Eau Sauvage, Chanel pour Monsieur, YSL pour Homme & Monsieur de Givenchy

[Edinburgh]

Could anyone provide a comparison among these four fragrances? It needn't be too detailed and even a link to pertinent posts would do just fine.

Eau Sauvage (current formulation)
Chanel pour Monsieur
YSL pour Homme
Monsieur de Givenchy

 

[Bigsly]

I haven't tried MdG but from what I read it is not especially similar to the other three, and the other three are rather distinct from each other. You can read plenty of reviews on just the "big 3" alone: BN, Fragrantica, and MUA. You can also get some samples, for instance at the Crystal Flacon site. I don't know what your level of expertise is so it's difficult to say more. Do you know what hedione smells like, for example? If you hate it, then avoid Eau Sauvage.

 

[banditman]

I have all of these except for the YSL Pour Homme. They're all aromatics with a few shared notes such as lemon on the top-you might say they're related to, but not identical to, one another. Each one is distinctive in its' own right. As mentioned, there are loads of reviews on these to be found on the fragrance sites and here is one on Basenotes that will get you started.

 

[mistercitizen]

I'm not great at the nuances of fragrances.... especially when they are as similar as these classic chypres. All of them open up with a citrusy lemon. Chanel Pour Monsieur has some verbena and smells very light a fresh in the opening.... then dries down to a powdery scent. YSL Pour Homme (I have the Haute Concentration version) is dirty lemons. I get a very animalic, almost like human sweat like vibe to it. I read someone describe it as a hairy, fat, sweaty guy sucking on lemons.... and I don't think that they were too far off. Oddly enough, I think it's pretty good. Eau Sauvage has just a bit of that animalic scent as well.... but not nearly as much. The vetiver base of Eau Sauvage is what makes that fragrance wonderful in my opinion. The vetiver is very noticeable in the dry down, but it's light as compared to more overpowering vetiver frags like Guerlain Vetiver or Tom Ford Grey Vetiver. Monsieur de Givenchy is light and refreshing. It's been a while since I've sniffed that one, but it strikes me as the least interesting of the four. That's not a bad thing. I guess I remember it being more straightforward.

I have bottles of all of them and love them all. They are all very similar.... but have their unique facets.

Ben

 

[mistercitizen]

I'm wearing Monsieur de Givenchy this evening. The drydown is much "dryer" than the likes of Chanel PM. Almost musty smelling. It's hard to describe. It's the opposite of citrus sweet though..... more like citrus bitter.

Ben

 

[Edinburgh]

I'm wearing Monsieur de Givenchy this evening. The drydown is much "dryer" than the likes of Chanel PM. Almost musty smelling. It's hard to describe. It's the opposite of citrus sweet though..... more like citrus bitter.

Ben

Citrus bitter makes me think of GFT Portugal.

 

[mistercitizen]

Citrus bitter makes me think of GFT Portugal.

I checked the notes on Monsieur de Givenchy and the drydown is pretty much musk and sandalwood.... which seems about right. It's not a sweet or rich sandalwood.... but more of a musky, dry sandalwood. This one has pretty decent longevity compared to Chanel Pour Monsieur from what I read. I have not used CPM enough to say much about the longevity.... but most people say it is not good. Personally, I prefer Chanel Pour Monsieur to Monsieur de Givenchy. Eau Sauvage has pretty good longevity on my skin..... I'm left with that light vetiver scent for quite a while, although a heavy application of ES is usually needed to get much projection (3 to 4 sprays rather than 1 to 2).

I'll have to check GFT Eau de Portugal and compare it with MdG. I'm pretty sure I still have a sample left of the GFT EdP.

Based on my preference, I would rank them from favorite overall to least favorite overall:

1. Chanel Pour Monsieur
2. Dior Eau Sauvage
3. Monseiur de Givenchy
4. YSL Pour Homme (Haute Concentree)

Ben

 

[Dewaine]

Based on my preference, I would rank them from favorite overall to least favorite overall:

1. YSL Pour Homme (Original)
2. Monseiur de Givenchy
3. Dior Eau Sauvage
4. Chanel Pour Monsieur

 

[mistercitizen]

Based on my preference, I would rank them from favorite overall to least favorite overall:

1. YSL Pour Homme (Original)
2. Monseiur de Givenchy
3. Dior Eau Sauvage
4. Chanel Pour Monsieur

What can I say?.... you're wrong.

Ben