
Some time ago I mentioned the difficulty of getting a new bottle of Gucci Envy for Men. However, I have never felt the pressure of getting a bottle of Gucci Envy for Women because I can see them in every discounted perfume shop in Toronto. (Not in great abundance, but at least one or two bottles.) But, all discontinued perfumes will someday get sold out, I think it’s better be safe than sorry, so I bought a bottle a few days ago.
While appreciating Envy for Woman for the first time, I suddenly realized that I had smelled it before, at least a few times. I don’t remember when, who wore it, or the location, but the smell was so distinct and pretty that I somehow recognized it. It is like watching Disney’s Dumbo when I was a kid, I don’t remember a thing about it now, but I knew I had watched it in a cinema.
I would compare Envy for Women to Prescriptives’ Calyx (both are 5-star perfumes in Luca Turin’s book); they share similar structure – fruity tops, rosy/lily-of-the-valley middle notes, but Envy is lighter, fresher, more distinct, and has a surprisingly strong longevity.
I wonder why there are more bottles of Envy for Women than for Men. May be it was so good and had sold so well that Gucci had over-produced Envy for Women. Or may be men tend to buy the same perfume when a bottle is finished and hence the remaining stock gets depleted faster? Either way, I am glad that I have all the Envy – and can see how brilliant the two minimalistic bottle designs can suggest the envy of men and women.