Le De 
Givenchy (1957)

Long before the days of Y, Givenchy III, and No19 there was Le De, a green muguet chypre with a sour aspect, hardened by rosewood, and paradoxically softened by powder.
There’s a rosy bouquet in the back – just to show it has a heart after all, but, like those others who followed her on, this is one tough cookie. Not exactly the haughty grande dame, more of a spinsterish librarian – shushing as you whisper to your colleague, and tut tutting if you rustle a bag of mints.
This was the late fifties, and long before the Swinging Sixties – so no letting your hair down; the style was -tight waist and conical skirt four foot wide- and stockings of course, blue ones probably. Basically Dior’s New Look, which was -new- ten years before this...
Vintage LeDe is a bit like vintage Ma Griffe - which was meant for teenagers - and who has now matured into a grown woman.
This is the total opposite of those sticky fruchouli’s you smell in the subway, and all power to it.

I have never (with one exception) disliked a Givenchy scent. Indeed three of them (Ysatis, Vetyver and III) are at the center of my scent tray.

Le De is a new one for me. I am sampling the original formula. At first I detected iris and then the heart of jasmine and ylang settled in. It is very very light, but quite sophisticated and dry. I would imagine it would be a perfect summer scent and since it is so close to the skin, an appropriate choice for professional wear.

An odd note. A number of the eight reviews here refer to the violet center. However, Le De has no violet in it. I believe these reviewers are (understandably) confusing it with the 1947 Balenciaga Le Dix, which is one of the greatest violets ever created.

Very nice and recommended.

Genre: Floral

Another grand revival from Givenchy! Le De shares a superb green herbaceous accord with Givenchy III, but where Givenchy III is moist and loamy, Le De is elegantly floral. Jasmine and ylang-ylang are the star players at Le De's floral heart. These notes can become garish or bombastic in the wrong hands, but here both are presented in such balance and moderation as to squelch any concern. Le De is one of those scents where everything seems to fall perfectly in place. The floral notes are just indolic enough to tantalize, the incense is just dry enough to ground them, and the woody basenotes are just dense enough to lend the whole thing substance without weighing it down.

As a cool, indolic floral fragrance Le De has points in common with Dominique Ropion's Une Fleur de Cassie for Frederic Malle, but where the Malle goes gloriously over the top with the fetid indoles, Le De maintains delicately classical proportions. If Une Fleur de Cassie is the breath of a seductively beautiful animal, Le De is the breeze off of a sunlit garden terrace. Like so much else about Le De, the power and sillage seem perfectly judged to please without intruding, and while at four to six hours endurance it's not the longest-lasting fragrance of its type, its longevity is more than adequate. Lovely, really, just lovely.

One of my treasures is a samll vintage bottle of Le De parfum. Although I am not much of a violet fan, this one is lovely!