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Giorgio Beverly Hills for Men

post #1 of 20
1/20/13 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
This fragrance has been on my mind lately. My gf at the time bought me a bottle in 1991. It was fresh and lively; similar to the original nautica fragrance. I was passing by the mall and decided to stop in at a kiosk that I knew sold it. The SA tore open a new bottle to spray for me. I was appalled to discover that it was not the same fragrance of my youth. Yes, it had the notes but something was off-putting. Patchouly dominated with a slight tinge of honey in the background. There was a burnt bark note amongst the construction that translated into a fragrance that has either turned or not handled properly. I had the intent to snatch a bottle if it struck an accord, but alas it left me disappointed.
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post #2 of 20
1/20/13 at 3:30pm
Are you sure you didn't have Giorgio Beverly Hills Wings before? As far as I have heard Giorgio for Men has been the same powerhouse since it came out, but Giorgio Wings is a fresh aquatic scent.

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Are you sure you didn't have Giorgio Beverly Hills Wings before? As far as I have heard Giorgio for Men has been the same powerhouse since it came out, but Giorgio Wings is a fresh aquatic scent.
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post #3 of 20
1/20/13 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dwrestle View Post

Are you sure you didn't have Giorgio Beverly Hills Wings before? As far as I have heard Giorgio for Men has been the same powerhouse since it came out, but Giorgio Wings is a fresh aquatic scent.

- - - Updated - - -

Are you sure you didn't have Giorgio Beverly Hills Wings before? As far as I have heard Giorgio for Men has been the same powerhouse since it came out, but Giorgio Wings is a fresh aquatic scent.

Yea you must be remembering Wings- sweet,fresh, peaches and laundry detergent. GBH has always been a heavy oakmoss, honey, carnation powerhouse.
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post #4 of 20
1/20/13 at 3:54pm
The guys above are correct. The "fresh/lively" scent you're describing is not and never has been regular GBH.
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post #5 of 20
1/20/13 at 3:57pm
Boy, I never thought I would ever hear my beloved Giorgio for Men compared to the absolutely awful smelling Nautica Classic. Must indeed by Wings you are thinking of.
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post #6 of 20
1/20/13 at 3:59pm
Tried the original several times and personally never cared for it.
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post #7 of 20
1/20/13 at 5:02pm
There is a huge difference between the original the the EA reformulation, IMO. You need to try some of the original again !
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post #8 of 20
1/20/13 at 5:19pm
Thread Starter 
I know wings very well. I don't mean that GBH is/was a fresh fragrance , just more fresh than what I smelled today. Something smelled turned. The bottle I had was more prominent in honey and a little less patch. In any case, I didn't get the nostalgia I was hoping for..
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post #9 of 20
1/20/13 at 5:23pm
This stuff is dated and potent and smells like a typical musty aftershave 10x the potency.

As for the overall smell, it's nuetral. But I'd never wear it though.
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post #10 of 20
1/20/13 at 5:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scentologist View Post

I know wings very well. I don't mean that GBH is/was a fresh fragrance , just more fresh than what I smelled today. Something smelled turned. The bottle I had was more prominent in honey and a little less patch. In any case, I didn't get the nostalgia I was hoping for..

You need to try some vintage. I recently sold some of it to someone who didn't like the new formulation and he said the same thing about nostalgia. You won't find that in the new formulation, though it's good for what it is (now being a "cheapo").
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post #11 of 20
1/20/13 at 6:33pm
The vintage is awesome.
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post #12 of 20
1/20/13 at 6:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by heperd View Post

The vintage is awesome.

Do you find that there are significant differences from the vintage to the current ( the re-release by Arden) ? If so, perhaps I'll track down a vintage bottle.
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post #13 of 20
1/20/13 at 7:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsly View Post

There is a huge difference between the original the the EA reformulation, IMO. You need to try some of the original again !

