The problem with Giorgio is that it suffers from what many older fragrances suffer; over application to excess, in a time when fragrances where not only applied heavily, but were equally potent as well. Everyone’s view varies, but I would have loved to live that era and live the glamorous life of Giorgio Beverly Hills. Fortunately I can live it today with my 1981 bottle of extraordinary spray cologne. Upon first spritz, what greets me is one of the most beautiful and honeyed orange blossoms I have smelt. It doesn’t smell dated, but incredibly lush and sunny. In a way, feelgood and happy. The orange blossom stays for the entire duration but the tuberose doesn’t take long to show up and steal the show. Along, you get the juiciness of peach, which in a way reminds me of the peach accord later on used in Tresor, but here it’s more neon and less formal. It all feels yellow like the stripes on the box. It’s a happy bombastic fragrance chock full of white flowers and a sunny disposition for the first couple of hours. But as the heart notes start to show up, it all gets a bit more serious, the make up packs on, and the tight fitting dress compliments the high hair. Giorgio starts to show a bit of oakmoss and suddenly it feels like a chypre. The ylang makes it smell more carnal and ‘oily’ and there’s a slight bitterness which adds to the chypre feel. A few more hours in and the drydown feels powdery as if there was Iris as well. And this is the thing that probably made Giorgio so popular. A powerful white floral that becomes more serious and perfume-y as it warms on skin. It’s loud at first, and loud afterwards, and what starts as an overwhelm of the senses develops to a beautiful floral chypre. It smells recognizable; if you smell it once you know it when you smell it, lasts from morning to next morning with incredible sillage for hours on end, but I don’t think it’s cheap. It might be in today’s formula, but the vintage smells expensive and would probably be more liked if it wasn’t used so heavily in the past. But hey, if people abused it’s because they probably loved it like I do. And back in the 80’s, I’d probably be banned from restaurants too. A nice discovery that I’m happy to have made, and in general a lovely, misunderstood fragrance. Rock it like it deserves; heavy handedly!
I have recently come to discover that I adore tuberose, if it’s done well. Usually the tuberose fragrances I love are eye-wateringly expensive with a strong presence of filth and sex - but Giorgio doesn’t fit into that category at all, and I still love it. It pushes the boundaries of what’s tolerable in society, and I relish the challenge. The tuberose is front and centre, and whilst intensely soapy and slightly bubblegummy, I don’t find it to be sickening as others might. Joined by an array of white florals, namely jasmine, alongside hints of fruits and soft woods, you’re left with what can only be described as a tuberose bomb. It’s intensely powerful. I imagine it’s not quite as strong as it was upon first release, as legend goes this was the only fragrance to be banned from restaurants worldwide due to is obnoxious strength. It’s easily tolerable these days. It doesn’t fit into my usual style at all and yet I do love it, I just can’t explain why.