opposite: they have to write Pour Elle to prevent the guys from buying it!

Btw, that Derby was called "unisex" totally suits the thought that it was the missing men's scent from Guerlain's unisex period in the 70s...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Killer_Vavoom View Post

In fact, it was sold in the UAE market (with Pour Homme on the box and bottle) as a men's fragrance, but in Saudi (in the golden box), it was sold as a fragrance for women. It was kept in women's sections too. This was not dictated by Guerlain at all. The marketeers thought it was better sold as a wonan's perfume. I have it and I have the older ones (falcon-shaped bottle-splash/spray and the long rectangular bottle. The ones that state Pour Homme are quite different from the ones without it (in the golden box). Even the juice color is different. I like the Pour Homme one more. The Chalhoub importer told me that the one in the golden box was the exact re-introduced Derby in Paris (but now discontinued again). It lacks that moss extravaganza the older one had and has more carnation. Not bad at all but refined for no reason, IMO.
Sad thing though is every time I wear either Derby, people complain and tell me it's heavy and outdated.


Thank you so much gentlemen.

scentemental

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post #12 of 15
12/3/09 at 12:56am
I own three 100 ml. bottles of Derby EDT, all bought here in Saudi Arabia.

They come in the dark blue box and the bottles are what I think are known as the eagle bottles, basically a squat, truncated triangular shape with horizontal incised lines and gold lettering. If I understand one of the previous posts correctly then this bottle design was discontinued in 1993. All of the boxes have Eau de Toilette Pour Homme written rather prominently.

Here is a photo of the bottle: http://www.perfumezilla.com/images_p...erby156845.jpg

So based on these bottles, which appear to be older stock, Derby was definitely marketed towards men in Saudi Arabia, at least in this packaging. Maybe they changed their philosophy when they switched to the gold boxes and taller bottles.

noggs
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post #13 of 15
12/3/09 at 6:28am
I don't think they changed philosophy on Derby. "Pour Homme" was removed from the whole Guerlain men's line in the mid-1990s.

Quote:
Originally Posted by noggs View Post

So based on these bottles, which appear to be older stock, Derby was definitely marketed towards men in Saudi Arabia, at least in this packaging. Maybe they changed their philosophy when they switched to the gold boxes and taller bottles.

noggs
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post #14 of 15
12/3/09 at 7:23am
Sorry for not being clear, Mr. G. I didn't mean to imply that Guerlain changed their philosophy just because they changed the packaging. I was echoing Killer_Vavoom's post where he says that it was the marketers in Saudi Arabia that made the decision to sell the gold box packaging to women, whereas the earlier blue boxes were obviously sold to men because of the Pour Homme designation.

I'm guessing that they made their decision based solely on the lack of "Pour Homme" on the packaging, assuming that it was a womens' fragrance, rather than basing it on the actual smell of the fragrance. But I wasn't here back then, so I don't know what was going on for sure.

noggs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. G View Post

I don't think they changed philosophy on Derby. "Pour Homme" was removed from the whole Guerlain men's line in the mid-1990s.
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post #15 of 15
12/3/09 at 8:04am
Hi noggs, it's ME apologizing, cause I knew exactly what you meant, and I was just glad to see you confirming my theory that the "philosophy change" is just a rumour due to the "Pour Homme" removal. I'm all with you there!

Quote:
Originally Posted by noggs View Post

Sorry for not being clear, Mr. G. I didn't mean to imply that Guerlain changed their philosophy just because they changed the packaging. I was echoing Killer_Vavoom's post where he says that it was the marketers in Saudi Arabia that made the decision to sell the gold box packaging to women, whereas the earlier blue boxes were obviously sold to men because of the Pour Homme designation.

I'm guessing that they made their decision based solely on the lack of "Pour Homme" on the packaging, assuming that it was a womens' fragrance, rather than basing it on the actual smell of the fragrance. But I wasn't here back then, so I don't know what was going on for sure.

noggs
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