Gentleman Original 2024

As the name suggests this stuff is best suited to the gentleman. However, this is no ordinary gentleman. This isn’t about suits, ties or meetings. This isn’t about nice cars, fancy dinners or any such luxuries. This isn’t about manners or the way one interacts with others. No. Being a gentleman is so much more than all of this. A true gentleman is not born, but built through grit and perseverance. A gentleman may not have always been successful, but through blood, sweat & tears has managed to accomplish his dream. A gentleman may not have always been strong but through understanding the absolute necessity of being strong & protecting those around him, has built a body of stone as if carved by hammer and chisel. A gentleman may not have always been so calm & composed, but through taking on the troubles of life, he now emerges out the other side self assured, content, stoic & mature. A gentleman may now know just how to treat a woman, but it was not always this way. Many years of mistakes, regret, heartbreak & growing are to be attributed to his polished charisma. One cannot simply just be a gentleman. One must become a gentleman. The journey of a lifetime.. ..and at whatever point you may be along this journey, Givenchy Gentlemen will never be the wrong choice. Wearing this fragrance you either are or are becoming the man you are meant to be. Rich, earthy patchouli blended together with animalic leather along with dashes of cinnamon and vetiver is what I get from my bottle. Simple yet complex smelling. Clean & soapy yet dank & dirty. Bold & assertive yet polite & easygoing. Tough & manly yet sweet & inviting. If charisma had a smell, this would be it. If anything above resonates with you, you can say hello to your new signiture scent. Enjoy.

The most challenging opening, but the most rewarding drydown. It's a perfect fragrance for formal occasions, but I love it so much that I wear it with jeans and a T-shirt as well. I don't care. I think it features one of the best-blended patchouli notes in any niche or designer fragrance I've tried, and the emergence of that "zero-sugar honey" accord (as someone once described it) in the drydown is simply beautiful. To my nose, there's a subtle freshness and herbal character in the fragrance, with leathery vetiver providing support in the background. Overall, it dries down to a high-quality, classic retro soapy fragrance (in the best possible way). It is less earthy and animalic than Chanel Antaeus (another perfect fragrance, in my opinion), which makes it more of a dressed-up scent. I mainly get the earthiness from the tarragon-heavy opening. I bet many men who try this in the store don't even wait for the drydown and just scrub it off. Big mistake.

I just got my bottle of Givenchy Gentleman Originale, and wow, it took me back to my childhood (of course I didn't wear it back then, but several adults in my family did, and it smells just like I remember!). It's very masculine, very elegant, and definitely classy. Big love from me and super happy to have found this long lost "friend".

@morgoth01. Yes the civet note is still there...I honestly could not tell the difference between the vintage and the new 2024 formula. The only difference and it’s so slight is the original has a more animatic musky smell. I have both.

I compared the vintage 1974 Gentleman with the new 2024 (original) version and they smell exactly the same. So don’t spend crazy money on eBay looking for the original formula.

What the hell is "Russian Leather" and how different is it from just "Leather"??? 😧

Magnificent, classy, elegant and dignified.

Well I have purchased a new bottle to replace my old 2012 bottle and I'm glad to see the wrap around silver sticker from the vintage era has returned. Looks cool! The fragrance still retains the patchouli and honey magic with hints of leather and woods. But it is much much lighter and aromatic, it performs like a eau de cologne. Now this is good in that the scent is more wearable, my old bottle was very potent and hard to wear. You smelled like you just walked out of a new age shop that had patchouli joss sticks burning. But on the other hand performance in comparison is lacking both in longevity and projection. But not terribly so, the scent fits the time we are living in. Most scents nowadays have been greatly reduced in performance due to regulations. The leather and vetiver mix is great with the honey/Patchouli. But the civet has been totally removed, even in my old bottle there was a hint in the basenotes. Overall the question is do you get value for money if you love this fragrance. As the fragrance can be had for a affordable amount at discounters and it still retains that Patchouli magic for me the answer is yes.

