Givenchy III (1970)

 A green/floral chypre, Givenchy III is pretty much perfection. It starts off with a mouth-watering combo of green/citrus notes (galbanum and mandarin) and fruit/flowers (peach and gardenia), which add luscious candied juiciness to the dry, refined, and elegant greenness of this chypre. You almost forget its coquettish brightness as it dries down to a woody, powdery, spicy (sandalwood) and warm ambery base. 

Top notes: Aldehydes, bergamot, mandarin, galbanum, peach, gardenia 

Heart notes: lily of the valley, hyacinth, rose, jasmine, iris root 

Base notes: Patchouli, oakmoss, amber, sandalwood

The peach and galbanum combo must have inspired Estee Lauder's Aliage, which came out two years later. Aliage distilled, simplified and amplified those notes, chopping off the almost melancholy notes that follow in their wake. (After all, what sport scent gets all brooding and philosophical?)

Givenchy III, in contrast, almost immediately moves from that upper register of sunshine and happiness by drying down into a softer, more contemplative mood with hyancinth, iris root, sandalwood, amber and patchouli. (In a review of Yves Saint Laurent's Y, I talked about how the civet darts around in the background of the sunny fragrance like a microexpression of worry on a smiling face. The patchouli and sandalwood in Givenchy III likewise sound a minor key in an otherwise major key composition.) 

There are almost two perfumes on top of each other in Givenchy III, each with different personalities. What's wonderful is Givenchy III's ability to reconcile these two moods into one; you can actually still smell those early notes as the perfume's dusk arrives, like the Rene Magritte paintings which seem to occur on the cusp between daytime and nighttime.

Refined but approachable, Givenchy III is like a beautiful, well-dressed woman who drops her guard for a moment and breaks out into laughter. Chic and joyous.

From the '70s Givenchy III ad: 

"Today's woman can create sunshine all around her by the clothes she wears, the fragrance that is her own ambiance, her own atmosphere. I have created this new perfume for her." Hubert de Givenchy Givenchy III: The beautiful environment.

Comments

[Nora Lynch]

I have loved Givenchy since the early 70's when I was introduced to it and still have an eau de toilette
I also have which I would like to sell a 1/8 fl oz Parfum complete with box.