Givenchy Gentleman

I started wearing this cologne in the early 80's when I was finishing college. I still have a bottle that I wear from time to time. This is one of the few colognes that have gotten noticed by the opposite sex. A word of caution though, use it sparingly or you will wake up the next morning with the scent still present.

Make sure that you get the original (black and white box). This is strong juice, dated but not out of date by any means. The dry down is long, very aromatic and has a characteristic deep woodsy spice note. I sprayed some on and could still smell it on my wrist after a 1/2 mile swim and 10 minutes in a steam room - this has staying power that makes Knize 10 look like a lightweight.

This is a beautiful, complex fragrance that has a lot of patchouli in it. It is not, however, something that would remind you of hippie head shops. It is for the well dressed man of style. A bit "dated" in a good way in that it is not a watered down wood-and-sugar combo that is so popular these days. Apply lightly, no...more lightly....no more lightly than that. Just a faint little spritz, that's all it takes. Yes, it will fade faster that way, yes it will be subtle, but if you go the other way, people will be talking behind your back at work or wherever you go. Fantastic fragrance, potent weapon against conventionality, potentially capable of clearing out a room.

According to the manufacturers this EDT contains: tarragon, cinnamon, patchouli, vetiver, civet and russian leather.

So we might as well start with the elephant in the room - did you spot it, hiding away quietly and trying to look innocent near the end of that list? CIVET! If your not sure what civet means then you need to go to your local zoo and get up close to a lions cage. Your domestic cat's litter box may have a trace of civet about it but probably too mixed up with other stuff (ammonia) to be easily singled out. Now some people say civet smells of cat's pee but I'd say cat's pee smells a bit of civet. You won't find civet in modern perfumes it's a bit too much for most current hermetically sterile sensibilities. Indeed Givenchy have now toned down the civet in Gentleman (I'm lucky in having a bottle of the orignal stuff) to make it somewhat more mass marketable - fortunately it's still strong enough to mark it's territory even so. It's blended in very nicely in this and overall Givenchy Gentleman is a polished and sophisticated scent but the civet can never be entirely tamed - don't think people won't notice.

The other notes make this an urbane scent but the civet give it an extra edge of the antisocial. I think of Hannibal Lecter, intelligent but dangerous, maybe a respectable businessman with a penchant for arson, Al Pacino in Godfather II. No matter how civilised it may seem it's not to be entirely trusted.

I like to think I can carry off the necessary attitude but the truth is I only wear this on days when I'm in the right mood. I don't mean a bad mood - it's that "screw the world and the horse it rode in on" mood, those days when you're happy to take on anybody and don't care if you lose.

Amazing stuff and I treasure the bottle of original formula I have.

Need I say - not suitable for a blind buy?