Amarige by Givenchy c1991

Amarige by Givenchy: launched in 1991 and created by Dominique Ropion. The name of the perfume 'Amarige' is an anagram of the French word 'Mariage.'

From Givenchy:

Envelope the skin in Givenchy's ode to love. Surround yourself with this memorable fragrance that evokes feelings of heartfelt joy.  Amarige eau de toilette for women is a strong white floral-oriental fragrance meant to express the emotion of love at first sight. Sensual, youthful and timeless, Amarige combines mimosa with precious woods, citrus fruits, soft florals and vanilla. The Amarige bottle was inspired by a blouse Hubert de Givenchy created for his muse and model, Bettina Graziella.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a crisp fruity floral-oriental fragrance for women. "A scent of "sunny" sensuality, surrounds the bouquet, soft and downy petals of neroli, leaves of mandarin and violet - shining, softly sparkling, with a caress of rosewood. The middle notes bloom at the center revealing a pure floral with sweet, delicate notes of gardenia, the merest hint of fresh mimosa and the warm, heady flowers of ylang ylang. The bouquet finishes with roots of precious woods and vibrant muted, yet extremely sensual notes of ambergris, musk and vanilla."

• Top notes: peach, plum, Brazilian rosewood, orange blossom, violet leaves, mandarin leaves and neroli
• Middle notes: mimosa, Grasse jasmine, neroli, orchid, carnation, black locust, tuberose, gardenia, acacia, black currant, East Indian ylang ylang, red berries
• Base notes: musk, Mysore sandalwood, vanilla, ambergris, Tonka bean and cedar

Givenchy made use of the aroma chemical Trimofix by IFF for its Amarige fragrance. It is a powerful, diffusive and complex woody note. You may recognize the distinct scent from its presence in Chanel's famous Allure perfume and in Armani Code.

Givenchy also made use of the aroma chemical Cashmeran by IFF in the creation of Amarige. Although there are woody-musky notes to Cashmeran, its odor is complex with notes that are: rich spicy, fruity, chypre, balsamic and vanilla, overall intended to convey the soft sensuous feeling of cashmere (hence the trade name Cashmeran). You may recognize the scent in other fragrances such as Balmain's famous Ivoire, Kenzo's Jungle Elephant and Thierry Mugler's Alien.

Bottles:

Presented in a bottle designed by Serge Mansau.

In 1994, it was presented in a hand crafted crystal limited edition collector's flacon in a red and gold presentation box.

Amarige was available in the following:

• 0.25 oz Parfum
• 0.22 oz Touch-on Perfume Gel
• 0.13 oz Eau de Toilette mini 
• 1 oz Eau de Toilette 
• 1.7 oz Eau de Toilette 
• 3.3 oz Eau de Toilette 
• 1.7 oz Body Cream
• 6.6 oz Body Cream
• 1.7 oz Bath Gel
• 2.5 oz Bath Gel
• 6.7 oz Bath Gel
• 3.3 oz Body Lotion
• 6.6 oz Body Lotion
• 2.5 oz Body Veil
• 6.7 oz Body Veil
• 6 oz Body Powder
• 5 oz Dusting Powder
• 3.4 oz Deodorant

In 1994, a limited edition flacon was introduced, known as Amarige Enchantment Edition Prestige, it was housed in a hand crafted crystal bottle, presented in a red and gold box. This is a discontinued example and very hard to find.

How to tell vintage from newer?

Older BOXES have a more intricate the decorative pattern around the border of the box, the newer boxes show a more simplistic pattern. The older box design was used from 1991-2004. Also notice the Givenchy logo is just above the name Amarige on the vintage box, while it is towards the bottom of the box on the newer example. On older boxes, the ingredients list is short, after 2004, the ingredient list is much longer.

 Older bottles may have perfume that has turned dark, this is due to the natural aging process of the ingredients used such as vanilla and jasmine.

Louis Vuitton acquired Parfums Givenchy in 1986 when they bought the champagne and perfume group Veuve Clicquot, who had purchased Parfums Givenchy from Hubert de Givenchy in 1981.

Older batch codes have 5 and 6 alphanumeric digits.  In 2002, parent company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) started using 4 alphanumeric batch codes for fragrances. The first number is the last number of the date. For the years 2002-2007, the second digit in the code will be the letters A through M. Starting in 2008, the letters N through Z were used. Example, batch code 4F01 would be 2004.

LVMH Fragrance Brands is a house of the Perfumes and Cosmetics division of LVMH Group. It has been created in 2011 and brings together the savoir-faire and the passion of two iconic brands : Parfums Givenchy and Kenzo Parfums. So if your box reads LVMH Fragrance Brands, it will date to 2011 and after.

Flanker Scents:

Extra'vagance d’Amarige: launched in May 1998 as a ‘sister’ fragrance to 'Amarige. Created by Michel Girard. It is classified as a fresh green floral eau de toilette. Presented in bottle designed by Serge Mansau

• Top notes: green mandarin, tagetes, pink peppercorn and nettle
• Middle notes: jasmine, orange blossom, wisteria, wild strawberry and violet leaves 
• Base notes: sandalwood, cedar, ambrox and black iris

The launch advertisement shown the model Eva Herzigova wearing a décolleté gown designed by Alexander McQueen (who had become Givenchy’s chief designer in 1996). Also to launch the fragrance, a copy of Eva’s tattoo in the form of a transfer impregnated with the edt was given away free with every bottle purchased.

Amarige Nuage Parfume Perfumed Air Spray: launched around 2000 or later. This was a silicone based perfume spray. It was formulated without alcohol and water. The silicone was a sort of "dry oil" type fragrance spray that would leave your skin silky moisturized and non-oily. It was advised to spray all over the body for a refreshed feeling.

Amarige d'Amour: launched in 2002. Created by Emilie Copperman in collaboration with Bertrand Duchaufour. Presented in a bottle designed by Serge Mansau. It is classified as a fruity floral eau de toilette

• Top notes: tangerine, blackcurrant
• Middle notes: sweet pea, jasmine, rose
• Base notes: amber and sandalwood

Amarige Mariage: launched in 2006.

Les Millésimes de Givenchy:

Harvest Fragrances were limited editions from the Les Millésimes de Givenchy collection. Each year the fragrance would be enriched with a specific floral. EDP presented in a 60 ml bottle. All are discontinued.


Amarige Mimosa de Grasse Millésime 2005: launched in 2005, November in USA. Prestige edition. Disc.

Amarige Mimosa de Grasse Millésime 2005: launched in 2006. Introduced 20th February. Standard edition. Wild golden blossom mimosa from Tanneron Hills in Grasse France.

Amarige Ylang Ylang Mayotte 2006: launched in 2007. Used ylang ylang from the 2006 harvest from the French island of Mayotte and has additional notes of mandarin leaf, gardenia, sandalwood and vanillla.

Amarige Mimosa Tamil Nadu Inde 2007: launched in 2008. Used mimosa from the 2007 harvest in Tamil Nedu.

Amarige Ylang-Ylang Ile de Nosy Be Madagascar 2008: launched in 2009. used ylang-ylang from the 2008 harvest in Nossi Be in Madagascar.

Amarige Mimosa Grasse 2009: launched in 2010, used the 2009 harvest of the Mimosa flower, which this year took place in Grasse, France.

Amarige Ylang-Ylang Ile de Moheli des Comores 2010: launched in 2011.   A limited edition edp enriched with a specific floral harvest from 2010 with banana accents of ylang ylang from Comoros..

Fate of the Fragrance:

As of November 2018, Amarige was no longer featured on Givenchy's website, I believe it has been discontinued.