L'Interdit Angélique Rouge Givenchy 2025

Admittedly, I almost ordered this fragrance blindly because it seemed to combine two of my absolute favorite scents, Angélique Noire and "L'Interdit (Eau de Parfum Rouge) | Givenchy."

But those who fly high, fall hard - and unfortunately, that was also the case with my expectations vs reality.

The top note of L'Interdit Angélique Rouge strongly reminds me of the EdP.
I don't know what prickly pear smells like, but to me, it smells like a very dominant pear. Very, very faintly, I get a bit of ginger, which rather amplifies the fruitiness; the spiciness of the angelica seeds is completely unnoticeable to me.
How can that be, when it is the namesake of this flanker?

After 10 minutes, it becomes more floral and sweeter, the tuberose hits hard. Unfortunately, it’s the kind of tuberose that does not charmingly seduce, wink, and giggle, but rather a shrill, loud screamer. I am reminded of one of the Scandal series, it could be "Scandal by Night | Jean Paul Gaultier," which I associate with a very similar dominant tuberose.

As it progresses, finally some herbal, balsamic note comes in, similar to an essential oil, which clears the nose nicely and takes the loud sweetness down a notch (really just a notch). A large portion of angelica (seed or root, it doesn't matter) would have worked so well here!! But the angelica seems to only be a namesake on paper.

I think the herbal note in the base is simply the vetiver-patchouli mix, which is somehow trying to capture the full force of the white florals. With moderate success, the tuberose and a somewhat prickly, synthetic note remain until the end, when the fragrance becomes very close to the skin after 4 hours.

Hmm, I really had high hopes and am a bit disappointed.

The similarity to L'Interdit Eau de Parfum Rouge is absolutely unclear to me; in my opinion, it is definitely closer to the classic l’interdit edp or edt. Bright and radiant, perhaps a bit shrill, and the handful of angelica doesn’t help anymore.

The Rouge, on the other hand, is so much softer, richer, warmer, and has a vanilla patchouli base that is simply to die for.

So as a flanker to the EdP, this one can hold its own, but you really don’t get much new.

Nevertheless, it’s definitely worth a test because the l’interdits are generally well made, and noses are known to work differently!