Gentlemen Only Givenchy 2013 Eau de Toilette

The question of why I associate Gentleman Only with rainy days is like the question of the egg or the chicken: I no longer remember whether I first smelled the fragrance or saw the advertisement featuring Simon Baker, where he (very much the gentleman) offers his umbrella to a lady in pouring rain. The association has definitely made a lasting impression - Gentlemen Only is my fragrance for rainy, gray days. The woody, slightly spicy aroma makes the composition quite masculine, yet it is very gentle and for me a true mood lifter on gray days.

Last summer, I experienced an absolute rainy day in London. In the morning, on my way to my then workplace, in a suit, wearing Terre d'Hermès - and torrents of rain from above. Near St. Paul's, the rain suddenly lightened and the sun broke through the clouds with a few rays. At the same time, a construction company's vehicle was playing a slow song from the 40s or 50s, filling the street with sound. A scene one would imagine in a black-and-white film. The song and the sound of raindrops on the umbrella were at that moment the only things my ears perceived. This calm made me serene - in that brief moment, the weather was not bad, but rather very pleasant. I wished I had been wearing Gentlemen Only - there couldn't have been a more fitting fragrance for that day.

Whenever I pull out and apply Gentlemen Only now in bad weather, it always brings back the memory of that rainy day in London - of the wonderful city, the tranquility, the serenity...