Gentleman Givenchy Réserve Privée Givenchy 2022

Gentleman Reserve Privee is, for me, alongside YSL Babycat, the best release in the designer sector this year. Admittedly, it sat around with my other decants for a while, living in the shadows. I even considered giving it away as a gift with another perfume order when I was shocked to realize that I hadn't tested it yet. However, the very next day, it accompanied me throughout the day. What can I say? It was love at first sniff, which has been a long time coming since I have been passionately pursuing my love for perfume and only managed to find that with Creed's Viking so far. I had already owned the original Gentleman in the black bottle, but after a few tests, I had to let it go; it was simply too powdery for me. The flanker does this better. In the opening, you are greeted by this powderiness, which comes across as finer here, thanks to the very subtle and delicate citrus from the bergamot and the sweet whisky. You can also detect a certain nuttiness. For me, this top note is truly a 10 out of 10. This composition of various nuances lasts for the first 20 minutes. The citrus then completely disappears, and the powderiness takes over, but not at the level of the original. For some reason, a vanilla component now comes into play, paired with chocolate. I honestly have no idea how this interplay comes about, but it is magnificent. The whisky note, which makes the scent slightly boozy, unfortunately disappears after about half an hour. What remains is the conglomerate of powderiness, vanilla, and chocolate, which is truly beautifully dreamy and stays that way for the next six hours. After that, Gentleman Reserve Privee undergoes another development. The powderiness recedes again, and alongside it, a very slight dirty note emerges, probably the patchouli, as well as the vetiver and a woody component. After about 8 hours, the scent is close to the skin, and what remains is the interplay of patchouli, vetiver, and cedarwood. At the beginning, a perception by others is guaranteed, even beyond an arm's length. The sillage is also impressive. The longevity is decent at around 10 hours. After the test, I felt a strong desire to call the scent along with its bottle my own, and I no longer want to miss it.