Amarige by Givenchy

A colleague used this in the 90s and hated it. When I tried it now, it smells different: on my skin, it releases a strong, unpleasant leather note not listed in the description, with flowers that don’t quite fit. The overall effect doesn’t appeal to me, and it doesn’t last; after an hour, there’s no trace left.

Any collection, whether of 10 or 100 perfumes, should include a classic. I have CH, the classic Poeme, and of course, Amarige: a bottle full of sweet flowers. The opening displeased me a little due to that old trunk smell, but the development and dry-down are delicious. Longevity and sillage: 10.

A relic. I came across it with a sample a month ago and can’t get it out of my head. I bought it today. It breaks the gender concept; I’m a man and I’ll wear it daily until winter ends. Pros: floral, sweet, evokes the elegance and class of the 90s, and it’s very long-lasting. Cons: none. Perhaps I didn’t choose Amarige, but rather she chose me to be my signature.

I just bought it online and I have two options: either I’ve been scammed with a replica, or as Shannys says, they’ve ‘killed’ it by reformulating. It’s not what I remember. I’ll give it time, now that oxygen is getting in. I hope to review it again and reflect the charm I felt as a child when I first smelled it.

I’ve been replenishing my Amarige for over 30 years, time and again. I can’t believe how much time has passed since the first time I smelled it. Since then, I’ve felt it couldn’t be missing from my wardrobe. I’ve read it’s a fragrance of love-hate… and I can’t be objective about Amarige: I love it. There’s nothing more to add. The rest has already been said.

One of my favourite perfumes, but I would not buy it again due to the price and because my tastes have changed. Nevertheless, it is rich and lasts an incredibly long time.

I have just received the 2023 reformulation and it has nothing to do with what I read before buying it. It smells nice, but lasts and projects a whisper; that is, nothing, not even close to the skin. I think they have killed this famous and praised perfume. What a pity; I had high expectations for a fragrance that everyone talked about.

It is quite a classic, a wonderful floral. I love its power and performance; few match it now. It is a mature and timeless fragrance, those sparkling florals that fill you with energy, leave a mark, and flood spaces. Although it is far from current trends, it has its own charm. Ideal for transition seasons and winter; on my skin, it lasts more than 8 hours.

Amarige was my grandmother’s signature fragrance for years. I remember that strong, intense, very distinguished, and extremely durable scent on her. Without seeing her, we knew she was near upon perceiving it. Her wardrobe was permeated with that smell. As one of my first perfumes, I did not mind wearing it from primary to secondary school, when everyone else smelled of fruits; there I was with my super-intense aroma that needed no touch-up, although I did so with my grandmother’s bottle, with that cap that never came off. Mandarin and jasmine are key, felt with that intensity in several perfumes I love, but with their unique seal and being, in my opinion, the driest of all. Brutal longevity, close to the skin until the next day, a trail of up to 10 hours. An elegant perfume, for women who distinguish themselves and leave a mark. For me, Amarige is always linked to my grandmother’s name and her undeniable memory.

My mother’s perfume of old. At first, it smells like a vintage, stately bombshell—the kind that used to bother me when I was a child. Then, once it dries down, it becomes rich and warm, like a cinnamon flower, subtle and elegant. I smelled it again recently: it’s tobacco with white flowers and a fine wood. It’s her olfactory signature and will always have a place in my heart.

My mother used to wear this when she was a child, but I hadn’t smelled it since the 90s. Until I tried some vintage gems on a trip and sampled it at the airport. On the blotter, it was a nineties floral bomb: hyper-feminine, sweet tuberose and sticky with peach and mimosa. On my skin, it remained a bombastic white floral; initially sweet, then it left that typical faecal note of nineties indoles. You can tell it’s by Ropion because of that ‘faecality’ also found in Alien and Carnal Flower. At first, I didn’t detect any wood, only peach and plum sweetening the blend. As it settled, the sweetness faded and a book-old accord emerged that I didn’t like, probably carnation and woods. The projection started strong and then calmed down, lasting about 10 hours. It has disappointed me a little. It’s pretty and versatile, but it didn’t work as well on my skin as on the blotter; that dried-down woody-green note is what I dislike most and what lasts the longest. There are white florals at a similar price that work better. I recommend it to lovers of white florals; perhaps it will suit you better than it did me. Pleasant: 7/10 Interesting: 6/10 Versatile: 9/10 Original: 2/10

I first smelled it as a child, accompanying my mother on shopping trips. I was looking for a perfume for my grandmothers’ doctor and I think that day sparked my interest in perfumery. I remember several scents, including Amarige, which I would recognise a thousand miles away. It was etched into my olfactory memory. It’s a garden of flowers, exquisite in every stage of its evolution. Very elegant with a good trail. A perfume of excellent quality, it’s on my wishlist.

For me, it’s one of the most horrible perfumes I’ve ever smelled. I never found anyone who wore it well, although there are many fanatical women. It gives me a headache. It’s too overwhelming, like a karate kick to the head. It makes me feel nauseous after a while. Plus, it has a huge trail and is super persistent. There can’t be a worse torture than going on public transport during peak summer hours near someone smelling of Amarige. It’s the worst olfactory memory I have from the 90s.

This fragrance was a toilet water that behaved like a perfume before its reformulation. When I first used it (about 15 years ago), its longevity and projection were overwhelming. It was defined as ‘the bride’s perfume’ because its name is an anagram of marriage. In the opening, it achieves a good combination of fruity and floral accords. In the dry down, flowers like neroli, ylang-ylang, mimosa and jasmine take centre stage, very well accompanied by woods and amber. In 2007 I bought my first bottle, with a gradient on the front. But in November 2021 I acquired another bottle without a gradient, which means the presentation and contents changed, as in most reformulations. Amarige is no longer what it used to be.

I had very high expectations but I’m not sure if I have the reformulated version. On my skin, the longevity on both skin and clothes is good, over 8 hours, but the trail is very low, right at skin level from the moment I apply it and keeps decreasing. Does anyone else experience this? As for the scent, it’s a bit heavy on the flowers, but I like it.