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02/15/2014
Apicius
222 Reviews
Apicius
Helpful Review
5
Reviving Some Perfume Memories
It is true that White Sea is a hard-to-describe fragrance. Referring to the notes will not do the trick. But White Sea has a gorgeous lookalike which is long gone: Givenchy Gentleman as it was some 25 years ago, before that company drifted into reformulation madness.
Actually, Givenchy Gentleman was the first perfume I bought from my pocket money many years ago. It was so elegant, distinguished and light at that time, with much less dark frankincense and without any of those rough edges it has today. This air of elegance consisted of a slightly alcoholic blend of florals, herbs (such as tarragon), few citruses, a cautious use of patchouli and leather and a certain powdery airiness. I assume, the core of this fragrance class is an aromatic ingredient that is not directly expressed in the pyramids.
In my imagination, the Givenchy classic (and the small class of followers like White Sea) was the perfect Gentlemen's perfume – but not cologne! It would fit to a walk in Paris' Tuileries in early autumn or a stroll along a mundane sea promenade at the French or Italian Riviera. The perfect outfit for a gentleman wearing these fine fragrances would be a linen suit and a panama hat, decently tailored leather shoes and maybe a Swiss watch from the 1950ies. The lightness of the vintage Givenchy perfume – which I believe was the first of its kind - was a remarkable counterpoint to all strong aromatic fougères that started to become popular when that fragrance was released in 1974. Imagine Givenchy Gentleman – and Micallef's White Sea – as male counterparts of Nina Ricci's vintage L'air du Temps of which we sadly also only get a faint shadow by smelling today's reformulated version.
Enough recollections of the past! Since we can only ignore the poor leftover of today's Givenchy Gentleman we have to look for alternatives. They are not easy to find. There was one by Ramon Molvizar but I forgot which. And there is White Sea by Micallef!
Most of what I have said about Givenchy's Gentleman also applies to Micallefs White Sea. It has definitely the same vibe that the vintage Gentleman had. To all who are not on good terms with that house I can assure that White Sea is not a typical Micallef. There is some patchouli involved (as in so many typical Micallefs) but it is discreet enough to avoid an impression of oriental opulence. For me, White Sea is still the most elegant gent's perfume that Micallef has released so far. If the images I get by White Sea and its predecessor appeal to you, then take a look if you can find it.
Some four years ago, I had the chance to meet Msr Nejman from Micallef, and he told me that they were going to discontinue the Sea series – and focus on new creations. This happened indeed but then another batch of Sea fragrances appeared at First in Fragrance about two years ago. These batches are almost sold off by now. I cannot find offers for White Sea at the moment. However, it seems not completely unlikely to me that there will be another batch of White Sea eventually.
Actually, Givenchy Gentleman was the first perfume I bought from my pocket money many years ago. It was so elegant, distinguished and light at that time, with much less dark frankincense and without any of those rough edges it has today. This air of elegance consisted of a slightly alcoholic blend of florals, herbs (such as tarragon), few citruses, a cautious use of patchouli and leather and a certain powdery airiness. I assume, the core of this fragrance class is an aromatic ingredient that is not directly expressed in the pyramids.
In my imagination, the Givenchy classic (and the small class of followers like White Sea) was the perfect Gentlemen's perfume – but not cologne! It would fit to a walk in Paris' Tuileries in early autumn or a stroll along a mundane sea promenade at the French or Italian Riviera. The perfect outfit for a gentleman wearing these fine fragrances would be a linen suit and a panama hat, decently tailored leather shoes and maybe a Swiss watch from the 1950ies. The lightness of the vintage Givenchy perfume – which I believe was the first of its kind - was a remarkable counterpoint to all strong aromatic fougères that started to become popular when that fragrance was released in 1974. Imagine Givenchy Gentleman – and Micallef's White Sea – as male counterparts of Nina Ricci's vintage L'air du Temps of which we sadly also only get a faint shadow by smelling today's reformulated version.
Enough recollections of the past! Since we can only ignore the poor leftover of today's Givenchy Gentleman we have to look for alternatives. They are not easy to find. There was one by Ramon Molvizar but I forgot which. And there is White Sea by Micallef!
Most of what I have said about Givenchy's Gentleman also applies to Micallefs White Sea. It has definitely the same vibe that the vintage Gentleman had. To all who are not on good terms with that house I can assure that White Sea is not a typical Micallef. There is some patchouli involved (as in so many typical Micallefs) but it is discreet enough to avoid an impression of oriental opulence. For me, White Sea is still the most elegant gent's perfume that Micallef has released so far. If the images I get by White Sea and its predecessor appeal to you, then take a look if you can find it.
Some four years ago, I had the chance to meet Msr Nejman from Micallef, and he told me that they were going to discontinue the Sea series – and focus on new creations. This happened indeed but then another batch of Sea fragrances appeared at First in Fragrance about two years ago. These batches are almost sold off by now. I cannot find offers for White Sea at the moment. However, it seems not completely unlikely to me that there will be another batch of White Sea eventually.
