Insense

If you ramp up that slight sweet floral mineral note the aldehydes bring as of being constructed in that way. You could basically get Ganymede?

To those who want the original recreation, get it from Fraterworks: https://fraterworks.com/products/compound-insense?keyword=compound%20i

This is not floral, it has a floral aspect, but far from a FLORAL, it is as fougère as it can be, with a prominent blackcurrant-basil accord. It is indeed very sweet for the timeframe it was created in.

Very much a masterpiece. The clown below me is not an expert on what you love in a fragrance although he or she thinks otherwise. This fragrance is spring in a bottle for thos3 who don't claim to be an expert but loves the scent

(Review of a mid-1990s EdT, Parfums Givenchy era) Insense is quite good - very good even, but the overlooked masterpiece it’s been made out to be over the last couple of decades? No. A masterpiece this is not. A work of genius, no. Its novelty is really just due to marketing with Givenchy calling it a “first” floral perfume for men that hangs out in the chypre genre. This is overstated to the point of being a falsehood. Mens florals certainly weren’t swimming in popularity at the beginning of the 90s but there were a handful that already got the movement started prior to Insense. Lastly, the name, Insane, is also a falsehood; there is nothing insane about it now or then. The part I like and that I find the most interesting about Insense is the part that Givenchy generally tried to downplay: it’s spartan in the way classic masculine chypres certainly are not, and it’s overt use of synthetics did make it smell quite unique for the day - and even now, 30 odd years later, my vintage EdT still smells new and like it was composed very recently. The opening of Insense is/was interesting for 1993, with its overdose of fruit and anisic basil. Sharp and sparkling aldehydes and bitter-sour bergamot are misted over juicy wedges of bright and saturated mandarin orange. However, the blackcurrant shines here with its watery-waxy-fruity muskiness; to my nose, this makes Insense have an “aquatic” opening - also not a popular area in the early 1990s but it was growing. Very quickly a soapy musky white floral heart pushes its way upwards with plenty of muguet and magnolia notes. There is a creaminess, a bit of muskiness, a citrusy edge from the magnolia - but, as if Givenchy were a bit afraid of this floral section off-putting men a bit too much if it were to last a bit too long the piney balsams and mosses elbow their way in as the florals shift character to more of a citrusy soapy white musk character. Though I wish the florals were louder, more floral, and more durable - if you’re going to tell me I want to be wearing a white floral, then give me a white floral, Givenchy! - this dry down is actually superbly pleasant. The sharp synthetic mosses, the pines and white balsams, and a big soapy musk give Insense a freshness, cleanliness, clarity, and levity that chypres are not typically known for. As I said at the beginning, Insense’s spartan and synthetic character steers it away from the damp, green, woody, and earthy soups that so often came before it. Additionally, these materials have very good durability, even in this EdT concentration, so long into the day you’re going to feel like you’re still smelling the classic masculine-smelling soap you washed-up with when you started your day. So there you have it, an “old” masculine floral chypre that simply smells modern. Today’s perfume lovers without noses trained in the history of perfumery are going to smell this and wonder “what’s the big deal?” - or, at least they should. And to that point, that is a perfectly valid question. Even with history considered, you cannot call Insense truly unique though there are a small handful of aspects to it that are quite interesting for the period. So not a masterpiece, not a work of genius, it just smells really good in a simple “I’m going to make you smile” way, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

This fragrance is the one responsible that I fell in love with perfumes at a very young age. I was devastated when it was discontinued but the seed has been sown.

My maternal grandmother, a fragrancehead par excellence, passed away in 2011. In 2024, I received a cache of her perfumes. One of them was a bottle of Incense, at least 15 years old. Likely as a consequence of age, I cannot smell the sunny top notes. What I can smell is something incredibly intense. It is thick, a scent so opaque I cannot discern clear layers. It isn’t a smell that shouts or even talks, not insisting upon itself, but just EXISTING. It doesn’t feel man-made - it feels like an eternal, primordial thing that was simply discovered. It is herbaceous, vegetal, a swamp, a bog, sunlight fermenting in chiaroscuro water. There’s also that powdery sweetness typical of older perfumes, but it doesn’t feel contradictory - it feels like a byproduct of the earthy heart of the scent, a thing that smells a little of death. The whole thing reminds me of the opening of the poem For Ina by Aime Cesaire : ‘and the musky morning in the mangrove warmed a handful of sun and noon perched high an unbearable eagle night was falling perpendicularly but now nevertheless between the two waters a turmoil of earth still full of the music of irreducible insects” Less pretentiously, it smells like what 6 year old me thought Queen Chrysalis from My Little Pony would wear, lol

