Imbue

I'm a big fan of Gucci Pour Homme II, but I stopped buying it because the performance is just too weak on me. I've already bought about 5 fragrances from Parfums Vintage, and when I heard about IMBUE, I immediately requested a sample from them - when buying another one of their frags. I hate to use percentages, but Imbue seems to be about 95% the same in smell, but with this fragrance, the performance is doubled. I consistently get 8 hours from this fragrance, but the great thing is that I get whiffs of this coming off of me for 4-5 hours - that's really good projection. That said, this is not a "beast-mode" projector (where you are consistently engulfed in a scent cloud), that's not what I'm saying, but you will get a steady & soft (arms-length) projection for many hours. Imbue, just like GPH2 is a very well blended "cooling" and "relaxing" style of fragrance that is perfect for spring and fall - The black tea, cinnamon and violet leaf are apparent and the only negative for some folks (not me) is that it might feel linear, but if you love the scent, linear is quite alright. This is a terrific fragrance for cloudy/rainy days or those times at home when you're just relaxing. I think IMBUE could certainly be a signature-scent fragrance since it's so pleasant and appealing and really can be worn year round as long as the temps aren't too extreme one way or the other -ideally between 40 - 80 degrees. In general folks, check out Parfums Vintage - high-quality fragrances that simply do some classics, better. Every time I've purchased a bottle, I've asked for a sample of something I hadn't tried and every time, they include a generous and professional looking 5ML decant, for free. GPH2 lovers - take my word for it....get your nose on this. You can get a 50ml bottle for right around $75. I'm wearing IMBUE as we speak.

Oooh! It's a beautiful, sunny day here and I walked past the little purple velvet pouch that my PV samples came in and thought... time to try another. Gosh, this is gorgeous right from the outset. The tea is strong and clean and delicious, the ozonic quality is there for me. Violet leaf and citrus are blending so well with the tea - this is super pleasing to my nose. I don't expect this to last long on my skin but I swear to Bob that if this has a story to tell me, I will buy it today. __________________________________________ Mmmm, this is really lovely. The tea is ever present but about half an hour in, the musk has come through, brightened up by the bergamot. I can convince myself I smell the cinnamon, but I'm yet to detect pimento, myrhh or olive tree (not sure what that should smell like, though. Don't judge me, I live in Scotland). Definitely buying this for myself. I'm well pleased with finding something I like so much. __________________________________________ As suspected, this died down and becomes a skin scent after a couple of hours, but they were happy hours and this will bring me pleasure every time I wear it. __________________________________________ Much later, and I just caught a whiff of it still on my skin. A warm, sweet but unobtrusive scent musk, tea and tobacco. This is a truly lovely fragrance and I look forward to having it in my collection.

Like many reviewers, I bought Imbue because despite my love of Gucci pour homme II, I couldn't justify buying a bottle considering its abominable performance. I own two other frags by Parfums vintage, and have been extremely pleased by their complexity and performance. Their versions of popular designer and niche fragrances are often better than the originals, and Imbue is no exception. Though this isn't as strong in sillage and longevity as some of their other offerings, it is far, far better than GpH II. The notes have greater depth and intensity, but still come together to create a reserved, comforting, sophisticated vibe. I agree with Super Sniffer below: since the constituent elements have been amped up, Imbue is more herbaceous than GpH II. However, I wouldn't qualify it as an "herbal" fragrance; it's simply that the tea and pimento (which work surprisingly well together) are more foregrounded here. The ozonic notes and bergamot add airiness and zing, and the cinnamon-tobacco-violet accord give it a kind of secondary backbone that works marvelously well with the tea-pimento. Very unisex, very versatile. Thank you, PV, for yet another victory!

Quite lovely honestly. I never owned a bottle of Gucci Pour Homme II but it was my best friend in high school's signature scent for about 3 years. When putting this on it instantly reminded me of how he and his room smelled after he'd spray it on and we'd be on our way out somewhere. Very gentle, relaxing, calming slightly peppery tea-focused fragrance that smells great. More masculine than Nishane's Wulong Cha, which is the other tea dominant fragrance I tried (although that one smells better and higher quality but far too feminine for my tastes).

I literally just got this delivered to me and I sprayed it on. While I haven’t owned Gucci Pour Homme II in years, from what I can recall, this does smell a lot like it. I’m talking 90+%. The memories of that delightful fragrance came rushing back to me at first sniff. Bless you Parfums Vintage for recreating this fragrance. The original wasn’t particularly strong or long lasting and I’m hoping this one performs better. Judging by the oiliness of it, I’m thinking it may have more longevity.

If you like Imbue but want more tea, cinnamon and tobacco notes, get Imbue Intense, which is not listed here. It's really thick-smelling and nuanced due to the natural oils. It's not sweet at all, and is almost medicinal in a good way. Smells serious and super niche, and has moderate projection and duration. Get a sample first, because I can see many people disliking it. It's one of those scents that do not smell pretty but put one in a particular mood due to its uniqueness. I LOVE IT!

