Note Pyramid
L'Interdit
A bitter orange opening is the first sign that Givenchy L'Interdit Eau de Toilette is a different proposition from the version most people know.
Bitter orange opens it, and bitter orange is not sweet orange: it is sharper, drier and faintly green, the smell of peel and pith rather than juice. That sets a cooler tone than the eau de parfum manages, and it carries straight into the heart.
The flowers are the same three the fragrance is known for. Orange blossom gives a clean, bright, almost laundered quality, tuberose adds the creamy and slightly rubbery density that keeps white florals from thinning out, and jasmine warms the middle with a rich, heady sweetness. At eau de toilette strength they sit lighter and more transparent, so the bouquet reads airier and less insistent than it does in the stronger version.
Patchouli and vetiver close it. Both are dark and dry, one earthy and damp, the other rooty with a trace of smoke, and they are what keep the flowers from turning into a soap. Six materials, clearly stated.
The lower concentration makes this the summer and daytime option: it projects politely for an hour or so and then stays within a personal radius, and it can be sprayed generously without becoming a problem in a meeting or on a train. It is also the easier of the two to wear through a working day, and the one to choose if you like the scent but have found the stronger version hard to control. Three or four sprays here do what one does there.
The Paris house was founded in 1952 by Hubert de Givenchy and belongs to LVMH. The L'Interdit name dates back to 1957, when he made a fragrance for his friend Audrey Hepburn.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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