Giorgio for Men

Giorgio Beverly Hills for Men, Oh boy where do I begin... I am reviewing the modern formulation by Elizabeth Arden from 2023 made in Spain. It was 14 (!) euros at the time for a 118ml, and here is my review: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Giorgio is a patchouli fragrance through and through and brings some of the best smelling patchouli of any fragrance: a shock really, for its ridiculously low price. Giorgio starts off with a strong blast of aldehydes that pierces your nostrills (and that scared me away at first), followed by some orange liqueur note. In some ways, Giorgio is similar to Lagerfeld Classic (1978) in that they both have this aldehydic opening and powdery, soapy mid. When Giorgio's soapiness wears off, the patchouli and rose enter the stage. The rose in this is masculine and stately, like a wellbehaved English gentleman, and this stately rose stays for a while as the patchouli deepens and darkens. When the patchouli deepens, it becomes more earthy and bitter and dirty. The sweetness of the honey in the mid helps to lift up some of the earthiest patchouli known to man, and keeps it from obscuring the other notes in the fragrance, such as the cinnamon and sandalwood, which give it a nice creamy and spicy twist. Finally, a softness is brought forward by the vanilla and musk, supplying some romance to a scent that is otherwise too sctrict. In combination with the vanilla, some of the cocoa-like facets of the patchouli shine through. For me, Giorgio is pretty strong. Especially in the heart this really projects. On my wrist I get a good 8 hours worth of longevity. Overall I couldn't say this DNA is very unique, it's been done before in the likes of Givenchy Gentleman. But whereas GG can be a bit sober and stiff at times, Giorgio's scent profile is given a real boost by the inclusion of the aldehydes and orange. If GG is a businessman, GBH is a businessman who has popped an oxycodone at lunch and is dancing on the desk. GBH doesn't take itself so seriously. It knows when to take the tie off and open a couple of buttons on its dress shirt. I think this is where GBH's true power lies, in its situational versatility. It can be worn formal and informal, all year round. It lasts a very long time and smells pretty high quality for its price point (if you can get past its opening). To understand Giorgio Beverly Hills, you need to take a sniff at some female fragrances of the 1920's, such as Chanel's Number 5 and Lanvin's Arpege. I don't believe anyone has made this comparison yet but GBH reminds me of this style of fragrance, it really does. It is actually floral enough to be leaning unisex, and it is much less burly chest-haired macho man than people on here claim it is. For me, Giorgio Beverly Hills is the perfect signature fragrance, it is: -Cheap as can be -Long lasting -Smells great, both in the air and on the skin -Projects enough throughout the day -It is a nice balance between a clean fresh and earthy warm fragrance -It is classic and refined, but not stuffy or boring -It is unique enough so that not many other men wear it -It comes in a beautiful and big apothecary bottle that looks nice on the shelf For me this is my all time signature scent and I find myself grabbing this almost every day. I'm so grateful this fragrance was re-issued in the 90s after being discontinued for a while so that we can get to enjoy it. rating: 9/10 It really is that good. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When browsing this entry for GBH on this site, I found several reviews mentioning how this scent was butchered by EA and is nothing like what they had in the 80's. I however, found it hard to believe how this could have been much stronger, so as a fun experiment, I bought a miniature from its original production run by Giorgio Beverly Hills Fragrances, just to adress the reviewers that mention this being weak and see if they are onto something. It has a dark yellow/ amber coloured juice. To me the vintage is a little greener, it is certainly less sweet. The sweetness it does have, comes from the honey, which is a little more animalic in this, as there is almost no vanilla in the vintage. In the old miniature, I smell more oakmoss than in the current formulation, where they made up for the difference by bumping up the patchouli. Overall I wouldn't say the vintage is much stronger or better, sillage wise it was actually worse but it does last a little longer. I personally wouldn't buy a full bottle of the vintage stuff, especially since you can get about 8 modern bottles for the price of one vintage one. The scent is very similar, but there certainly are little differences. Don't be afraid of the EA reformulation. If a "perfect" reformulation is Guerlain's Mitsouko, done by the in house perfumer Thierry Wasser, EA's GBH is an 8/10. There are differences, but they don't take away from the essence of the fragrance. I think part of this formulation's timelessness is accidental: in that some of its "characteristic" aspects never really came from ingredients that have now been banned, such as castoreum or civet. Even with the ban on oakmoss, GBH has likely always been a more patchouli-forward fragrance, and so it wasn't affected by this too much.

