Note Pyramid
L'Interdit Rouge
Pimento is the material that makes Givenchy L'Interdit Rouge Eau de Parfum what it is, and there are not many designer florals carrying anything like it.
Blood orange and ginger open the bottle, the citrus sweet and faintly bloody in the way that fruit is, the ginger sharp and a little soapy, and together they read warm rather than cool from the very first spray. Then the heart turns up the heat. Orange blossom and jasmine do the floral work, big and white and heady, but the pimento sits in among them, peppery and hot and dry, closer to crushed allspice than to anything you would call a spice note in a perfume. It gives the flowers a prickle. Patchouli and sandalwood close it, the patchouli earthy and the sandalwood creamy and smooth, which softens the landing considerably.
The result is a hot floral, and it is easily the most extrovert thing in the L'Interdit family, the version that behaves least like a traditional perfume for women. Where the original is cooler and the Absolu goes dark and leafy, Rouge goes red and spicy, and it is the one people notice in a lift.
As an eau de parfum it gives eight hours or so with a strong opening and a steady, close finish. Two sprays will serve. It projects well in cold air and gets heavier in heat, so autumn and winter evenings suit it best, and it does well at parties, restaurants and anywhere the lighting has been turned down.
It is sold to women. Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Fanny Bal composed it for a 2021 launch. The house itself goes back to 1952, when Hubert de Givenchy set up in Paris, and his L'Interdit of 1957 is still the fragrance everything else there is compared against.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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