Scentzilla!

Very Irresistible for Men was introduced last year, and in my opinion was one of the more interesting commercial men’s scents of the year. The marketing put me off a bit, since frankly I’m weary of getting sold on Liv Tyler and her wide-brimmed millinery. But pretty face and floppy hat aside, the men’s version of Very Irresistible is much more interesting than the commercials would lead you to believe. And a bit smarter than the name implies. (Listen, Givenchy, either it’s irresistible or it’s not. “Very” is useless because it’s redundant. But I digress.)

The initial ten minutes shine brightly with overtones of citrus zest. The citrus tapers off to reveal a delightfully warm but bitter chocolate. Givenchy describes it as “sesame-mocha sensuality,” but you know, I don’t smell nuttiness or coffee - just a slight toasted darkness. What it really reminds me of is the way some porter beers reveal their chocolate elements as roast-y yet still sweet. Mint is layed across the chocolate like a finishing touch of garnish. It makes for a herbal addition rather than one like chewing gum, sprinkling green tones across the brown-black. Buried deep at the base of Very Irresistible is a piquant cedar that implies freshly chopped green bell peppers. The cedar seems very much like a note used in Givenchy’s Xeryus Rouge. I’m not complaining - I like Xeryus Rouge very much, and that slight sharp bottom nicely compliments the cuddly gourmand middle of Very Irresistible. This fragrance is not a perfect piece of art, but it is a delightful fragrance to wear. Not everything has to be art - sometimes it just has to smell good, and this one passes my “smells good” test.

It’d make a great gift for Valentine’s Day for the special men in your life. Don’t forget, boys need chocolate, too, you know.

And since I’m on the subject of chocolate, I’d also recommend the awesome truffles from Euphoria Chocolate. My faves are the Amaretto Truffles, while my husband is taken with their Cabernet Wine Truffles.

And for no reason other than this chocolate theme (and the fact that I’ve been looking for an excuse to share this) here’s one of the more amusing celebrity endorsements I’ve seen. This old commercial is for Lanvin Chocolate:

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2006 at 8:10 am and is filed under Perfume Reviews, Givenchy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.