Givenchy | The Scented Hound

May 13, 2015
by The Scented Hound 7 Comments

Eau de Givenchy by Givenchy

WHAT I SMELL: Eau de Givenchy opens with a lovely opening of bright bergamot which melds into a minty, soapy, light orange. The perfume is clean and minty fresh and pleasingly uncomplicated. After a few minutes the mint begins to dissipate to reveal a more floral heart that’s still light, but is also warmed and radiant. The white and slightly soapy florals that feels somewhat green are the stars here in this simple and easy to wear pretty perfume. There’s not much to say about Eau de Givenchy except that simple sometimes makes perfect.

From Fragrantica:

Eau de Givenchy opens with the sparkling notes of grapefruit, accompanied by sweet and fresh notes of mandarin orange and bergamot, mint and red fruit. The middle notes add luscious and intensive scent of ylang-ylang, honeysuckle, pure jasmine, narcissus, tuberose, lily-of-the-valley, rose, cyclamen and orris root. Base notes introduce warm sandalwood, musk, cedar and oakmoss.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A pretty, easy to wear, simple summer dress.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE EAU DE GIVENCHY: easy, effortless, pleasing

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT EAU DE GIVENCHY: I couldn’t find any on this quiet and unassuming 1980s launched perfume.

BOTTOM LINE: What’s interesting about Eau de Givenchy is that it was created at the time when perfumes were big, bold and over the top just like the fashion of the time. Eau de Givenchy is the antithesis of all of the excess and that’s probably why it continues to be in production. It’s just that light and easy.

Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral
Nose: Daniel Moliere and Daniel Hoffmann
Classification: Feminine
Expense: Varies greatly online for Eau de Toilette

April 27, 2013
by The Scented Hound 25 Comments

Vintage Givenchy Ysatis and Givenchy III

Thanks to the wonderful Kafkaesque, I have been led down another obsessional and dangerous path….that of vintage perfumes. A few months back, Kafkaesque sent me a wonderful selection of perfumes to include some great vintage scents. Of course that led me to want to try more…and then more…and then soon enough I’m trolling eBay for the next great buy. The great thing about finding some of these vintage fragrances is that you can typically find some of the more common, unopened and in the box. And you typically can find a smaller size so while you are blind buying… or taking a chance on whether the juice is still good, you don’t have to break the bank. As these fragrances are vintage, I hope I can tell if the fragrance is still good… but so far I have not been disappointed. Also, since the fragrance are vintage, I’m not going to modify my review format a bit and won’t be giving them a bone rating. Why? If I did that, then everyone would be hunting down these jewels and the next time I go on eBay I wont’ be able to find them. 🙂

YSATIS – Vintage Parfum

This is the one that started it all…

WHAT I SMELL: Ysatis isn’t shy. When the juice hits your skin it’s like opening a big waxy honeyed floral bouquet. It’s thick and over the top and for me, mixed so beautifully that I can’t really pick apart the notes besides the heady ylang-ylang. The flower power never wains, but it increasingly becomes warmer and creamier as it radiates off your skin. About 15 minutes there is a slight civit note added to a bit of spice which gives the fragrance a bit of sex. Yes, I think this is a very sexy fragrance. I don’t just love smelling it, I want to consume it. I bought 2 5ml bottles a few weeks ago and one is almost drained. I will be buying more without question.

Ysatis Notes from Fragrantica:

The top notes are citrus, ylang-ylang, galbanum, coconut, rose wood, and aldehydes. The heart notes are jasmine, rose, iris, tuberose and narcissus. The base notes are musk, amber, vanilla, vetiver, patchouli, sandalwood and civet.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A giant flower bomb!

GIVENCHY III – Vintage Parfum

WHAT I SMELL: A blast of aldehydes and oak moss give this a bright, green and mossy opening. It’s citrus, bergamot and head spinningly sparkly without being sweet. The oakmoss almost has an incense quality in the background, but it’s more dusty than pure incense. There are so many floral notes that are mixed together in harmony, but it’s not overtly floral, but instead when sniffed it breathes a green and floral stem like life to a beautiful and warm flower arrangement. As it develops it takes on more patchouli and amber and it remains intoxicatingly beautiful. Fragrantica classifies Givenchy III as a Chypre Floral. I get the chypre and the floral, but if I would have read that without trying this I would have thought this to be sweeter. Instead it never blasts off from its initial sparkle, but then winds down to a warm and cozy hug. My one regret is that Givenchy III doesn’t last as long as I would like it to and eventually after a couple hours it all but disappears but for a little soapy ending. No problem though, I’ll just apply more.

Givenchy III notes from Fragrantica:

The perfume opens with aldehydes with bergamot, mandarin, galbanum, peach and gardenia. The heart includes lily of the valley, hyacinth, rose, jasmine and iris root, while the base carries patchouli, oakmoss, amber and sandalwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: 1978

April 1, 2013
by The Scented Hound 20 Comments

Ramblings for a Monday Morning

I finally had a chance to sit down and get a little writing in. It’s been so busy with work that any random thoughts and ideas seem to be rattling around loose in my brain. But things are actually quieting down nicely and we had a nice quiet Easter Sunday and I managed to eat a ton of candy and Easter ham and all the fixins!

OK… I told you this would be a bit rambling…

I was putting on some perfume for work the other day and as I was digging through my what I believe to be minimal collection, I started thinking about Spring and that I could once again start wearing some more warmer weather fragrances (or puchase some :)). But in looking at my perfumes, I noted that there were a few this winter that I barely touched but once or twice. But last year, I wore these same fragrances multiple times per week (Serge Luten’s Ambre Sultan for instance). I started wondering if my tastes were changing or if my interest in perfume was dominated by the thrill of the chase in purchasing new perfume rather than for the pure love of the fragrance. And then I thought with the increasing size of my collection, how many of those old loves will never ever see the light of day? Or, will next winter become once again, the winter of Ambre Sultan? Is anyone else this fickle in their perfume loves?

Rambling on…

Thanks to the wonderful Kafkaesque I am now hooked on vintage Ysatis by Givenchy. She graciously included a sample of vintage EdT which I emptied in quick time. Thankfully, this is not hard to find on eBay and I recently purchased 2 5ml pure parfum minis for a song. As much as I loved the EdT, I love the pure parfum even more as the floral aspects are tinged greater with the animalic civet. It’s a beauty that is extremely loud and feminine but I don’t care. I am wallowing in it’s loveliness as I write this! The following is the description from Fragrantica:

Magical floral fragrance. Ysatis woman is smart, emotional and distinct. Elegant bottle matches the opulent fragrance that smells like luxury. The top notes are citrus, ylang-ylang, galbanum, coconut, rose wood, and aldehydes. The heart notes are jasmine, rose, iris, tuberose and narcissus. The base notes are musk, amber, vanilla, vetiver, patchouli, sandal wood and civet. The fragrance was created by Dominique Ropion in 1984.

and…

I recently reviewed the wonderful Haute Claire Parfum by Aftelier Perfumes giving it a 5 bone rating. Mandy Aftel graciously sent me the EdP version of Haute Claire and I can easily say that it too is a star. Of course, being an EdP vs. a Parfum concentration means that it’s a little lighter but the overall essence is the same. However, strangely with the EdP I almost get a light cocoa vibe as well. Maybe I’m just smelling all the Easter chocolate in the house?

and finally…

Did anyone else sign up for the Olfactif sample program? The first month was free and I have no idea what to expect. I did receive an email the other day stating that my package had been shipped. No doubt, more to come on this soon.

Happy Monday all!