Hot Couture Collection No.1

I can remember the exact moment I first smelled this perfume. They were handing out sample vials at an outdoor Peter Gabriel concert and my Mom and I were both handed one. I popped mine open, took one whiff, and I was in love. My Mom took one whiff, said "Whoa. That's you." I got her sample - she's a resinous amber Casmir type and not very compatible with woodsy orientals. If I had known they'd be discontinuing years later, I would have run around with a plastic bag, begging the samples off all of the less enthusiastic. I get it, as I've purchased things that turned out to be unwearable for me (Versace Blonde, for example - beautiful, but florals like this are horrid on my skin), but any time I see that someone threw this in the trash I want to cry salty, bitter tears. Never throw a good quality bottle of perfume away - just find the right person to love it! On first whiff - peppery woods. I get the "pencil shavings" remark, but for a woodsy perfume lover this is not a bad thing. This softens under a wave of ripe, round, red fruit balanced with warm amber and creamy, dewy magnolia. The kick of bergamot is the perfect twist. It's always spicy and woody, with the other notes weaving in and out like a helix. It's potent - one spray is all that's needed. Even the bath gelee smells up the entire bathroom for a whole day. I don't get bratty so much as rebellious. To me, this is for the woman who never really quite fit into the mold and has learned to own it with a great sense of humor - a constantly-amused, arched-eyebrow rapier sharp wit. Her personality is resistant to pigeon-holing, there's always something that can't quite be nailed down - probably why she never quite fit a niche and why people might describe her as "a hot mess". There's something funky about her appearance - sculptural accessories, naturally wild and untameable hair, unusual features, an artistic temperament. For someone with a strong and self-assured presence, but not necessarily a loud one.

Have you ever picked warm raspberries, fresh from the vine? Juice dripping down your fingers, sticky sweet but simply bursting with flavor as soon as you popped them in your mouth? Well, that's what you will find in HC -the original with the lady visible through the bottle. This is one of my all time favorites! I still have half a bottle of the original, the travel size and the mini velvet body water spray. HC was one of my first purchases years ago as a young adult along with Champs Elysees by Guerlain. Both scents were bold and quite strong for someone of my age at that time. Welcome to the big leagues kid! No watered down body splashes here. Loved them then and still love them now. This started my love for peppery fragrances. HC is a musky, smoke laden, crushed pepper, pencil shaving, sticky, fresh from the vine, warm raspberry fragrance. It is best used in the fall or winter time. It is very heady and rich. The raspberry is always in the forefront of the fragrance, even in the drydown but because it is so warm, you don't get that cloying, cheeky sort of raspberry. I have always gotten compliments when I wear this. Longevity on my skin is a beast too. Transports me to a dark, candle lit, smoke filled piano bar, where the drinks are flowing, glasses are clanking and everyone is happily humming along.

I got this in a gift set in 2001, but it has been stored well. To me this smells soooo sexy! I actually got really eager to buy this perfume 3 years ago, when I smelt in om my boyfriend's mother. Although I don't want to be any more like her in the way of clothes/smell than I already am, I just couldn't contain myself - I HAD to have this!!! At first this is spicy - maybe even slightly Middle-Eastern, then it begins to smell raspberry-deliciousness! Not sour raspberry, nor raspberry candy... OK, maybe a little raspberry candy, but it's a sweet-smelling, *mature* raspberry with spices and woods (a little like pencil shavings - I think it's a contribution from the pepper), which is oh so cozy, but also fresh. Then it becomes a little smoky, but together with the other notes, raspberry among them, it's just magic *o* Ends with raspberry - very natural smelling one. This is alluring and makes me want to smell myself all the time! Please read lonestarlolas review - it describes this perfume perfectly! :)

I remember being very surprised when I first tested this one because the scent is not what you expect when you look at the name and the bottle-I expected something serious,smokey and deep and the first impression you get is berries and fizz ! I was hooked straight away- raspberry was not a commonly used note at the time,and I do love something a bit different. It was the bottle that attracted me at first, I love Art Deco and really wanted that bottle on my dressing table- the perfume was a bonus. What stands out the most is the raspberry and pepper- a little loud and unexpected at first, but of course the perfume does dry down and become more floral with a warm & woody base. The other reviewers are right-this is a compliment getter, everyone wanted to know what I was wearing ! On me a moderate sillage and fairly long lasting- I only have about 4 ml left,so I daresay I'll just have to cherish the memories.

I have both this and the standard hot couture (amber coloured liquid) and I don’t think they smell that alike. The raspberry is the star here and it doesn’t have the full on powderiness of hot couture. It’s much nicer IMO. This one also lasts way longer on the skin. It’s much better blended and allows the notes to sing since the powderiness is not prominent I spent a fortune on a bottle recently as this discontinued many years ago. it worked so well with my skin and I received so many compliments while wearing it so I wanted to try it again. It’s really lovely. I will treasure my bottle. It’s a woody fruity perfume and although vanilla is not listed in the notes, I can smell something resembling vanilla. Really beautiful.

I have five Givenchy fragrances in my collection but this, is one HOT mama that I no longer own. : ( A rebel among the saints. I'm going out of my mind searching for it. Will not simply buy it online too many fakes going around. So where can i find this in S.A? If you dont have this in your collection you truly don't know what you missing out on. It's a fragrance that speaks volumes. For me it makes a statement to be daring & confident,the ultimate risk taker. The spiciness mingled with sweetness portrays a picture of someone that harbours no fear. Wow a fragrance that makes you feel completely Invincible even if it's just in your mind.

