Note Pyramid
Eros
Mint against apple is the trick at the centre of the Versace Eros Eau de Toilette Gift Set, and once you have smelled it you can pick it out anywhere.
Aurélien Guichard put those two in the opening with lemon and mandarin orange, and the result is a top that is cold and sweet at the same time. The mint is the cold part, clean and almost icy, and the apple is crisp and a bit tart, so nothing turns syrupy. The two citrus materials simply keep the whole thing bright. Geranium and clary sage make up the heart, green and dry herbal respectively, and they are deliberately short lived.
Below that the fragrance gets serious. Cedarwood and vetiver provide a dry rooty spine, patchouli deepens it, sandalwood takes the edges off, and vanilla gives the final hours a soft sweetness. It is the distance between the icy top and the warm base that people respond to, and it is the reason the scent has been imitated as widely as it has. Eleven materials, and the last five are where the fragrance spends its afternoon.
At eau de toilette strength it is the more relaxed of the concentrations, easier in daylight and in heat, and less likely to be noticed before you are. Expect most of a day from it with a light hand, and rather less if you empty half the bottle on at once. The toilette is also the version that survives a warm room, where a denser concentration can become too much. Given as a gift set it solves a present for a man without requiring any knowledge of perfume on your part. It is a safe answer rather than an adventurous one, and safe is usually the right answer.
Gianni Versace set the house up in Milan in 1978. His sister Donatella has been in the chair since he died, and clothing, the home, hotels and scent now sit together.
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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