I wore this way back in 1993/1994, it was a christmas or a birthday gift (both are preaty close to each other). I was 16 going to 17. I start enjoying perfums because of my father. I´m turning 49 next month and I´m lucky to still have him with me. Never paid much attention to the fact brands discontinue perfums, because I think never a perfume reminded me so much of a time that I´d like to return to and start my life all over again from there and undo so many things and do others so much more. Not even the great Photo by Lagerfeld, or all those that Aramis stop selling, not Fahrenheit 32 or Fahrenheit Absolute by Dior, not Jazz or Rive Gauche by YSL, not V from Valentino, nor Solo Absoluto from Loewe or T by Tommy Hilfiger and so many, many others. Today? Well, flankers, flankers and more flankers and elixirs. Poor in longevity and sillage. Dog crap, the lot of them. Perfums that I wouldn't with a barge pole. I was able to buy again Insensé. A guy (THANKS!!!!) read my previous comment and tip me off about a spanish site that still carries it. I bought a 50ml, paid almost € 100, but f.....it. Thank Lord I can afford it. I sprayed a little bit in my hand and right way the olfactory memory kicked in: floral, citrus, spicy. Heaven. Remarkable how the olfactory memory works. I think I´m going to save this and I´m only going the put the one time. Yes, I´m going just to use one time and then I´m going to put it way and wait another 30 years or so and when I´m in my 80´s i can remember the lost opportunities, the missed chances, the fuck ups and think how wrong I was for being that guy. Be kind, be gentil, live well and but do live goddam! I´m almost 49 and I missed out so much in my life because I was affraid, insecure and took refuge in a build up personality just to hide my insecurities. From Ferris Bueller's Day Off : "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it". So true, goddam!

Of all the discontinued perfums, this is the only one I would like to have again and that I wouldn´t mind to pay top dollar for. Actually, I would give up all of Givenchy´s perfums just for this one. I wore this 32 years ago and brings back a lot of memories. How I´d like to be 17 again and restart my younghood with this by my side.

I recently purchased a 50ml of this. I wore it fresh in the 90s. This was never a mainstream scent, not even at it's release campaign, and I think it never caught much interest commercially even though back then masculine florals were less rare (Nikos Sculpture, Soldano White, D by Dunhill, some CK's and Grey Flannel and others from previous years that were still in full effect). The bottle I got still has it's knack intact except for the citruses eo's which are naturally long gone. I have never smelled anything like this except Ajmal Neutron which immediately reminded me of it, albeit with major differences regarding primarily the ionone and musks usage. I think of Insensé as a Grey Flannel with flowers.

one of the best scents ever created. period. It's interesting, unique, green, floral yet masculine and sensual. Super versatile and overall smells fantastic.

Indeed, incense—but perhaps finally—well crafted? This area evokes a chypre quality for me, like a take on No. 19 or H24, and profile-wise possibly closer to one of the Bogart frags. It’s conceived as a masculine scent, somewhat drier than usual, but it reminds me of masculinity ~ Giorgio Beverly, maybe Salvador, Tuscany, yet it still carries a hint of the French Lover spirit. I get the impression it’s like a less intense Krizia Moods, which, like Giorgio or Boss No. 1, can really go all the way and use incense for its own ends. Givenchy doesn’t hide its aromatic base—it even puts it in the name. But I see it as a successful and wearable scent—extremely safe and unoriginal, but decent. After a moment, it becomes clear that Givenchy has a concept: it adds a counterpoint to what was there before, creating character—just like with Krizia. Honor must be given.

