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Givenchy Gentleman Vintage??

post #1 of 26
3/22/10 at 2:54am
Thread Starter 
Hello! Please could anyone tell me if this bottle I've just purchased is the original formulation of Givenchy Gentleman as opposed to the more recent reformulation?

It certainly looks older than the current bottles and is in a 30ml size which I've never see before. I wore it for the first time on Friday and it smells fantastic!





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post #2 of 26
3/22/10 at 3:04am
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If I'm not wrong, that is the vintage you got there. I've seen the Givenchy III and vintage MdG in similar vaporisateur bottles.
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post #3 of 26
3/22/10 at 6:38am
Yep, I agree with matthew - looks like the real (old) deal. My dad had a bottle of this years ago and it was in exactly the same bottle, also 30ml.
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post #4 of 26
3/22/10 at 9:12am
Thread Starter 
Thanks matthewfoo & great_badir! Looks like I managed to get hold of the one I wanted - I'd sampled the 'new' Givenchy Gentleman a couple of weeks ago and although I liked it a lot there was too much talk of the original formulation being better - indeed some said it was a different beast altogether! I managed to snap this up on Ebay - it popped up as if by magic just when I had resigned myself to buying a new bottle - I hoped it was the old formulation but wasn't 100% sure. Thanks for the confirmations!
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post #5 of 26
3/22/10 at 9:27am
Yes, it's vintage. I have one of those 1 oz. bottles, so I can speak from experience.
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post #6 of 26
3/22/10 at 10:30am
I had one or two of those bottles back in the 80's.
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post #7 of 26
3/22/10 at 10:34am
My grandfather has that and it is from the late 70's or early 80's and yes , it does smell terriffic
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post #8 of 26
3/22/10 at 10:36am
Derbyman, It is vintage, I've got the same bottle in my wardrobe. I agree with you, it smells awesome compared to the current version.
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post #9 of 26
3/22/10 at 10:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derbyman View Post

Hello! Please could anyone tell me if this bottle I've just purchased is the original formulation of Givenchy Gentleman as opposed to the more recent reformulation?

It certainly looks older than the current bottles and is in a 30ml size which I've never see before. I wore it for the first time on Friday and it smells fantastic!






Yes !!! there was a spray like that and also a 30 ml splash and the patchouli note was dominat
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post #10 of 26
3/22/10 at 10:52am
the one and only
^_^
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post #11 of 26
3/22/10 at 11:09am
Haven't seen this one before but I have been wearing the current formulation since last November, and while quite attenuated it still works great.
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post #12 of 26
3/22/10 at 11:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zztopp View Post

Haven't seen this one before but I have been wearing the current formulation since last November, and while quite attenuated it still works great.

I agree with Double-zed here. I've still got the vintage juice myself, but I don't think the currently sold version is anything to fear or punish yourself over.

Great find all the same, Derbyman! You're sure to wear it and be very happy.
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post #13 of 26
3/22/10 at 6:41pm
I believe the key thing in GG vintages to look out for is a label that wraps all the way around the bottle. Therefore, yours would be vintage.
Congrats, my favorite vintage men's scent there.

NEW




OLD
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post #14 of 26
3/23/10 at 6:01am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the replies!

Great tip re. the labels Hillaire, thank-you!

It looks like I found the vintage version then! I wouldn't have been too upset if it had been a recent formulation as I've sampled that one briefly and it's great - just lighter in general with less patchouli.

I'm a definite Givenchy Gentleman convert! It's a brilliant fragrance and unique! If only some of the current releases were as inventive and daring as GG!
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post #15 of 26
3/23/10 at 6:05am
Derbyman - mind divulging how much you got it for? Just out of curiosity to see what the UK market is for vintage 'fumes other than Aramis Havana at the mo.
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post #16 of 26
3/23/10 at 6:29am
Thread Starter 
It was on Ebay, a 'Buy it Now' for £8.00 (+£1.80 P+P) - I just dived right in at that price!!
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post #17 of 26
3/23/10 at 6:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derbyman View Post

It was on Ebay, a 'Buy it Now' for £8.00 (+£1.80 P+P) - I just dived right in at that price!!

Pretty good. Actually, scratch that - VERY good. I don't think UK 'Bayers have quite got to the vintage frags bandwagon yet, except for Havana it seems. I've seen lots of stuff go for not much. Presumably they're still on the vintage shaving implements and soaps at the mo - frags next!
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post #18 of 26
3/23/10 at 6:36am
someone can tell me what´s the difference ? it´s the vintage version more powefull ?? i get the new version and the sillage, projection and last are trully amazing!
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post #19 of 26
3/23/10 at 6:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackened View Post

someone can tell me what´s the difference ? it´s the vintage version more powefull ?? i get the new version and the sillage, projection and last are trully amazing!