UPDATE: Recently put this on a couple times and this shit is nuclear, can't imagine what the old/original batches were like but this is super potent. Lasts for DAYS on clothes and just keep projecting hard all the day, so much so that it gave me olfactory fatigue and I decided to wash the shirt. Please be mindful of how much you spray, I reckon max 3 sprays would be enough to torture everyone around you. If the word “Barbershop” had a signature perfume, it would be Giorgio Beverly Hills! I never had the vintage batch and I admit I am a millennial who recently got hooked onto fragrances, so my review is on the new bottles that you get on the market. As mentioned, for me it is a through and through barbershop-esque fragrance (in a good way) which I am sure you MUST have smelt before in your life as I do not think anyone would be surprised with aroma at all. Maybe challenged for the lack of “new” notes which you find in most perfumes nowadays. I got this for EUR 15 which is an absolute steal for the quality of perfume you get. It is very manly and unapologetically masculine at that so you may want to ensure if you wish to come across as “that guy” in any scenario. It opens up with a zesty-sweetish and slight earthy combo which is almost “fresh-ish” on the nose. Not so long after, the mid notes start to shine and you get a prominent patchouli – oakmoss aroma with honeyed sweetness surrounding it. I am not an expect so its not very obvious for my nose to detect the other notes mentioned but you can subtly make out the hints as they twinkle in the background. The dry-down is sheer domination of patchouli-oakmoss-honey notes radiating throughout but you get the gist of musk and tonka and amber at times (I cannot detect vanilla whatsoever). All in all the notes listed are quite true and the scent does evolve to an extent through all phases but it does manage to stay “clean” and “fresh-ish” with an earthy-sweetness to it. I can see myself wearing this during day-time in spring and summer but I personally would prefer a salty/oceanic/aquatic for the high heats or a more dressed-up freshie for nights; anyhow, this is quite a versatile perfume and you can wear it most times of the year. I could not wait to write this review because this is such an underrated gem which no one is talking about in the midst of all the typical stuff, so the notes may develop more after my maceration and the performance might not give the best idea. However, in my couple of usages indoors, the performance seems to be impressive as it lasted solid 8 hours on skin and 24+ hours on t-shirt. The projection was noticeable for the first 2-3 hours and I cannot really comment on sillage at this stage, will update it later. The presentation is okay I guess, as the packaging has an interesting colour scheme playing but the bottle and cap itself is quite cheap, which may be justifiable for the price. But with brands like Lattafa/Afnan giving that ridiculous presentation at almost equal price, I will stand by my criticism in this regard. This stuff is a MUST BUY for any guy looking for a cheap yet high quality high performance clean manly fragrance! Worth every cent.

***Update from 6/9/25*** So I usually ALWAYS come back to give "Updates" to many of my reviews regarding "Maturation/Maceration" bc I think its so awesome how much most of these Classic fragrances really do change after having introduced air into the bottle and just letting them chill in a cool dark place for a couple months or so (Sorta obsessed with the process tbh😁) Now as far as Giorgio Beverly Hills for men, its become SOOOO fantastic after having it since June/2025! When Id (initially) opened and sprayed it, I was pretty unimpressed, but noticed how it was changing the longer it was on my skin just that first night! After about a week the fragrance got WAY better and longer-lasting and developed a slight powdery accord which really suited this super gentlemanly yet somewhat casual dna. Well now after having sprayed some on and it being my SOTD yesterday since last using it a bout 3 months ago, its gotten EVEN MORE rich, dense and freakin' GORGEOUS which I was NOT expecting since I thought it had reached its peak after using it those first three months! Now Its become even more powdery which I feel really filled in some gaps that I feel it was initially missing those first few months of using it. Longevity/Sillage has also improved quite a bit. Honestly, they've done a STELLAR job at trying to keep Giorgio Beverly Hills as close as possible to the original dna as they could. So fellas (or ladies) if you enjoy your classic, gentlemanly, slightly powdery-patchouli-Centric fragrances, YOU'VE GOTTA DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and grab a bottle of this Juice! ESPECIALLY for around $20 its an INSANELYgood deal! Again, dont be overly concerned about the performance bc its still a very good performer lasting 7 to 8 hours on skin and DAYS on clothes, and also dont be afraid of the Aldehydes bc although I suppose the note is noticable, its just NOT a key player here (imo.) Whereas I'd given this fragrance an 8 before, its become a 9 outta 10 (In my Cheapies/Classics bracket), and I RARELY go over an 8 for most fragrances unless Im super impressed with the scent/performance of said fragrance. So if anyone reading this is into "Classic/Gentlemanly fragrances", just get a bottle yall! It is AAALLL GOOD!🫠 Thanks to whomever took the time to read my thoughts on this Timeless Classic GEM!! Blessings to ALL!