This is an interesting one. Blind bought a vintage (pre 2010s) bottle for a good price. Its a quite sweet floral bomb to my nose. I expected it to be a bit fresher, like a sharp floral fougere, but its quite balmy and sweet. Besides that its also a very unique scent that smells quite niche, never smelled anything quite like this. Very unisex to me but leaning a bit masculine. Subjective rating: 7.2/10 Objective rating: 8.8/10

I really appreciate this scent for what it was during its time. I was close to blind buying a full bottle based on how people talked about it, but Im glad I went for a mini bottle instead for $10. This will definitely stay in my collection as a lil historical memento of the fragrance, but as someone said below, I see this as something in a museum rather than on my skin. If someone were to ask me to point them to an old Givenchy fragrance thats a but more wearable, I’d point them to Xeryus Rouge instead. UPDATE: Actually… yknow what? I dunno what happened to my nose, but I put more of this on my skin and while it normally isn’t my style… it’s smelling incredible today. It’s very unique in terms of being a floral. Dang. Now Im tempted to buy a FB 🥲

Happy Easter! Since 2015 Givenchy Insense has been my Easter scent. It's an old school floral masculine and absolutely perfect for those first days of Spring when cherry blossoms and lilac trees begin to bud. Insense was not a big hit in 1993 because boring synthetic blue and citrus scents replaced the masterpieces of the 80s. Well, some day Insense will be sought after big time as people get bored of today's bubblegum, candy, shower gel and cupcakes. Bring back the natural smelling masculine florals P.S. The perfumer made it for men and I respect artist that make fragrances for a gender rather than the money grab unisex BS.

A great women floral fragrance marketed for men. It is very unisex, leaning feminine. It is like a beach cream, very balmy and floral, It does not feel like a perfume, more like a very high quality cream. Great performance. The perfect scenario for this is early spring, with flowers blooming everywhere, Easter time. This is spring in a bottle.

Floral masculines are not usually my jam, but this one is fantastic. Next to Le 3eme Homme de Caron, Insensé is a standout in the genre, and for good reason. Mine is an original 1993 bottle, not the rerelease of 2007 under Les Parfums Mythiques (also discontinued). This is a clean, complex fougère that contrasts bright aldehydes and citrusy green florals at the top, with dark, urinous fruit and crisp, shadowy coniferous woods at the base. It’s arrestingly radiant: you can feel a sunshine-like aura emanating from your skin, as the chorus of Vivaldi’s Gloria rises to the heavens. An outstanding, one of a kind mood lifter. Hallelujah!

@Rob-B-29 Insense is discontinued, it has been reformulated 10 yers ago, the long bottle, still ok but far from the original. The blue one is Insense Ultramarine a different fragrance, still in production.

When I seen the box for the this it was a total blast from the past and it took me right back to the store I'd sampled this in back in 1993. It was the original yellow juice and not the blue they call insense now. I've never tried the blue juice but it's probably a bad reformulation. I was like sixteen and it was one of the first fragrances I'd sampled this and le male JPG. Remembering of the scent itself I really liked it and got a small bottle probably my second fragrance. Oh the memories. 😂

I used to have a bottle of Insense but ended up selling it off about a year ago because I just wasn't reaching for it often enough. I kept a sample though, and tried that again recently. For the first hour, I was thinking "Why did I sell my bottle?!" because this is a great fragrance. However, after several hours of wear, I'm starting to be less enamored (and this stuff is powerful and long-lasting, so I know I'll be smelling it until I shower tonight). There's nothing wrong with it - it's very pleasant, clean, slightly soapy, and generically floral (i.e., I can't pick out specific floral notes) and the overall effect is like a strong, nice laundry detergent. But in that same way, it's a very clearly artificial type of smell and almost wears like some sort of white musk (albeit a very powerful one). The thing is, I usually want a bit more flavor to my fragrances, so while I'll probably look for a larger decant for when I'm in the mood, I don't think I need to hunt down another bottle.

MASTERPIECE! JUST THE ABSOLUTE BEST OF GIVENCHY!

