Reviews of Gypsy Water by Byredo

G*psy is a slur. Opre Roma!

Brands update, re-brand and reformulate all the time for many reasons. I don't think it would be out of reach for Byredo to simply rename this one. If this is a good scent, I'd never know, because I'm not going to touch it with a ten foot pole. G*psy is not my word to use, and I won't wear a frag whose name I wouldn't speak aloud. It doesn't mean free spirit, it doesn't mean wanderer, it's a slur used against a marginalized group.

I know this doesn't bother a lot of people, but whether we like it or not, our spending speaks for us. I hope people aren't buying this stuff because they explicitly don't care about the oppression and genocide of Romani and traveling folks. And if they aren't, maybe they shouldn't be buying it at all.

When I first smelled this fragrance, it immediately caught my attention. While it's not a standout scent, I still consider it one of Byredo's best offerings. However, its performance could be improved, and the high price point makes it a bit of a disappointment. Despite enjoying the scent, it's hard to justify the cost. Additionally, there are some concerns about the name of the fragrance.

I would describe this as 'pleasant'.

Everything about this is nice, nice opening, nice drydown. Does it have the 'wow' factor? I'm not too sure.

The citrus - especially bergamot - opening is bright and positive, but is not strong enough to have a really refreshing character. There is a fruity undertone that morphs into a coniferous woody drydown with a gently balsamic undertone, but without much of a raisinous component.

The base adds a vanillin note that is accompanied by a weakly ambery sideline.

I get weak sillage, poor projection and a rather suboptimal longevity of three hours, with the last hour being very close to my skin.

This summery scent is pleasant in its top notes, but only in a watery sense of a way; the rest of its development not exactly bad, but it is characterised by being generic, synthetic and diluted - as evidenced by the poor performance on my skin. 2.5/5

Light, airy citrus with creamy vanilla-amber woods. Very unisex and pleasant throughout. Smells almost commercially too good, like it's something found in hotel soaps or shampoos. The vanilla in here is muted and more floral, not gourmand. The drydown many hours in reminds me of Davidoff Silver Shadow.

Projection is adequate and longevity is decent lasting 6-8 hours.

Very nice, smooth, clean vibe. Not liking the pine note though.

Good fragrance overall I guess, just not for me.

Not something I'll be decanting or paying $200+ dollars for.

Growing up, my mother quickly realized that, for a few years at least, my perfume grasp should not extend as far as my reach. I was 11, I wanted to wear her Ma Griffe and Youth Dew. She didn't want me wearing anything. Eventually, we compromised, and I was allowed 4711 and a bit of her Jean Nate. Several years later, when I was able to spend a portion of my babysitting budget on "colognes," I gravitated toward some of what I like to think of as the citrusy/herbal-ey/woody/green greats, like Eau de Lancome, Calandre, and Eau de Givenchy.

Gypsy Water reminds me of that style, albeit with a great slug of vanilla and some incense, both of which arrive a little too soon on the scene to muddy the waters. In addition, whereas the favorites of my teen years were assertive, with the kind of heft and projection that could cut through even the thickest of girls' bathroom and college-bar cigarette smoke, Gypsy Water stays close to my skin.

While it lingers, it's interesting enough to keep me sniffing, hoping to snag and hold on to the accord of piney goodness that pokes out every now and again, but the whole thing disappears so quickly that I can't see paying full price for a bottle of something this elusive, no matter how intriguing.

I've tried the EDC version but not the EDP version, so this is in reference to the former incarnation of Byredo Gypsy Water, as it's one of a handful of offerings by the house to be offered in 50/100ml EDP bottles and 250ml EDC bottles.

To highlight the obvious, the EDC is obviously not much of a performer, but that's to be expected. I've not tried the EDP but I imagine it's a bit stronger, and better be, given the much higher cost per volume.

