Absolutely Givenchy

The Verdict

Givenchy launched Absolutely Givenchy in 2006 as a lighthearted, fruity-floral addition to its women's lineup. In a market increasingly saturated with sugary-sweet fruit bombs and heavy designer florals, Absolutely Givenchy attempted something different: a genuinely fresh, natural-smelling composition that blended green apple and sweet pea with a musky backbone. The result was a fragrance that charmed many who tried it but failed to build the commercial momentum needed to stay in production.

The story of Absolutely Givenchy is one of quiet appeal undermined by weak performance. Nearly every reviewer who praised the scent itself followed with a lament about its vanishing act. The fragrance was discontinued, and its small but genuine fan base has been mourning it ever since.

What It Smells Like

The opening is bright and inviting. Apple dominates with a crisp, green character that avoids the candied sweetness of many designer fruit notes. It smells more like biting into a fresh Granny Smith than eating apple candy. Sweet pea arrives almost simultaneously, contributing a delicate, slightly powdery floral quality that is inherently gentle and approachable.

Musk provides the structural backbone, adding a clean, slightly warm quality that keeps the fruity-floral opening grounded. The overall effect in the first hour is of a fresh, youthful scent that one Fragrantica reviewer accurately described as not smelling "like candy even though it's fruity, and doesn't smell like bathroom soap even though it's floral." This ability to occupy the natural middle ground between extremes is Absolutely Givenchy's most distinctive quality.

The composition is essentially linear from this point forward. The apple and sweet pea soften gradually into the musky base without significant evolution or surprise. What you smell in the first twenty minutes is largely what you get for the duration of the fragrance's brief life on skin.

When to Wear It

Absolutely Givenchy is a daytime-only fragrance for warm weather months. Its light, fresh character is ideally suited to spring and summer mornings when you want to smell clean and pleasant without making any bold olfactory statements. Casual outings, work, school, and light social gatherings are all appropriate settings.

Evening wear or cold weather would overwhelm this delicate composition. The fragrance simply does not have the presence or depth to register in those conditions.

Longevity & Projection

Performance is Absolutely Givenchy's fatal flaw. The consensus across all review platforms is that the fragrance lasts two to three hours at absolute best, with many reporting even shorter durations. Sillage is minimal from the start, staying as a close skin scent that is barely detectable beyond arm's length. One Basenotes reviewer noted it lasts "a maximum of 3 hrs" with moderate sillage at best. This performance level, while perhaps acceptable in an inexpensive body mist, significantly undermines the value proposition of a designer fragrance.

The Community Says

Community coverage of Absolutely Givenchy is limited but consistent in its themes. Fragrantica reviewers praise the pleasant, natural quality of the scent while universally criticizing the longevity. One reviewer called it "the best scent I've ever had" before immediately noting its disappearing act. Another appreciated that it occupies a genuinely natural space between fruity sweetness and soapy florals. Basenotes described it as resembling apple and passion fruit shampoo -- pleasant but not complex. The consensus across Fragrantica, Basenotes, and Parfumo is of a likeable scent that was too ephemeral to justify its existence in a competitive market.

Who Should Buy This

Absolutely Givenchy makes sense for those who specifically remember and loved it during its original run. Its unique apple-sweet-pea freshness does occupy a genuinely appealing niche that few other fragrances replicate exactly. Young women seeking a light, natural-smelling fruity-floral for casual wear could also find it charming.

Anyone who values longevity, complexity, or value for money should pass. The extremely brief wear time means you are effectively paying for a two-hour experience, which is difficult to justify even at discounted secondary market prices.

The Bottom Line

Givenchy Absolutely Givenchy was a charming, natural-smelling fruity-floral that was too gentle for its own commercial good. Its apple-sweet-pea freshness and avoidance of synthetic extremes gave it a distinct personality, but the near-complete absence of longevity and projection made it a ghost of a fragrance -- beautiful for the brief moment it existed on skin, then gone without a trace. Its discontinuation feels inevitable in hindsight, though its small fan base would disagree.