7
Very helpful Review
Galbanum, Glorious Galbanum!
Galbanum glorious galbanum! GIVENCHY III is one of a cluster of 1970s-era floral-chypre perfumes with a classic structure and line-up of notes. The scrumptious galbanum is green and waxy and chewy and just sharp enough. The oakmoss offers a gray and slightly dirty contrast. The iris, rose, and narcissus keep the whole composition from being too dark and depressing. This is an utterly beautiful creation. Perfumes such as GIVENCHY III are the ones which keep me a believer in perfumery as an art, not just another luxury business or crass mass-market cash cow.
What I'm not sure about is whether GIVENCHY III is better than the other floral chypres of this type launched about the same time. I love them all! I am testing the vintage GIVENCHY III and have no idea how the reformulation came out, though I'm not all that optimistic. Of course, Lancome did a great job with its collection of reissued classic chypres, so let us hope that Givenchy followed their example and not Guerlain's...
What I'm not sure about is whether GIVENCHY III is better than the other floral chypres of this type launched about the same time. I love them all! I am testing the vintage GIVENCHY III and have no idea how the reformulation came out, though I'm not all that optimistic. Of course, Lancome did a great job with its collection of reissued classic chypres, so let us hope that Givenchy followed their example and not Guerlain's...