That said, Gypsy Water is a pleasant aquatic, a mix of citrus (lemon/bergamot), pine, and sandalwood, primarily, to my nose, though a handful of other notes are listed. I don't get any vanilla, for example. Still, it's a good blend, and I'd be curious to try the EDP to see if performance is better.

While the scent is nice, I certainly wouldn't opt to buy this, at $240 for a 250ml bottle. Far too expensive for the weak spray that it is.

7 out of 10

A nice calm fragrance. A blend of vanilla, woods and citrus notes come together in a bright, subtle and persistent trail. Not too sweet because sandalwood comes in to mellow the lemon down. No sharp edges here. It is very lovely but it is not a statement fragrance. The citrus and woods are very soft. Fresh, clean, homely, balsamic, peaceful, comfortable, delicate, discreet, inviting, slightly warm and perfectly unisex scent.

Lemony freshness then a creamy warm but not gourmand vanilla with a touch of amber on a bed of opulent woody notes of sandalwood creating a radiant, fresh and versatile aura. In fact the lime hits me first but mellows out quickly and the it just becomes sofly clean creamy scent. Not too overpowering but definitely there. Perfect for days that are growing cooler and shorter. All of the notes blend together pretty well. If you are looking for a nice soft not so in your face vanilla citrus that is just enough to obtain a swoon, you are exactly at the right place.

Here's Byredo attempting to pull a Guerlain, with predictably laughable results. The bright and coniferous opening engages the nose before segueing to a light peppery orris and incense. Nice! It projects well too.

What a good start, or so I thought.

Unfortunately the party was soon gatecrashed by a lumbering ambery-vanillic accord that overstayed its welcome and just about overwhelmed everything save for the persistent incense.

If you enjoy vanillic insense scents as much as I do this is probably middle of the pack, some ways behind Atelier who did a far superior job with their Insensee Vanille.

I'm not impressed. This smells watered down, diluted almoust gone offish as if the bottle had been sitting on a dusty shelf without the cap on.
Maybe it's more suitable when the weather get's warmer?
The juxtaposition between the"freshness" and the sweet warmth from sandalwood and vanilla is not cutting it for me. I miss nuances and depht.
If you do enjoy Gypsy Water I strongly suggest that you try the perfumer Jerome Epinettes Bonbon Tree at & Other Stories. I'm wearing Gypsy Water on one wrist and Bonbon Tree on the other and in my humble opinion it's basically the same scent by the same perfumer but to a much more appropriate price tag at & Other Stories. Gypsy Water just don't have that luxe , exklusive, expensive feel to it as with perfumes from Hermes or Lutens that imidiatly makes me feel special and exhilarated.
There is of corse nothing to complain about projection and longivity in this case when I just want to scrub it off...

First off, I love the name. This comes in both EdP and EdC concentrations and my review is of the EdP.

It begins both lemony and coniferous. The lemon is sweet. The only other pine/lemon concoction I have worn is Blenheim Bouquet, but this comes off rather opposite, with none of the austerity of the Penhaligons offering. The pine gives way to vanilla and this comes across lemony dessert. Pleasant, but perhaps a touch too sweet. Is this the stuff of Gypsies? I have no idea.

Very pricey but a good perfume if you like incense - which I do. I would probably stick to buying the Gypsy Water Hair Perfume in future though if I wanted to play with this again as Tauer's LDDM - the ultimate Haute Hippie experience - really fulfils my incense needs.

A nice citrus and vanilla warm weather fragrance that stays close to the skin. Very nice. The pine and amber play a nice role in this one. Pricey fragrance for the amount of mls. 7.5/10

A chemical vanilla rendered sheer through the use of green synthetics. There's a fruity aspect to it, and there's something coniferous, but the truth is this scent is so light and so generic-smelling that it's difficult to get a good “read” on what it's supposed to be. I'm all for a diaphanous skin-scent – the kind of auratic glow that's perfect for days when you don't feel like wearing much of anything – but this doesn't cut it. It smells like someone combined a bunch of anonymous mall samples, diluted the result down to about 5%, then cut it with ethyl vanillin. It does “barely there” fairly well, but what's “barely there” is redundant and it lasts way too long for something this tepid.

