Monsieur de Givenchy Givenchy 1959 Eau de Toilette

Monsieur de Givenchy (Eau de Toilette) by Givenchy

Bottle Design Pierre Dinand

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Monsieur de Givenchy (Eau de Toilette) (Givenchy)

8.1 / 10131 Ratings

Monsieur de Givenchy (Eau de Toilette) is a popular perfume by Givenchy for men and was released in 1959. The scent is fresh-citrusy. It is being marketed by LVMH. Pronunciation

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Perfumer

Francis Fabron

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Carnation Pepper Cinnamon Lemon
Heart Notes	Lavender Lemon vervain
Base Notes	Oakmoss Musk Sandalwood

Ratings

Scent

8.1131 Ratings

Longevity

6.299 Ratings

Sillage

5.697 Ratings

Bottle

7.297 Ratings

Value for money

7.312 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 22.09.2021.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was re-released in 2007 as part of the collection "Les Parfums Mythiques".

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Reviews

09/21/2021

WildGardener
218 Reviews

WildGardener

Vieux monsieur

This is the original version of Monsieur, and - sweet though it is - it does smell old. In fact, it's so old, it reminds me of Eau de Coty (1909).
Let me explain.

Monsieur smelled of citrus - front and centre.
But, with aromatics and powder, it had more oomph than a citrus cologne. And as it developed it got more like a powdery fougère.

What swings it for me is the brightness my mini still has, which makes it feel like a fat citrus cologne, the sort of thing I call Cologne de Toilette; a sub-genre that I believe was invented by that Napoleon of Perfume, François Coty.

02/08/2020

8
Scent 6
Longevity 6
Sillage 7
Bottle

Taurus1967
3 Reviews

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Taurus1967

Top Review 15

Gentlemen, please report to class

From the big perfume houses or even designer labels, there are conspicuously many men's fragrances that bear the name "Monsieur" - especially in the period when perfumes were not quite so common for men. These include 'Monsieur Carven' (1978), 'Monsieur F de Ferragamo' (1976), 'Pour Monsieur' by Cardin (1972), 'Monsieur Rochas' (1969), 'Monsieur Worth' (1969), "Monsieur" by Roger & Gallet (1969), "Monsieur Houbigant" (1967), "Monsieur Balmain" (1964), "Monsieur Lavin" (1963), "Monsieur NET" by Jean Patou (1956), "Monsieur Lubin (1955), "Pour Monsieur" by Chanel (1955) and even "Mouchoir de Monsieur" by Guerlain (1904) could be mentioned among them, to name but a few.

In this respect, "Monsiuer de Givenchy" from 1959 is already a real classic, even if it has been reformulated both externally and in terms of content. What he has in common with many men's fragrances from the old guard is this unmistakably fresh citric style with a masculine touch. Lemon verbena and lavender add a touch of edge to the fragrance. Add a small dash of wonderful oak moss and you have the right dosage of a valuable water for the discreet gentleman who wants to announce his pleasant presence olfactorically, but by no means intrusive.

Quite different then the "Monsieur" fragrances from the 70s to 80s, which attract more attention with heavy oriental to animal notes and almost have to be assigned to the rutting category, but which are definitely justified. But they also last longer
You also have to appreciate that "Monsieur de Givenchy" at least in the original version comes across very naturally. Just as a classic perfumer of the old school would serve it with classic ingredients. I'm afraid that such straightforward and authentic things would neither be commissioned nor offered today. Times just change.

