Givenchy III 
Givenchy (1970)

I have the newest (post-Mythiques) bottle. I can't really remember what Les Mythiques collection smelled like - but everything appears present, as expected with today's restrictions.

Bright, biting green, followed by a nice green-rose heart, with some mossy notes and probably patchouli. I just read that IFF gets their oakmoss oil from lichen...I thought that was interesting.

Anyway, if you're worried about quality, don't be. If you expect what you could buy in the 80s? Nah, go to eBay. I happen to really like what they've done here and commend them for still selling this and keeping the quality high. Lovely, and my personal fav amongst green chypres.

My wife is a lover of Chypre fragrances starting with Crepe de Chine and followed by the modern Givenchy III since Crepe de Chine was discontinued in the 70s. It is a very elegant fragrance and it complements most personalities. The top aldehydes and Galbanum notes enhance the florals and persists through the life of the scent the base notes also enhance the total elegance on the skin. The gardenia note borrowed from the Crepe de Chine gives the perfume evolution to modern times. At the time Chypre was a niche perfume much more wearable than the original Chypre by Coty. Very hard to imitate without a GC but not impossible to come close by "nose" alone. I think it can be worn by male or female but it favors the latter.

If you were Vintage Givenchy lll, you've lived life, you know what you want and you like luxury. You appreciate fine wines and champagne and you know your self worth. You realise the difference between class and what's in fashion. Your older sister was Paloma Picaso, your doughter was Aromatics Elixir whom was a less refined, shyer and more diluted version of yourself. This is a real woman's fragrance. This is not a girly scent. This is not universally appealing. It's definitely something for a more mature audience or an audience with more experience with fragrances. Night enhances and amplifies the undisputed qualities of this great seducer. Feels like warm hug and incredibly sexy at the same time.

From a distance it smells really crisp and fresh, then aldehydic with peppery carnations and a hint of rose through soapy oakmoss and woods, The effect is very cold, sharp, and classy. This woody, earthy mixture reminds me of Joan Collins with her elegance and classy lookness. Finally i don't get any flowers on me, just green bitter powder. In fact it lays on heavy in the opening, it does smooth out into elegant, ripples, while still retaining this opulent, rich cloud for some time. It radiates an aura of it's own uniqueness, of joy and sensuality. Performance and projection are great as well.

I woke up not feeling quite myself, a bit of headache, some doldrums due to unseasonably wintry temperatures. Of course, some fragrance might be the solution, and I applied Givenchy III and went outside. It's hopeful greenness cut through the cold air, lending some reassurance in spite of drooping jonquils that I pass by. The sun felt just a little bit warmer.

The galbanum reminds me that no sooner than this chill passes will the grass grow green and full, the lift of sparkling aldehydes almost whispers "chin up, look on the bright side," and a little peach fuzz nuzzles playfully. I walked past as yet to bloom hyacinths braving the bitter winds, buds clasped as if praying for warmth as I suggestions of their scent mingle on my skin with narcissus with their coronas raised high, unliked the poor droopy fellas bruised and forlorn on their lawns.

The fertile greenness is contrasted by a earthy, shadowy orris, and while being orris it is not cold at all, not cold like this unforgiving air; it too, is the embodiment of spring, it could be maternal or paternal, depending upon the wearer, but it is a loving parent in this composition, familiar, wise, and forgiving. A classic green chypre dry down, woody and resinous, evokes soft shades of pewter, clay, beige. Although there is some time before they sing their haunting song, I imagine hearing a hermit thrush high up in a tree.

Thank you, Givenchy III, for your promise of spring.

It seems to me that the original Givenchy III, like many old chypres, was designed to go with tweed skirts and tailoring. But when it was reformulated, it turned into something more like a suave modern accessory to the roll neck sweater.

This new version is a silky green chypre with a direct straight-through cast, giving it a modern fairly minimal feel. There are florals, but they're pale and discrete, and it's sweet - but also dry. The main sense of G III is a silky floral greenness with a finely blended chypre that stays in the background. Very nice.

But this is a green chypre, and the synthetic green notes tend to break through in the end, upsetting the balance of a hitherto lovely work.

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Judging by the bemused reaction of the Givenchy SA when I told her 'No, don't gift wrap it thanks, I'm going to wear it myself', it would seem that LVMH (or at least their people) had no inkling of what had happened to G III - which had transformed under their noses from green Old Girl to Unisex Chic.