I haven't put my nose yet on GPH II, ever, but I don't care anymore. This one and HiM by Hanae Mori edt/ edp is all I need. Performance and projection wise, just great on my skin. Woohoo! I'll give this wonderful juice a 10/10, nuff said. “Let us spread the scents of peace and kindness. The two most beautiful fragrance in the world that will cost you nothing and will get you a totally different kind of compliments” 🙏

The best GPHII dupe. Very similar with better longevity. A bit expensive but quality wise everything is on point. Bottle is nice, packaging is nice, def worth it imo. Overall an amazing juice and my favorite from this house with Oriental Woods (Oud Wood) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 out of 5

Love. Masculine, refined, layered. If James Bond wears cologne... this is it. The primary note is walking into a room in South Asia where premium black tea is dried... then the cinnamon and violet balance the tea with a touch of smooth pipe tobacco and floral sweetness.

If you miss Gucci Pour Homme II, this is a great dupe. Got a sample of the Intense version. On my skin, Imbue Intense has a slightly stronger tea note and a slightly weaker cinnamon note than my recollection of GPH II. Decent longevity. A winner.

i actually still have GPHII and Imbue is almost identical is smell (IMO) except that Imbue , the bergamot is a little more prominent in the opening which is ok with me. it's about as close to a one to one as we are gonna get at this point lol

I walked into a room with someone wearing this it smelled so good I bought it. Fresh fresh fresh

Not sure why, but this comes off on me more herbal than GPH II. However this is much stronger. Update: I’ll give this one more wearing, but this is one of those fragrances where the original is better. I’d consider this an interpretation rather than a clone. Go smell either Rush of Unicorns or Emperor Extrait from this house if you want to smell awesome clones. This to me with the risk of sounding cliche, this is what a niche house would put out as their own spin on a designer fragrance. This is more herbal and more pungent. On a stand alone fragrance the smell isn’t bad I just don’t want to smell like this. As where GPHII I’d be willing to smell like that for the rest of my life. The performance thus far is better with Imbue.

The drydown is gorgeous but there's something very sharp and dry, which GPHII didn't have, that lingers the first hour, which puts me off.

I've never sampled Gucci PHII but this is so bad, just smells like cheap cinnamon, imbue intense is even worse

The silage is comparable to Gucci pour homme ll. It is very subtle and barely noticeable at times. It is noticeably a eau de parfum as opposed to a eau de toilette, but not just a straight parfum. It has a more classy composition than Gucci pour homme ll at any point, but I would prefer Gucci pour homme ll before the reformulation, compared to this. It has more of a designer scent than Gucci’s alcohol commercial smell. With that said it has arguably a more feminine quality, but not to the point of embarrassment. Just maybe more sophisticated than masculine. The composition of the fragrance has the floral brought much more to the front, with a heavy amount of tea throughout. The number one thing you think when you smell it is violet leaf. The next thing is tea. From there in the middle and base you continue to smell that, but mild cinnamon, and tobacco, and bergamot, and lastly the pimento is barely noticeable. The olive tree, myth, and musk are there to round out the fragrance and add body, but are barely noticeable. This differs in Gucci pour homme ll having more of the cinnamon sweet smell, and black tea, tobacco, and pimento, bergamot, and musk being more noticeable. With increased silage, but compared to the reformulation it’s so much better. It last about 3-4 hours but is consistently barely noticeable. If it’s silage was better I would give it a 9.5, because Gucci pour homme ll is my all time favorite fragrance. 7.75/10

Never smelled the original GPHII but I am digging this. It's like a lightly fragrant piece of parchment paper. Dusty, dry woods spiced with a delicate dash of cinnamon and a compelling savory-herbaceous note. It has a wonderful complexity- the fresh vegetal greenery of violet leaf, and an intriguing spiciness lacking any modern honeyed, ambery accents (besides the lean sweetness of myrrh). There's a tobacco paired with olive wood- and that gives it a very distinctive, attractively mature edge. I wasn't actually buying perfume when the original GPHII came out, but this does have an element of that era's very approachable streamlined cleanliness, no doubt centered on the tea aspect but given an interesting twist with the midly briny, warm woods in the drydown. It's a very smooth perfume, with neither the cinnamon or tobacco sticking out in a fashion you might expect of something trying to grab your attention, and that's why I like it. Over time I pick out a few more layers- a fatty soap note on skin, a fragment of citrus-rind from the bergamot, and the salty-olive note which plays into the musk. Overall a great balance between a light summer scent and the richer, inviting depth of GPHI. Performance feels decent.

Very similar to GPH2. I notice more of a citrus zingy note in Imbue that Gucci doesn't have, the Gucci to me is smoother without that. However, the silage on this and longevity is much better. Its not a clone sadly but it is really close.