Eww.

A strident citrusy / vanilla combo on top joined by earthy / orris-y notes. It evolves into a piney / incensey thing with a super-cloying vanilla bone structure. A strong deja-vu vibe pervades the fragrance throughout while I can't help from thinking that if they just tamed that vanilla down, this could have probably been much nicer.

No.

Gypsy Water smells like lemon Hostess cupcakes tempered by a dose of dry woods. It's in the same ballpark as Diptyque's Eau Duelle and Liquid Night by A Lab on Fire (citrus/vanilla/woods dominant fragrances). Gypsy Water, however, opens with more of an edible, gourmand quality as there's something of a sweet baked bread note to it. As it develops, it takes on a cardboard accord which does a nice job of tempering the sweetness, adding masculinity to the scent, and making it a bit drier overall. I like Gypsy Water and think its a well-made fragrance, but since I already own a bottle of Eau Duelle and prefer Liquid Night's innovative use of Hinoki wood, I will not be purchasing this. However, had I smelled this on its own without experiencing the others first, I would definitely consider buying it as its a very nice scent--relaxed, easy to wear, and just a bit sensual. A solid, casually styled offering from the house of Byredo.

Warmth by soon
The combination of aromatic herbs as rosemary (may be others) and berries from the forests as juniper berries or pine needles (joined with dry elements as cedarwood, incense, bergamot, pepper and tart citrus) conjures me initially in perception the olfactory classicism unfolding from some notorious aromatic chypre or citrus aromatic from il Profvmo (Imprinting), Dyptique, Loewe (vaguely 7) or Penhaligon's (Blenheim Bouquet for instance); it actually happens for a short while (with the base notes immediately emerging), just till when a "gypsy twist" comes to be instilled in the aroma by an amber/vanilla denser fluid able to attenuate the initial classic aromatic tartness and bringing out a more rounded woody/vanilla heavy embrace. The "balsams' intervention" is actually too much marked since the beginning and it obstructs a full aromatic performance from the woodsy/tart notes (by soon enveloped in a warm embrace frustrating the citric/aromatic effects). In the average, anything to add.
Pros: Incensey/woodsy aftertaste
Cons: I'd have preferred less amber-vanilla"

Vanilla notes always stand up with that one, even, it is very reminiscent of Dyptique's Eau Duelle.

Nice fragrance but imo never full bottle worthy while Eau Duelle is around.

Them gypsies sure ate a load of celery before they made water.

I bought this because I thought it would be awesome. I wish I got the same experience as a lot of reviewers but I didn't. This is what I got from Gypsy Water: a ridiculously cheap white musk with its usually imperceptible cloying aspect amplified here to the 10th power and flowers growing from toxic waste lands joining in to sing a song of self conscious terror called Gypsy Water. I don't know why I thought it would smell differently on me than in the bottle. The bottle sure whispers what is to come.

Similar to Serge Lutens Douce Amere, although I prefer SL - has very little staying power.

A lightly peppered blend of pine needles and incense, supported by a warm creamy base. The opening is a blend of pepper, and a fairly robust lemon note. Within minutes, the emerging pine needles presence ensures that things become significantly tighter. The resulting accord is warm, amiable, but still decidedly peppery. A juniper and incense accord ushers in a slightly bitter,but rich middle phase. As Gyspy Water dries down,it loses its edge, and becomes a much softer and sweeter production. The amber,vanilla and sandalwood base supplies the smooth and creamy finish, but it is only moderately pleasing – it lacks the potency and quality to a be a fitting finale. As has been the case with nearly all the Byredo products, it is hampered by poor projection and longevity, but the early phases are quite engaging.

Of all the Byredo fragrances, this is by far my favorite. I agree the vanilla notes stand out the most, but on me it wears a little differently than other friends i know who wear it.