9 Replies

02/06/2020

8.5
Scent 6
Longevity 6
Sillage 7
Bottle

Carlitos01
320 Reviews

Carlitos01

Very helpful Review 6

The enviable lemon and verbena fresh scent with a mossy touch

[short review]
The original Monsieur de Givenchy formula is now 60 years old. Quite a lot of years ago I bought a bottle of Monsieur de Givenchy first generation. That bottle is long gone now. I always kept a nice souvenir of this lemony potion. After being several years aparted from this fragrance I gave it another go last year. Now it was the turn of blind buying the actual version relaunched by Givenchy in their "Les Parfums Mythiques" collection.
My memory may be tricking me but the current version seems to be practically identical to the original version in terms of scent. I confess that I expected a big variation in the oakmoss note due to the current IFRA regulations. Oakmoss is a fungus. Since IFRA - a body that regulates the guidelines of fragrant chemicals and essential oils usage in perfumes - has listed oakmoss as a restricted ingredient, almost all designers turned to the synthetic version of this fougére dark forest note. Besides it's herbal scent, moss helps a lot to increase the perfume performance as well its versatility.
The fragrance opens with a pleasant sweet lemon that quickly grows to a more alluring citrus-fougére scent. The blending of lemon with lavender and a strong verbena builds up a remarquable opening-heart in this fragrance.
The lemony-fougére accord endures till the bottom phase when moss makes an entrance in this party. This phase reveals the true DNA of this fragrance. It's a very alluring scent with an acceptable projection that you get for two hours or so. After this phase the lemon and verbena just loose their stamina and you get a woody/mossy drydown with some lavender hints.
The global performance, even if under average for current standards, seems to be better than in the older version. The only references as that I may suggest as somewhat similar perfumes are Armani Eau Pour Homme, Capucci Pour Homme and Chanel Pour Monsieur (this one without the verbena touch), all old school fragrances as well.
I do recommend this fragrance if you feel like possessing an elegant mossy lemon fresh fragrance just with a little sweetness.

Music: "San Francisco" by Scott McKenzie

05/16/2013

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Helpful Review 7

citrus chypre

The Monsieur is one of a crew of wonderful masculine citrus chypres from the mid-20th century--Rochas Moustache, Chanel pour Monsieur, YSL pour Homme.) This genre smells like the middle ground between the feminine green chypre of the 1960s-1970s (Private Collection, Scherrer de Scherrer, Weil de Weil) and Eau de Cologne. Bear in mind I know the more current formulations of these citrus chypres, which according to many are ghosts of their earlier iterations. Myself, I turn to the above green chypres if I’m looking for ballsiness and volume. I like the current men’s citrus chypres for their subtlety and personal scale. I like this genre for wearing like Eau de Cologne with endurance. For this use, the Monsieur is perfect. (I have the les Mythiques formulation.)

The big dog on this block is Chanel pour Monsieur. At any time since its release it’s been considered the best men’s chypre on the market. Many call it the best men’s chypre of all time. I only know a recent formulation, and while pretty, it’s so short lived, and fades to such a spectral version of itself that I have to consider it effectively discontinued.

OK, obeisance and eulogy to Chanel done, on to Monsieur de Givenchy. The Monsieur is a long-lasting but light perfume that balances the simple composition, restraint and allure that leads to that rare outcome in masculine perfumery: quiet but unashamed beauty. I’ve found many who see MdG as the most damaged by reformulations of this genre. Perhaps for their purposes it is, but I find it enjoyable in the way that it accomplishes all the goals of the citrus chypre genre. It’s dry/bitter and austere. It reflects your skin. It combines an herbal citrus blend (pepper/lemon/bergamot) with a waxy musky quality that is distinctive yet easy-going. The floral notes give some depth. It starts rosy and eases into a low-key white floral tone that eventually settle into a carnation note that remains through drydown. Carnation? Or was that the pepper from the start? This little twist shows that for as unfussy as this genre is, the Monsieur wears an I’ve-got-a-secret smile from start to finish.

To some, this is a faded gentleman. To me, a charmer.

from scent hurdle.com

12/19/2012

10
Scent

Drseid
797 Reviews

Drseid

An Extremely Versatile Masterpiece...

This is a review of the original formulation juice...

Monsieur de Givenchy opens with a beautifully well-blended mixture of lemon verbena and mossy greens. This verbena and oak moss combo pretty much hangs around from start to finish on my skin, only being joined by a non-powdery subtle lavender in the heart notes, and slightly sweet sandalwood and light musk in the base. The entire set of notes is harmonious to the point that it is very difficult identifying individual ones. There could be a whole gob of other ingredients in here, but I stopped trying to find them and started to enjoy the end result... and what an end result it is! Longevity is average and projection is below average.

Maybe I am getting a bit dated myself, but I find vintage Monsieur de Givenchy just as relevant now as it was when it was released. It is masterfully blended, extremely wearable and amazing smelling. It balances subtlety, sophistication and versatility brilliantly. Adding to the long growing list of positives, the vintage juice is quite affordable in relative terms, making this one a "must buy" for anyone into classic scents, which it most certainly is. Monsieur de Givenchy is timeless and easily earns a well-deserved 4.5+ out of 5 stars.