Classic

Found this first in '86 in my retail company's fragrance-testing office. Loved it straight off and found that it worked well with my skin type. The romance lasted several years, with the occasional side trip - Kouros, Gucci Homme, etc.- but I'd always come back to Van Gils. Then, suddenly it was off the shelves in the UK. I was distraught. After a long period of mourning, I found it was still available in Holland - but no-one shipped abroad, and the trip to Holland rather built up the price! Eventually, only three or four years ago, I rediscovered it yet again online and stocked up. It still smells good - on me and to me and, happily, the majority of people who get near enough to sniff me think the same. Van Gils Classic and I were clearly just meant for each other.

When VG Classic was first launched in the 80's,I was working in Selfridges,Oxford St. for a rival fragrance company (Fred Hayman),but after drenching myself in it constantly every day,and adoring it.I even asked the distributing company if I could work for them,they said no,(luckily Fred didn't get to know,as he was in Hollywood...lol). Alas,I never got to work for Van Gils.I could have done so much for them. VG Classic to me is like SEX in a bottle.I always get compliments whenever I wear it.The sillage is amazing and longevity is unbelievable. I continue to replace my precious bottles,as I love this fragrance so much,even though it's almost impossible to find these days.

Slap this on while 'Soul Bossa Nova' spins in the background ("I put the 'ger' in swinger, baby!" -Austin Powers). Good, heady, masculine stuff. Real man's wear. Straight khaki Chinos, white Polo, deck shoes. (Channeling my Walter Mitty rendition of Sean Connery - whipping into the club, looking for a bored valet to park my Aston Martin...er, Toyota Camry). Came out in '88? Wears more like '68. Definitely get the Antaeus spin straight from the spritzer. Drydown has a Kouros waft. I'm 63 and it's, "Just my bag, baby!" If you're under 45, maybe not so much. By today's standards it's definitely retro (in the best way!).

To me this is one of the best ever. It has a quality that is hard to describe, it is there with high quality ingredients and is wonderfully blended. It ́s manly, it ́s cosy and warm, it has the right projection, never cloying, never sharp. Still possible to get at a good price. Do not confuse this with Strictly for men, which is not in the same league.

A gorgeous retro powerhouse. A lovely woody, spicy, floral masculine scent with a powerful patchouli. Staying power and projection top notch. In the same family as Antaeus, Givenchy Gentleman and Salvador Dali Pour Homme. Be careful about over application - it's potent - but has tons of character and is so well blended. Just great!

With only a couple of drops left in my old bottle, I managed luckily to find a NOS 100ml!! I am so happy, this is cologne heaven, might be my #1. Everybody should try this at least once!

If you like Antaeus you will love this one. If you like Quorum you will also love this one, I think. Anyway, at my toplist, 9,5/10

Used to wear this stuff all the time, last time i owned a bottle was 1998! Looking to buy again, if i can find the stuff.

welcome back my old dutch friend, for men not boys

This review is for the "classic" Van Gils for men. My bottle is an all-black one from Europe that's 5 to 10 years old. Upon first sniff, Van Gils hit me with a strong blast of patchouli and incense. I haven't seen anyone else say it smells like incense though, so maybe that was the way I interpreted the amber and musk it's supposed to have in it. Either way, at first I felt like it was too strong, dark, and old-fashioned to wear here in trendy West LA, where the weather is usually sunny and warm. However...now that it's Winter and the nights are actually quite cool, I felt like trying it again. And I'm finding I actually enjoy wearing it on some evenings. I've yet to solicit anyone else's opinions on it, but I suspect this will is a "love it or hate it" scent for most people. It's a dark, mature, complex fragrance that some might even find sexy. It seems more suitable for an older man than a young one. There's an Italian reviewer named "Darvant" who wrote one of his typically excellent and evocative reviews for this over on Basenotes.net, which I highly recommend reading. In fact, I recommend reading any of his reviews. It smells STRONG so go easy on it when you first try it. My bottle was a gift from a friend who picked it up on a trip to Europe years ago. On the bottom it says "after shave natural spray 75%" So that may mean it has more perfume oil in it than an EDT does...or maybe it is indeed only at "after shave" strength...not sure really.

Van Gils is as contradictory as my own father. The only slightly more expensive perfume I've tracked down among his toiletries over the years. And I have no memory of him ever wearing it. I suppose it was way too sharp and heavy for him. That nose-burning spice and patchouli combination. For me as a teenager it was the beast in a bottle! Three sprays on the sly before school disco and I felt the testosterone pumping through my veins. I clearly remember my fathers surprised voice from behind when I left the house: "Have you used my aftershave, son?" For sure I had dad. Now, decades later it still evokes that forbidden feeling of undefined lust -for life, for adulthood, or nowadays maybe adultery. Sharp, sexy and overpowering, like a beast in a dutch 80's suit. Like the king of a dancefloor; like Bryan Ferry singing Kiss and tell. An irresistible sexist bastard.

So happy to have found a full vintage with box (the vintage box looks way better then the new) for a bargain price. A somewhat forgotten fragrance today but most guys in my age remember this one. And there's a reason for that :) Today a classy fragrance but when it was relesed it was an everyday normal scent. But that was then. Don ́t know how the current is, but the vintage one is great. Relesed in 1988, don ́t know the date on mine but old box and no green dot.

The classic Van Gils for men is a great fragrance. If you like timeless classical scents such as Antaeus, V-C & A pour homme, Tsar, Santos and Aramis, you will love Van Gils classic. It`s a typical 80-ies powerhouse, but timeless and very elegant. I understand it`s very rare nowdays, but luckily it`s widely available in my country for a reasonable price. Thumbs up!

This is a pleasure to wear. Very much like Chanel Antaeus , it reeks of animalic masculinity. Top notes fade quickly into a very delicious drydown where the cedar vetiver cardomom and thyme combine to develop a classic. It won't last long and not really a ladypleaser but really a throwback to the old school of aftershaves.

One of my first frags i bought in the eighties/nineties very masculine.Suprises me not many people reviewed or voted this one. Here in my country(holland) its was worn everywhere.

This is the perfume of my father.

This is possibly the manliest fragrance of all time. However, today you will smell like you were in your 30s when this was released. Younger guys beware - this is not for you, this powerhouse is for the 60+ crowd only.

Was at my parents house this evening, and just out of curiosity I browsed through some of my fathers fragrances. Most of them are gifts that he received for christmases or birthdays, but funnily enough he doesn't wear them. Me myself I gave him a large Boucheron pour homme some years back but he dropped it some months ago, and it broke. I found among his frags this Van Gils scent that I tried out of curiosity. So what do I get out of this scent? A powerful scent indeed, aromatic and spicy, but not very well balanced. The opening is a but too much for me actually but as it develops it turns more acceptable. It is really masculine, and a bit dated I think, not something I would wear. It is a heavy scent to wear and is not the casual frag that is easily fitted in. I clearly get the patchouli and the vetiver, as well as a spicy amber. To my nose, I can't detect any citrus, but there is thyme and spices in this one for sure. The overall impression is not very positive, and unfortunately I had to go and wash it off my wrist. I can see why it was made and also the potential audience, but I do not fall into this group. Overall Rating 3/10

Got this as a blind buy based on reading reviews here. Was really looking forward to this. Very disappointed. In one word this sucks. Sure its a classic but IMO its Plain and boring, nothing sets it apart to give any wow effect which equates to its price. To me it smells like a $10-20 cheap Good as a daily driver, but not for special occasions

the smell of an old man. suitable for grandfather and slightly older father. 60+ perfume. the funniest thing is that I got this as a gift twenty years ago when I was still about 15 years old.