I'm told this is in the vein of Hermès Bel Ami and Chanel Antaeus. For this particular release, if you're interesting in trying it you need the 2024 'originale' which is a throwback formulation, not the 2017 version with powdery iris, pear, and cardamom. It opens with an animalic and dry woody tarragon with light cinnamon. The heart is a massive patchouli bomb backed by smoky vetiver. The base settles into a heavily masculine birch and leather, but it's smooth and somehow soapy. This is a rugged and unapologetic throwback. When I was 5 minutes in I was trying to process if I loved it or hated it. I was getting strong Versace L'homme hints which wasn't for me, but there's also hints of Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui, Aramis, and Kouros in it, which I love. After the tarragon dials back and the spiced patchouli / vetiver come forward it gets a lot better. By the time you get the base it has that Aramis soap in the background, making everything alright.

Green, tart fresh and warm soapy (irish). Gives off sour, slightly vintage, powdery, fresh and masculine patchouli scent notes. It's somewhat intriguing but also too warm, musky and fougere fresh to be casually wearable unless you want to give off fresh out of the hot shower energy. And regardless of the notes this still might be one of the most quality warm fougere fragrances out there. Edit: When I first encountered this eons ago on the original bottle of 1947, I memorized it as the cool sweet peanut soap fragrance because i couldn't distinguish soapy and warm patchouli notes on their own. So if someone with untrained nose makes similar comment do not be discouraged. They are just not trained enough to understand and distinguish between these notes yet, but they like it still :)

Unless you know the scent profile on this, I would definitely not suggest a blind buy. I've gotten used to it now but the opening is a bit challenging. The drydown thou, its addictive to me. Keep going back at the smell forever. Plus it lingers on me almost all day. Did buy it for about $40, had to try it and glad i did.

@ihughes123 below has it spot on. This 2024 edition is a lighter, more approachable Gentleman. Don't listen to the naysayers. I'm glad Givenchy has chosen to keep this scent profile on the shelves.

A more Cleaner and airey version then the 1974. More versatile for wear but I do miss the Animailic touch.

The version before this one I did love BUT there was always a bitter, burnt rubber note that ruined it for me. I always felt if it weren't for that note, it would be delicious. I tried this new version today. First impression, I was reminded of Tom Ford Grey Vetiver mixed with the previous formulation of this fragrance. This is to me, an almost completely different fragrance - a "Gentleman Day" vs the previous formulation which would have fit as a "Gentleman Night". I have to say I think they've done a disservice with this reformulation. A shame.

This is an absolutely disgusting travesty and an imposter compared to the classic, even worse than the 2017 version. Don't blind buy this, stick to Giorgio or get a vintage. Then again if you like anything from the current Givenchy Gentleman line, ignore this review and enjoy your scent, as this rant pertains to the classic 1974 edition being abducted by aliens, raped, made to conceive in outer space and returned to earth in a Bradbury disguise.

The classic Givenchy Gentleman is one of, if not the favourite fragrance of Ramsay “The Ram”, a fragrance critic/content creator on Youtube. Admitedly he is a bit too far down the vintage and natural oud rabbit hole for me to completely resonate with his tastes but i respect his opinion very much and his experience in perfumery is vast. Through him i was aware that Gentleman is mainly a patchouli fragrance and a bold one at that. By chance i ended up with a sample of the 2024 reinterpretation of the 1974 original version and who knows, i thought maybe it will be the patchouli i am looking for. I see why Ramsay likes this one so much because this is what i’d call “underground perfumery” which is another way of saying challenging, niche scentprofile. These kind of scents are his speciality and its surprising that it came out of the production line of a brand that makes “good smelling” fragrances. The first phrase that came to my mind upon first sniff was: “Ooof, this is dank!”. Funnily, since the word came up, this got me pondering on vocabulary and the word itself: dank. It would seem to me that its a combination of the words “damp” and “skank”. Whatever the case is with the word, it fits Givenchy Gentleman like a glove and describes the scent perfectly. This is a damp, dusty, skanky, moldy basement patchouli if i’ve ever seen one! Im surprised to see no Civet in the notes list because i would bet money that there is civetone in this one, not to mention that the original 1974 composition included Civet. There is that pissy, astringent quality going strong in the early phases and then there’s also the telltalle dustyness i get in Civet heavy perfumes. This initial phase reminds me very much of Rien Intense Incense, only that one rides with the incense and pissy civet into the sunset where in Gentleman it diminishes later on. Come to think of Rien Intense, perhaps its not even the incense that im getting in that one but the patchouli? I personally do find olibanum and patchouli to be related and have similar facets so who knows. The patchouli, as expected, is the one that remains in the driver’s seat in the long run and it feels old but also somehow plasticky? Given how patchouli is well known to also have stale nouances, this scent makes me think of dusty books in an old and uncared for library or an attic. Old books often have leather covers and there is a prominent leather note mentioned in Gentleman so my impression might be not as far fetched or romanticized as one would think. If i were to go along with this old book imagery, i’d say the book covers are faux-leather and not the real deal and i say that thanks once again to the pasticky nouance im getting. Is Givenchy Gentleman the “Holy Grail” patchouli for me? To be honest, it is not because it turns out that i prefer the earthy, forest-y patchouli to the moldy one. In a vacuum i like the scentprofile alot, especially the patchouli itself but despite owning plenty of challenging perfumes, i find such a composition difficult to wear. Patchouli in any of its forms and Civet by themselves are fine but combine the two and i get a geriatric kind of staleness that reminds me too much of...serious hygiene issues, to put it very mildly. I had the same impression with Rien Intense Incense, which evoked an even more realistic image of illness and old people living in decaying homes. Buyers be adviced, this has nothing to do with the Iris dominant modern Givenchy Gentleman line. I said it before that, to me, Iris seems to be the “beautiful” relative or alternative of patchouli and perhaps Givenchy believes so too, hence why they transformed Gentleman from the “ugly duckling” patchouli to the suave Iris DNA.

