Monsieur de Givenchy Givenchy for men

For eight years I had been deprived of my sense of smell due to sinuous infection. I would smell by opening my mouth and like a snake sensing the air with the blade of my tongue. Then entering my sixteenth year I recovered. But having been dispossessed of my olfactory sense for so long when my sense of smell returned to me, it came back with a staggering intensity. All odours manifold stronger than before, I was disturbed at the very hint of scent and smell became a problem. I shunned Eau de Colognes they were all too overpowering, until a day when I in passing came across Monsieur de Givenchy, it was the first aftershave I was able to use. Today all my Eau de Colognes are insubstantial in character as though, they are not really there. They serve a purpose for each has a state attached to it, they are bottled moods. Each having been used over time for particular situations, they attune one; and have become synonymous with a situation. Thereby automatically setting one into the right state of mind merely through their fragrance changing the private sphere that is ones world. None more so than Monsieur de Givenchy. This transparent sea blue liquid; produced in 1959 have a fingerprint smell that has always reminded me of the Mediterranean, ex-girlfriends, beaches, sunshine and blue ocean. When it became increasingly difficult to obtain in the perfumeries, it was as if some states of being; no longer was available to me. I had lost a part of what I identify with myself and had become unable to conjure forth the memories connected with its scent. It is for this reason; of uttermost importance, when first applying a new Eau de Cologne; that one is happy, energetic and preferably located in a place which one would like to remember, for the memory; will stay with you, for as long; as it’s available in the shops.

Monsieur de Givenchy is basically a cross between Chanel Pour Monsieur and Eau Sauvage, but it does what it does right and smells timeless and classy. Lasts a good while, too.

Luckily the Mythic version didn't really f*ck anything up - it just made the fragrance last a little longer, which is OK with me! :)

A reformulation of this classic babrershop-masculine fragrance a-là Chanel Pour Monsieur. The apotheosis of old-fashioned discreet elegance. Mannered but not affected. To be absolutely avoided if you don't like the genre. I do.

Long story made short: to fully understand where we are now, we have to know where we came from! (I think I've already heard this one)!

Rating: 8/10

love it bought it 1973 - my scent me myself i

As in the case of Eau Sauvage, this is a reinterpretation of classical eaux de colognes. A classic fragrance in its structure and subtlety.

There are some notes in common with YSL pour Homme, but this doesn't have the classic construction so characteristic of Monsieur de Givenchy, maybe due to the presence of more pungent vervaine notes.

Imagine mixing Chanel Pour Monsieur with Cologne 4711 and just a hint of pepper, and you have MdG: a timeless classic. Just about everything about it is perfect: just the right amount of citrus to make it refreshing, just the right amount of chypre-like bitterness to give it an edge, and just the right amount of concentration to produce good sillage without blowing people out of the room. MdG is so classic and elegant, it could anyone seem like Cary Grant. If I were to give this a label, I'd have to call it a citrusy chypre. I hope Givenchy makes this forever.

For nearly fifty years this has been one of my favorites and suitable for all occassions and climates. Unfortunately, it is now hard to find in American stores.