Pretty much all frags have been reformulated over the last 7-10 years, mainly due to certain, usually natural, ingredients being limited due to their scarcity, or certain chemicals being banned for cosmetic use (nitro musks, for example). More often than not the natural ingredients are replaced with synthetics and the chemicals replaced with others that are different in composition and, that being the case, the end result is significantly different from an older and more natural version. Some houses, such as Aramis, do spectacularly well and spend a lot of time making sure that their reformulated replacements smell the same as their original counterparts. Others are less bothered so you often get stuff (like Givenchy Gentelman, and another good one is Dior Eau Sauvage) that still smells great, but is completely different compared to what it used to be.
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post #20 of 26
3/23/10 at 6:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by great_badir View Post

Pretty much all frags have been reformulated over the last 7-10 years, mainly due to certain, usually natural, ingredients being limited due to their scarcity, or certain chemicals being banned for cosmetic use (nitro musks, for example). More often than not the natural ingredients are replaced with synthetics and the chemicals replaced with others that are different in composition and, that being the case, the end result is significantly different from an older and more natural version. Some houses, such as Aramis, do spectacularly well and spend a lot of time making sure that their reformulated replacements smell the same as their original counterparts. Others are less bothered so you often get stuff (like Givenchy Gentelman, and another good one is Dior Eau Sauvage) that still smells great, but is completely different compared to what it used to be.

So.... the vintage one of gentleman its a more natural result than the reformulated one?
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post #21 of 26
3/23/10 at 7:15am
Thread Starter 
The new Givenchy Gentleman is still a superb fragrance and superficially smells very similar to the original from my limited sampling of the current version. The new version smells 'smoother' and more refined in the top notes and the drydown seems to have less patchouli (which is very powerful in the original). I would think the new version would be a better all round fragrance which could be worn day or night in all weathers being slightly lighter and less earthy than the old. It was sampling the new version which made me look into GG in the first place and I'd have been quite disappointed if the version I bought had been too different from the sample!

It is a truly amazing and unique fragrance - I'm betting I won't smell it on many other people too!
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post #22 of 26
3/23/10 at 7:28am
thanks derby and great_badir, I see too the modern version a classic versatile
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post #23 of 26
3/23/10 at 2:08pm
I think sometimes reformulations are also used as an excuse for houses to make their "classics" appeal more to current tastes - using Eau Sauvage as an example again, because I can draw from current, mid to late 90s and 70s-80 versions, the original was really heavy on the citrus in the opening, almost like a trad EDC along the lines of 4711 or Farina and then drying down to a very rich base, the 90s one to me seemed to be fresher and more of an all round light citrus, whilst the current formulation has brought back the rich base but with less of the big citrus. No doubt Dior themselves would just say this is purely down to the difference in available/allowable ingredients and should not have that much of an affect on the frag itself, but lots of us know it does make a difference.

But, in this instance, the differences don't really matter because so far Eau Sauvage has been great whichever version it is, whereas others like Brut, Yardley Gold and, apparently, all of the Caron feminine frags have gone the other way and become disappointing shadows of their former selves.
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post #24 of 26
3/23/10 at 5:18pm
The vintage version also has a very prominent burning tobacco note. It's a much skankier and more interesting beast. Although I have to admit that I wear the newer version much more often, the vintage is a wonderful time travel frag.
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post #25 of 26
3/23/10 at 5:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Derbyman View Post

The new Givenchy Gentleman is still a superb fragrance and superficially smells very similar to the original from my limited sampling of the current version. The new version smells 'smoother' and more refined in the top notes and the drydown seems to have less patchouli (which is very powerful in the original). I would think the new version would be a better all round fragrance which could be worn day or night in all weathers being slightly lighter and less earthy than the old. It was sampling the new version which made me look into GG in the first place and I'd have been quite disappointed if the version I bought had been too different from the sample!

It is a truly amazing and unique fragrance - I'm betting I won't smell it on many other people too!

I'm glad to hear there's another fan of the new version out there. The old stuff is stronger, but the new version is also great. I love and wear both versions of Gentleman.
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post #26 of 26
3/5/12 at 9:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hillaire View Post

I believe the key thing in GG vintages to look out for is a label that wraps all the way around the bottle. Therefore, yours would be vintage.
Congrats, my favorite vintage men's scent there.

NEW




OLD

Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBERTO View Post

Yes !!! there was a spray like that and also a 30 ml splash and the patchouli note was dominat

Quote:
Originally Posted by Derbyman View Post

Hello! Please could anyone tell me if this bottle I've just purchased is the original formulation of Givenchy Gentleman as opposed to the more recent reformulation?

It certainly looks older than the current bottles and is in a 30ml size which I've never see before. I wore it for the first time on Friday and it smells fantastic!






Hello, everyone. I like Derbyman, am interested in buying a vintage bottle of Givenchy Gentleman.

I think I have found one, but the label confuses me. The label is similar to the "old" picture in Hillaire's post - Givenchy Gentleman at the top, Paris right under that, and then Eau de Toilette at the very bottom. The bottle is similar to the one in Derbyman's initial post. I am pretty sure this is the vintage juice. Is this an intermediary bottle between the original and the squatter, more flask-like flacon or is this an imposter altogether?

Thanks, in advance, for your help in this matter. I greatly appreciate it!
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