I"ve been in a life long relationship with Givenchy Gentleman since 1989. It not only brings back the memories, it brings an instant elegance to it's wearer with it's patchouli note, deepness with oakmoss and a bit of animalic allure with it's civet notes. Blended to the perfection, Gentleman embodied the masculine elegance and became my most worn fragrance, suitable to most occasions. With a noticeable reformulation I stopped buying Givenchy Gentleman around year 2005. I missed it so I replaced it with Bond 9, H.O.T Always as the closest formulation to the original Gentleman. From time to time, out of nostalgia I bought the reformulated Gentleman but always disappointed. Then when Bond 9 H.O.T. Always was discontinued in 2022, I hit my bottoms and was searching desperately for something similar. So I read the reviews here of a new bottle about Givenchy Gentleman 2024 and run to buy it as people said the legend is back, the civet is back, the original is back. What a disappointment to realize it the same reformulated and unbearable spicy leather perfume miles away from the original. I get no patchouli, no oakmoss, no civet and mostly no elegance. Please somebody bring back the old masterpiece.

@Amen! Hallelujah! The russian leather accord is based upon the fact that russian soldiers in a specific time period used to coat their leather boots with birch tar / birch tar oil, which pretty much smells like burnt wood and rubber. There is actually a genre of parfums with that idea like Bogart Signature (The 70's one) and Cuir de Russie by Chanel. Aventus and clones use that as the leather nuance as well. Dior Fahrenheit, stuff. I guess that in this case it was dubbed "russian leather" as the equivalent of "old school leather" (Since prior to Tom Ford's Isobutyl Quinoline overdose, leather did exist and it was composed with the birch tar, resins and a material like violet leaves or a saffron raw material) as for buyers not to expect a modern IBQ leather. Salut

@Pro_96 : I remember you that these mf's reformulate whenever they have the chance and every time they bring up an even worse reformulation. 80's / 90's to 2000's it was an almost insignificant change, much less civet though. 2000's vs 2010's was quite noticeable. 2010's vs early 2020's was a ton of difference. The patchouli was watered down in a brutal manner and the civet pretty much dissapeared. They also put a shit cinnamon base by Firmenich instead of the oil and put a rose accord more reminiscent of dish soap than of rose itself on it. I'm almost entirely sure the 2024 is another reformulation, and an even worse one, my man. They've reformulated this at least two or three times and i'm sure they've done it once again. Best regards

This is addictive. Sure, it's patchouli and sure, it's obviously a thing of the 1970s, but as is often the case with soliflore centred classics, it appeals a lot more than say, Habit Rouge (nothing alike, just a comparison), or even it's close relation, Giorgio for Men. But it's not a dirty patchouli. It's herbal, woody, rich, and masculine without being overbearing, overpowering, or plain and simply dated. This can and does pass as indie and hipsterish, but that's not a sleight. This is just as tenacious as previous formulations, but cleaner and airier. The sillage is quite suave and handsome, really good stuff, and a wonderful change from everything ambroxany and syrupy.