Gentleman Eau de Parfum Reserve Privée 
Givenchy (2022)

I've smelled this somewhere before. This smells like a better version of CH Men Prive. I get an iris and boozy vibe with this one. There's an almond note with a light vanilla note in this. It calms down with a woody note as well. Overall, this is a good one. I could see myself reaching for this one a lot in the cooler weather. 7.5/10

Now this smells very nice indeed with the fresh iris in the opening that soon has chocolate facets. The whisky adds a nice subtle dimension to the scent and pairs well with the chocolate tinged Iris.

As time moves forward the scent becomes woody and nutty from the chestnut. Here it begins to get sweeter and powdery with what smells like a hint of caramel melded with the woods.

I get several hour longevity on the skin and very average projection. Within arms length for the first hour dropping to within half a arms length after. It is a scent that stays close to you.

All in all a delight!

Nice combination of woody absolutes with good proportion of amber. All infused with floral notes (lilly most of the times). In the very beginning throws decent short notes of soapy talcuum, moist cardboard and leather. Sadly, these first impression have no longevity, I would appreciate more of that, to my taste (I love soapy smelling parfums). Givenchy Gentleman Reserve Privee has no very powerful sillage (imo), predominantly giving a pleasant sensation of burned sugar smell or Oolong tea oxidizing. It has been inspired in Whisky distillering, they say. I cannot give my opinion on that, since I’m not a drinker :)

It's neither right nor wrong at the same time, to compare Givenchy EdP Reserve Privee with Dior Homme line, namely DHI as most people do. Lately a lot of houses try to make their own iris based scents in their own style. Founder of this trend is most certainly Dior, but the first successful copycat was the house Valentino with its Uomo line.

Givenchy in its approach to this trend was to make a warm, boozy iteration and interpretation of an iris dominant fragrance, unlike its obvious counterpart, namely Dior Homme which is more dry and powdery in character. Givenchy is very warm due to a well done amber note.

In some aspect, I don't really agree with the youtube hype around Givenchy, but then again I kind of understand why it happened. Givenchy Gentleman EdP Reserve Privee is a well done creation for those at the beginning of this hobby or those who aren't much interested in depth about fragrance, but simply want something good, modern and appealing.

Definitely not on my wish list, but I accept this game and I see the potential and effort made to create this flanker. They most definitely knew well what notes to use and pull out the maximum out them to conform the experienced and the inexperienced both. The "don't care crowd" that just want something nice to wear for the evening and going out in general are most certainly included.

Conclusion: (un)justified hype that bears a certain weight in the end. I have to give this one a "green light", or the thumbs up regardless of the fact that it didn't make me want to own it even the slightest bit.

Originality: 4/10
Scent: 8/10
Longevity: 9/10
Projection: 8/10
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Objectively 8/10
Subjectively 7/10

A soft, fresh, seductive, woody-iris scent, in the style of Dior Homme Intense and Valentino Uomo Intense.

For me, this is much more wearable and work-appropriate than the Dior or Valentino offerings because it doesn't project as much. I consider that a good thing as both of those can become too big and cloying at times, especially indoors or if your skin heats up. This Givenchy version is good for times when you want the DHI feel but not as loud.

Projection is decent without being loud after the opening. Lasts all day on clothes.