Givenchy
Givenchy
32.4k votes
Best for
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bergamot strikes first with pear lending a juicy, almost aqueous brightness, but orange blossom is already stirring beneath—its indolic edge hinting at what's coming. This introductory phase feels deliberately fleeting, a polite knock before the door swings wide. Within minutes, the white florals begin their insistent climb.
Tuberose and jasmine sambac take centre stage in full, unapologetic bloom, but the earthiness is already anchoring them—patchouli wrapping around those white petals like dark soil around roots. The florals feel dense, substantial, almost buttery in their richness, whilst the vetiver adds a dry, slightly smoky counterpoint. This phase is the fragrance at its most assertive, projecting with confidence but never crossing into cloying territory.
The white florals recede into a soft-focus memory whilst vanilla and ambroxan create a warm, skin-like sweetness with surprising depth. Patchouli remains present as an earthy whisper, preventing the base from becoming too confectionery, whilst a fine powder settles over everything like expensive talc. What's left is intimate, woody-ambery, the kind of scent that makes people lean closer.
L'Interdit is a white floral with backbone—the kind that wears black silk to breakfast and doesn't apologise for taking up space. Ropion, Flipo, and Bal have constructed something that feels both classically Parisian and defiantly modern: tuberose and jasmine sambac bloom against an unexpectedly earthy framework of patchouli and vetiver, creating a tension between prim white petals and darker, soil-under-the-fingernails rawness. The bergamot and pear opening is brief but effective, a citrus-fruit flourish that quickly gives way to the fragrance's true character. What makes this compelling is how the tuberose—typically either aggressively creamy or camphorously green—splits the difference, rendered substantial but not suffocating by that earthy base. The vanilla and ambroxan in the dry down don't sweeten so much as soften the edges, a gauzy amber haze that keeps the white florals from shrieking. There's powder here too, the kind that suggests face powder rather than laundry, adding a vintage sensibility without tipping into museum piece territory. This is for someone who understands that femininity needn't be dainty, who appreciates florals but gets bored by the prissy ones. It's evening-weighted but not exclusive to darkness—a woman wearing this to an afternoon gallery opening is making a statement. The sillage is assertive without being aggressive; people will notice, but you control the narrative. It lingers impressively, that earthy-sweet skin scent clinging well into the next day.
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3.9/5 (20.3k)