Eau de Givenchy: A new classic fragrance is born

The new Eau de Givenchy scent distills modernity: chic, green, gender-defying. It’s just really really good.

First impression

Refined. Floral. Green. Crisp. On the skin, Eau de Givenchy’s verdant essence evolves to something warmer with a hint of earth and resin. Modern and cool, and resistant to any gender classification.

The facts

This refreshing spritz reimagines Givenchy’s 1980 fragrance of the same name.  The original was meant to capture a haven of peace and tranquility that the house’s namesake, Hubert de Givenchy, had discovered at his Palladian country house Clos Fiorentina in the town of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in Southeast France on the Mediterranean. A place of sea breezes and tree-lined gardens perfumed with the scent of mandarin trees and orange blossom. Now that’s quite a delicious starting point for a fragrance!

Francois Demachy, olfactory designer for Givenchy mother company LVMH, reimagines that iconic scent for today’s generation as a citrusy-musky-floral for men and women alike. And that resiny aspect we mentioned? Why that would be a slice of bitter almond cutting through bergamot, lemon, orange, mandarin and orange blossom notes.

The idea was to distill that experience of Clos Fiorentina: summer sunshine on the skin, on the lush green, on the sparkling sea.

The new Eau de Givenchy is a citrusy, floral, musky scent with notes of bergamot, lemon, orange and mandarin, bitter almond, petit grain, neroli and musk.

The bottom line: While we don’t have Monsieur Givenchy’s original 1980 toilette on hand to evaluate and compare this new toilette against, we’re impressed. Sunshiny, green and understated, this is a fragrance we imagine will cultivate a loyal audience for Givenchy’s next 38 years.

We’d wear it. We’d gift it. We’d recommend it. And yes, it would make a terrific Father’s Day gift.

A nod too to the elegant apothecary-like bottle within which this scent is packaged. Nice work: clean, chic and spot-on with the brand and the personality of this olfactory debut.

The rating: ★★★★/★★★★★

Eau de Givenchy EDT, $93(100 ml), at www.thebay.com 

PHOTO: Care Creative; photo by Natasha V