My full bottle finally arrived today! And what a surprise it turned out to be. Not what I expected. Better! Totally disgusted with new (and recent) releases from big name designer houses, I decided to switch gears and look at some of the older classics at a much reduced price (I'm the king of the cheapies). Giorgio for Men. Yes! I remember the bottle and the name, but never had the pleasure of being introduced. Nice reviews as well. The words, bomb, powerhouse, monster, sillage, long-lasting kept coming up and I simply had to get a bottle...blind buy of course. No time to test and ponder the results. And for under $20, I wasn't going to go to the poor-house if I was disappointed. Well, I was more than pleasantly surprised on many counts. Opens with a citrus blast (bergamot and orange) but dissapates in seconds to leave behind a beautiful yet somewhat crude patchouli note polished to a perfect softness with what I would imagine is honey and moss. Outstanding! It's not the patchouli 'bomb' that I was expecting, but rather more of a prominent patchouli note that proved to be quite acceptable versus the hippie note that always comes to mind when I hear the word 'patchouli'. It's been three hours since first applying and I notice that I'm still wearing a fragrance...and for me that's victory! Nothing...and I mean NOTHING lasts this long on my fragrance eating skin. What a find! Looking forward to the complete drydown as the evening wears on. Think I've hit the mother lode. I can see this being worn for both casual and formal wear but only in crisp cool (cold?) weather. Although several here have mentioned that this is a wearable scent in the summer, I think I'd pass and reserve this for temps below 50*F. Reminds me somewhat of Habit Rouge sans the heavy rose note but more masculine. Probably not for the under 30 crowd, but hey, I wouldn't think of discouraging those younger fellows from giving this a workout. If this juice was released by a niche house I could see this commanding prices upwards of $200! Two thumbs up!

Hi ilsagold, Zino and Giorgio Beverly Hills are very different fragrance profiles... Giorgio opens up with a bright mix of sweet resins and sunny citrus, all on the back of a massive honey note. There is indeed a plentiful dose of patchouli in the base, but it is supported by oakmoss and is, on the whole, a 'greener' experience of patchouli than you'll find in Zino. Giorgio is for the bon vivant (it's very easy to picture its origins in Southern California), and is radiant, loud and just a little dirty. Colourwise, Giorgio is, much like its presentation, a slightly gaudy greenish-gold. This is a fun fragrance with some solid old-school construction. Its chypre-esque Mediterranean vibe helps lift it out of 80's powerhouse nostalgia territory into something more wearable than you'd think, IMO. I gave my bottle to my son and notice that the sillage is really pleasant on him. Zino has more gravitas... The patchouli here really rests at the centre of the composition. Lavender, rosewood and a touch of amber to give it dimension, but the whole fragrance is a sort of essay on dirty-dirt patchouli, with the ghost of a fresh cigar humidor adding amiable smoothness to its worldly depths. This is a 'reddish-brown' composition, if that makes any sense, dark-toned and earthy, but with a hint of malty, vanilla sweetness. It feels old school, but is interesting enough today to still be very wearable... in a way, its focus on a singular experience of patchouli means it has something in common with many niche fragrances that explore one conceptual accord, as some have noted in their reviews of Zino on Fragrantica. Anyway, I think both are, for reformulated classics, worth what you can get them for on the secondary market for sure, especially if you are interested in something different. Neither of these fragrances feels generic or two-dimensional. Good luck!