I have the original vintage and can tell absolutely zero difference between it & the new. Perhaps, storage played a part.
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post #14 of 20
1/20/13 at 8:55pm
Here it seems to be the "usual," in my experience, which is that the cheaper base notes are made stronger and the more expensive ones lightened up. In this case, the camphorous patchouli in the original is toned down considerably, and it's not nearly as rich overall. The top notes may be similar, though. I try to avoid most of the top notes or else olfactory fatigue is a strong possibility. However, when I take the caps off and smell them, the new one seems thinner and the patchouli seems weaker, which is similar to what I find with the base notes when I've worn them. I can't wear the original any more but the new one is okay for cold weather. It's more of a dense, vanillic/ambery kind of scent now, with just a hint of the patchouli the original had, and a touch "synthetic" to me.
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post #15 of 20
1/20/13 at 10:43pm
^^^Richness is exactly how I would describe the difference in the case and in almost all cases of new cheaper versions vs vintage. Of course that not the only way theyre different but that is what is the most apparent to me. They usually recreate the smell fairly accurately but the "feeling" of a fragrance with real or high quality moss and other ingredients cant be recreated with the cheap ingredients currently in use.
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post #16 of 20
1/21/13 at 1:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boge View Post

I have the original vintage and can tell absolutely zero difference between it & the new. Perhaps, storage played a part.

I have several bottles of the vintage juice after stocking up a few years ago when it seemed that this was gone and not coming back. I bought a bottle of the new stuff last year just to see if it was anywhere close to the original. I won't say there's zero difference, but there's so little difference that it took a side by side comparison to settle the debate. The new version is one redo that seems to have gotten it more than 90% right.
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post #17 of 20
1/21/13 at 2:42am
It is "politically correct" in our forum to abuse each and every reformulation or relaunch of a frag. but this is not the case with GBH. the relaunch is exactly like the vintage ( i have both) it is even more potent than the original and overall i think its the best relaunch i know of. i wish other companies that have licences to other discontinued frags would follow E.A and revive masterpieces like Patou P.H and others as good as Giorgio beverly hills.
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post #18 of 20
1/21/13 at 2:48am
I got my vintage bottle 3 or 4 months before it was released a few years ago ..
It was selling for astronomical prices but i was lucky that day on Ebay .
I have not tried the EA version but it seems that popular opinion has swayed on this one ...
from a decent reformulation ....to ... forget the EA get vintage .
Perhaps a poll or group side by side on a dedicated thread ?
I must mention a dear Basenoter that i met very early on a few years ago now .. Two Roads
It was his signature scent & he gave the EA version the thumbs up .
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post #19 of 20
1/21/13 at 2:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsly View Post

You need to try some vintage. I recently sold some of it to someone who didn't like the new formulation and he said the same thing about nostalgia. You won't find that in the new formulation, though it's good for what it is (now being a "cheapo").

I partially disagree. The EA release bottles are very hit or miss. The "good" batches (that seem to be the earlier re-release bottles) are every bit as good as my vintage Giorgio for Men bottles and I would recommend them without hesitation as they are the best bang-for-the-buck I have encountered to date; while the "bad" EA batches are still pleasant smelling and give you a good taste of the old Giorgio for Men but still are lacking especially in the dry-down. If I were sniffing the "bad" EA batches first I would still be relatively impressed, but I just can't go back. Of course, buying the vintage juice insures you don't have to play Russian Roulette (as thatmakesscents alluded to in another Giorgio for Men re-issue thread).
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post #20 of 20
1/21/13 at 3:19am
The EA version of Grey Flannel isn't bad but doesn't have the crispness/richness of the original, and I wonder what will happen now, with the oakmoss restrictions. Did you know that Halston's 1-12 now does not list oakmoss or tree moss? Earlier EA versions did. The newest one reminded me of some sort of bubble bath type smell with a little spice added. Not terrible and bearing a slight similarity to the original, but the aficionado might laugh at it. Red for Men is awful, relative to the original, but that was a very complex scent and I don't expect miracles (it's not terrible in an objective way, just a sad attempt at reformulating well, and certainly worth $10 per 100 ml or whatever). I've spoken to people who worked in the industry back then and they have confirmed my worst suspicions. If you want to do some gas chromatography-mass spectronomy to see for yourself, please share the results with us, but in the meantime I've got to trust my sense of smell, which I have tried to develop since late 2007 by smelling 100s of scents.
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