Oh. My. God! I've been having the old EDT version through the years and I've really enjoyed it but that one is something else. It's like sitting under a full bloomed magnolia tree and sipping delicious cherry liqueur in a summer night; the air is getting cooler but you still can smell the sweet aroma of the summer heat... Absolutely divine! 💕 Although its fruity aspects, it never gets sticky sweet or too much, and one can barely overspray, at least in the cold and freezing weather right now; it's so perfectly balanced. So sad it is discontinued, they don't make such fragrances anymore...

This is rather lovely, actually. I'd say it's for a girl whose used to scents like Magie Noire, Black Orchid and the new Natori, but wanted something just a bit trampier and insouciant for night-time wear. Sometimes we all go for kitsch. Givenchy took a classic, ambery-vetiver-incense bottom and slapped on some sloppy raspberry jam. The final product is womanly and sexy-bordering-on-vulgar. It's good! I can see why it's controversial though. It's a little too voluptuous and heavy for girls who are more into the pretty fruity florals and it's too tawdry for the more serious perfumistas.

Ah this Perfume WAS a masterpiece! My mom started wearing it back in the early 2000’s and I loved it. On my honeymoon in Jaimaca, I ended up finding this one (Hot Couture no 1 with the lady on the back). It was so fragrant and strong, it lasted and lasted. I got compliments constantly! Well, now the reformulation is just pitiful. ZERO longevity, even the EDP version. I can’t believe these companies do this. Soon, no one will even wear Perfume cause it’ll be pointless to spend the $ on garbage scents that last 5 seconds. If you can’t tell I’m very disappointed LOL.

Unique, sexy, and bewitching I was standing in chic filet one morning the girl at the counter was captured by this remarkable perfume she asked what I was wearing immediately and stated she wanted to know what it was. I wrote the name down for her told her where she could purchase she was so excited. Not many people wear this it was discontinued some years back now they bought it back on the market reformulated. It smells good but not as good as the original I think I also wear the oils mixed with the perfume scent stays on my clothes for so long to

I got a new and sealed 100ml bottle on UK vinted for £140 and couldn’t look away. When I tell you that I LOVE this perfume with every inch of me I mean it. She’s sweet, musky, warm and sexy and will catch anyone’s attention when you walk into a room. This bottle will last me a very long time as you don’t need to over spray with this as she is potent. If you can get your hands on this at a reasonable price then grab her. My first love in perfumes and will always repurchase. The bottle is sleek and just stunning 🫶🏼

All the Hot Coutures are ultimately hedonistic. It is like working half a year on a carnival costume you will wear three times. Like someone very smart writing a book that is only meant to entertain and amuse people. What I mean to say with my ramblings is: I feel a lot of brains and work went into the Hot Couture perfumes, and now they are here only to be enjoyed. Not to be analysed, not to challenge the wearer. This is just for fun. Thank you Givenchy, and take my money, for I really appreciate this.

My oldest son's first long term girlfriend gave this to me as a gift when the fragrance was first introduced. I didn't use much of it and just recently found it in a box of older fragrances. Even though I am now in my 60's I find it suites me better these days than it did when I first received it. I agree with the reviews of "MDWake8" and "narcotic". The fragrance is a an "excessive and bratty", sexy, "hot mess". Perhaps I like all of that because it is exactly what I need at my age!

I mean can you say the first time I received this was for my my 19th Birthday from a friend who lived in Germany and I have loved it ever since then. The last bottle I have owed was in 2003 and then after that I could'nt find it any longer so hard to find I'm still in search for it. every where I went I was complimented on it. I would do way with all of my Fragrances just to have this 1 In my hands again, so obsessed with it that the smell of it could never leave my mind.

I had this original perfume for about 15 years. It never went bad but the juice did slowly turn more amber and the scent just got better. This is a strong perfume that is decadent. Sweeeeet but musky and sultry and oh so sexy! This was one of maybe 3 or 4 designer perfumes i had and used on rotation (compared to now i have over 80 middle eastern perfume and nothing comes close to this) I miss it and am considering dishing out the $100 + for a bottle of the OG!

This was my first "real" perfume that I bought for myself, many years ago. I couldn't resist it after trying it in a store. I will always miss it, and I'm so sorry that it hasn't been made for years. I loved the fruity, spicy and wooden notes. I doubt that I will ever find one that matches it. I am sometimes tempted to buy one from ebay, but I'm sure they will be fakes, or not have been stored correctly. But, ah...., the memories of this beautiful perfume.

A remarkable, strong, confident, and bright sent. It's sweet but not nauseating like most sweet smells. The amber and vetiver balance the sweetness in a very sexy way. I miss the old classic bottle....why do all the good things seem to get discontinued? At least the scent appears to have been preserved though it smells less rich, or is that my imagination?

Very beautiful...But NOT the same as the one without the woman on the bottle. I found it on e-bay, but since it is hard to find, the price can get very high. I used up both bottles I had...and wish I could get another. Very feminine, yet a bit different. Just gorgeous.

Givenchy makes the best perfumes. I got a dusty unopened bottle of this at a little forgotten pharmacy with some old perfumes. This batch number leads back to January 2011.Very nice and unusual perfume. Wierd. Cant get enough of it. Medicinal, warm, sexy and powdery.

THE JUICE IS FULL OF ***** Love Elegance Appealing ___________ Mature fragrance perfect for Night wearing, preferably in winter, may also in Summer awesome projection & longevity and of course fragrance itself.. TRY-BUY-PASS MUST HAVE, BLIND BUY