I was stealing this one from my father in the mid 90’s. He got it from my mom when she came back from her business trip to London. My father is an old school man and he used to use only mass market after shaves. Because this edt was something very different, he used it very occasionally and the bottle was getting dusty in the bathroom. Since I was a teenager and I was not used to male fragrances I believed the real male modern and expensive fragrance should smell exactly like Insensé. The smell was so extraordinary that I used it every time I went out to a disco or for a date hoping some one will appreciate it the same way as I did. Now 30 years later, being 45 I decided to bring back some memories. I found it (a reformulation I assume - in the new box with smaller Givenchy logo that is advertised on eBay) in a local on-line store here in Sweden. I paid an equivalent of €125 for 50ml. The smell is similar to the fragrance as I remember it but it is weaker. Might be due to my memory but I recall the original was a bomb. It smelled so strong that I didn’t have to spray more than once to be able to feel it the entire evening. Since everyone says this fragrance is discontinued I am wondering if I bought some kind of reproduction. Anyway I would like to know if anyone has tried the “new” version of this edt and if it is close enough to the original from the 1993. Has anyone tried the vintage original together with the reissue? Is it comparable? 19/4/24 So the questions are answered. The small bottle that is currently available in retail / ebay is definitely a reformulation. The sillage and longevity are both way stronger with the original. I bought 100 ml unused bottle from a trustworthy seller and the difference is quite remarkable. The original is more settled (due to age?) but projects exactly as I remember it. The “new” bottle is more soapy and lasts less but it is definitely worth buying.

Probably one of the best masculine florals to ever exist. This is like a men’s version of Versace Blonde. I get some white florals with a spicy background. It is masculine though, I couldn’t smell this on a woman. Has a little bit of a vintage smell, but not outdated. Unfortunately, I can’t find this for a reasonable price anywhere.

Still the best mid Spring (May) fragrance of all time if you live in true Four season weather. Insense' is like the first whiff of Spring flowers. Ideal for Easter and to wear visiting mom on mother's day. Memories will stay with you for rest of your life.

Once you smell the burnt marshmallow under the white flowers, you cannot unsmell it.

Insense by Givenchy was my signature scent when it came out back in the 90's. Even though I was only in my very early 20's and a wearer if not a collector of fragrance, my favourite men's scents included Fahrenheit, Eau Sauvage, Dune, D&G Masculine, Tsar, Armani Pour Homme and JPG Fleur de male; so I guess given the legendary status of many of these discontinued or reformulated classics I always had a nose for a classy fragrance! Fast forward 30 years and I missed this fragrance so much that a handful of my current collection was purchased on reviews that likened them to Insense, but sadly nothing came close. Then as if by magic, I was able to snap up a 50ml bottle - boxed and 'new' from an online discounter a few months back and WOW, it's just as I remember. An absolutely unique melange of heady florals, dense without being overpowering and just dark enough to be classically masculine (not that I am averse to wearing fragrances designed with females in mind). Moody and inviting like Guerlain's L'Huere Bleue, heady and floral like Joop femme, Insense is truly like no other fragrance I have ever smelled or am likely to. Insense harks unapologetically to an age when fragrances communicated mood and mystery, and weren't afraid not to be pretty for pretty's sake. The fact that it has never been copied (or bettered) is a testament to it's true originality and artistry.

A Fresh . Clean .Uplifting Unisex floral bouquet .Just don't overspray ... 2-3 is enough in my opinion . Long lasting and good moderate Sillage. Still available in original sealed packaging as it did not sell well at the time - thus stocks are still to be found at " reasonable prices" A must try for any fraghead who is not afraid of male florals .

The best Givenchy masculine scent I’ve ever come across along with Gentleman , the good one . Not the pathetic imposter of 2017. Whatever, the best masculine scent I’ve ever smelled ! Good longevity and moderate/soft projection.

I stayed away from this for a while because I heard or read somewhere there's a big dose of florals and thanks to Bijan for men, I still have PTSD from heavy synthetic florals for many years. First Impression: I love the old school slightly animalic citrus/lavender/herbal oakmoss opening. Pine comes in pretty quickly and I love pine too. It feels a bit soapy (I love aldeydes but it's not dosed high) and I can sense the magnolia somewhat which I like. I have a love hate relationship with blackcurrant and it's okay here. In the drydown it's getting more floral which as I stated, I don't like. Thankfully it's not a floral bomb, but it's there fairly strong and it keeps me from loving it. Ingredients quality and performance seems good. But as of right now, I'm glad I got a sample and not a full bottle. Scent 4.9/10 Performance 6.7/10

I just got an old sample from the 90s. This is a dated chypre through and through. Initial alcohol blast fades away and you're greeted with this cloudy, mossy, carnation-y old school citrus and aldehydes marriage. The quality is here and it's interesting but definitely belongs in a museum somewhere and not on my skin.