Givenchy has been a good fragrance house for me, until recently. I adore Organza, Organza Indecence, Amarige, and Ysatis, and I wear them well. Aside from the nicely done Special Harvest versions of several of the scents, Ange ou Demon was about the last one that worked for me. The Irresistible line, frankly, is pretty resistible. Dahlia Noir was a big disappointment, about as noir as a bouquet of daisies and not nearly as pretty. I’m not sure what caught my eye about Eaudemoiselle de Givenchy. The bottle has a simple, almost vintage sweetness to it that I enjoy, and the name is a cute play on words. With fingers crossed, I got a sample and sprayed it on.

Mademoiselle D by Charles Chaplin

Eaudemoiselle is a sweet, rosy scent that opens with a pretty big bang. There is a brief whiff of greenery at the very beginning, then it quickly becomes more floral.  I would have pegged it as having fruits in it other than the listed citrus notes, but maybe the creaminess of the ylang ylang creates that illusion. The heart of the scent is the ylang and rose, and it is a satisfying, easy-to-wear floral. A vintage vibe comes through as it dries down; I am reminded of an older flowery perfume that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s pretty, though, and not musty.  The perfumer, Francois Demachy, has done a masterful job of creating a pretty scent that is modern with a retro twist. It is, refreshingly, not obviously aimed at an under-20 audience. I got full use out of my sample over several days, and would like to add Eaudemoiselle to my collection.

Textile on Roses by Marci Cheary

My Neiman Marcus has this out as a new fragrance, but it was released in 2010 and already has flankers that I would be interested in smelling.  Perhaps it was not available locally until now, or they just decided to push it. I am also a bit perplexed about the spelling. On the sample I got and on the bottle it is eaudemoiselle de Givenchy. It is listed on the Givenchy website as Eau Demoiselle, but there is nothing on the site when you click to see it. I have also seen Eaudemoiselle. Despite my confusion, I like it, and that’s what counts.

I saw several notes lists while researching, and have extrapolated them as: Mandarin, citron/Italian lemon, shiso, Turkish rose, ylang ylang, ambrette, tonka, and musk (some lists include orange blossom and cedar. Without a definitive listing on the Givenchy website, I cannot be precise).

I received my sample from the kind folks at Neiman Marcus SF.

–Tama Blough, Senior Editor