Gentlemen Only by Givenchy

I’ve been trying out more and more colognes over the past few weeks and I recently got a hold of a couple scent by Givenchy. Gentlemen Only and Gentlemen Only Intense. In this post, I want to take a closer look at the former, and give my opinion and rate how this fragrance measures up. What is it composed of? What is the opening like? How does it smell? How long does it last? Please continue reading below for my full review of Gentlemen Only.

What Does Gentlemen Only Smell Like?

Notes include: Birch wood, patchouli, vetiver, cedar, pink pepper, mandarin

Click here to try: Givenchy Gentlemen Only Eau De Toilette Spray for Men, 100ml, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

My first impressions of Gentlemen Only is that it is a dry and slightly sweet woodsy scented fragrance. It is simple and refined. I was really digging this scent when I first applied it, and enjoyed the interplay between the vetiver and birch/cedar notes, that I could pick out.

This Givenchy fragrance is one in which I could completely imagine myself applying while wearing a suit and even though I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, I definitely felt quite fresh with it on.

Also, the opening has a citrus aroma provided by the mandarin note, that fades away during the dry down period. This mandarin and pink pepper give it the sweet/spicy undertones which helped to make Gentlemen Only quite appealing to my tastes.

As the citrus fades, it takes on more of a smoky type of aroma (think less of tobacco or a whiskey cask and more towards incense). Birch really becomes prominent on my skin, at this point.

The top is a citrus mix of that mandarin and bergamot, the latter being quite light. Pink pepper joins in to add some warm spice, to the very dry composition. It’s nice to have that juiciness on top of what is ultimately going to be a fresh woody fragrance.

As it moves further along, the smoky wood aromas, really start pouring out of this. Vetiver starts to take over the composition, with the lingering mandarin still hanging around. Under that, is the birch wood and some cedar.

Ultimately, Gentlemen Only is a somewhat spicy and smoky woods-based fragrance, with enough sweetness to change things up. Very nice and refined.

Sillage and Longevity

Projection wise, Gentlemen Only starts out pretty good in that regard. For the first few hours, I could notice it on myself and liked it a whole lot. In many regards, I though that I had found a new potential casual fragrance for me to wear.

It’s not going to leave a huge scent trail. It will be noticed for a little while, but isn’t going to take over a room. Then, it’s not going to even do that.

However, the longevity on this one is really disappointing.  After three hours or so I could no longer even detect it on my skin, I had sprayed some on my forearms, and got absolutely nothing from it. It’s so hard to find a good long lasting cologne sometimes.

This Givenchy isn’t one of them.

When Should it Be Worn?

Surprisingly, this isn’t too heavy of  a scent. Smoky and dry woods, sounds more like a winter thing, but here it isn’t really. I would say that Gentlemen Only works best in moderate temperatures. It’s not terrible in winter, but I wouldn’t wear it in the summertime.

It can be a daily wear at the office, or something you put on for semi-formal to formal occasions. It is attractive enough for the nightlife, but again, the performance isn’t great. It’s actually got a pretty wide use case.

Overall Impressions

Overall, is this Givenchy product worth a try? I definitely like the scent, although, I seem to enjoy the Intense version more… BUT Gentlemen Only just does not last. Plus, the Intense version isn’t really ‘intense’ and is quite a different fragrance all together.

If you want a woodsy/smoky/spicy cologne in this price range, consider: Burberry London or perhaps, YSL L’Homme Libre, both of which have much better longevity.

Gentlemen Only might not be a bad buy, if you can get it at a discount on the secondary market. Perhaps, it will last longer on your skin, versus my own. The scent itself, is worth it. The question is, how much performance can you wring out of this cologne?

It is interesting and has its moments, but ultimately probably not worthwhile for many guys.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.