Gucci Envy 1997 advertisement, wiki
1997 was the year Buffy was staking vampires, the Wu Tang Clan told us we would triumph and we hung out with “Friends”. Although it was sinking the Titanic showed us that our hearts would go on and Oprah told us “If I can do it, you can do it”. We chatted on AOL messenger and our lives at that time seemed much simpler, filled with possibilities. We were the MTV generation known for individualism as eclecticism and multiculturalism broadened our horizons. In music we loved grunge, hip-hop, new wave, and so much more. What fragrance best represented 1997. For me, it is the sadly discontinued Gucci Envy for Women.
Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel, courtesy of Symrise
You’ve undoubtedly smelled many of the creations of Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel (Ermano named Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur a modern masterpiece) and whose career has spanned four decades. He became a perfumer in 1973 and in 1996, he joined Symrise, where he was recognized as a master perfumer.
Grape Hyacinth photo by Michelyn 2021
The story behind the creation of Gucci Envy for Women may not be well known to perfume lovers. Its development began with Maurice Roucel’s encounter with a flower: the hyacinth. This moment became the spark that would take 13 years to develop into Maurice Roucel can still clearly remember the precise moment in May of 1984 when the idea for the fragrance came to him and he worked on the formulation for over a decade “Because of perfection,” Roucel explained. “For Envy, the perfume arrived in 1997, but I’d worked on the idea since 1984.”
Gucci Envy for Women Ad courtesy of Gucci
Gucci Envy For Women is a dynamic fragrance with the confidence of youth evoking endless possibilities. Bergamot and subtle peachy-pineapple undertones warm a verdant opening that brings to mind an Alpine meadow in the soft sun of northern climes. Muguet is the first floral I notice – it’s fine-tuned lightness gentle and breezy. Next, a stunning hyacinth note gathers the sunny greenness of the top together with the white floral supports of the heart. Magnolia combines with freesia, jasmine, and rose in a spectacularly clear and resonant bouquet. An edgy metallic aspect appears to give Gucci Envy for Women a sense of turn-of-the-century momentum. The base of the fragrance stays refined and minimalist while also including the characteristic forest floor tones of oakmoss. Soft iris, musk and sandalwood rounds out the clean and airy base. 1997’s Gucci Envy for Women is a triumph of technological and artistic mastery that presents a perfectly timed balance of nature and metropolis with ease and assurance.
Notes: bergamot, peach, pineapple, magnolia, freesia, muguet, hyacinth, jasmine, rose, violet, cedar, oakmoss, iris, musk, sandalwood
Bottle my own, opinions my own.
~ Rachel K. Ng, Senior Contributor
Please read Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen’s interview with Master Perfumer Maurice Roucel here.
Thanks to the generosity of Jana Menard of Fragrance Vault we have a sample of Gucci Envy for Women for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader in the USA ONLY, (if you are not sure if you are registered click here – you must register on our site or your entry will be invalid). To be eligible please leave a comment on this site with what strikes you about Gucci Envy for Women in the USA. Draw closes August 3, 2023
Editor’s Note: August 1, 2023 is the 42nd anniversary of MTV. Rock on Monsieur Roucel…rock on-Michelyn
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