This is a review for the reissue of Derby.

First of all, I have no idea what tempted me to get a decant of this. I am not a big Guerlain fan in general, and I am by no means a "nose." However, I am quite possibly the ideal target for cosmetics and fragrances marketers: I am struck with the image portrayed by a scent. For me, Derby conjures up images of a gentleman in a smart bespoke suit, witty and intelligent--rather Sherlock Holmes with a dash of Hercule Poirot's continental charm. I also had a weird thing for masculine scents at the time.

This fragrance is a perfect example of the universality of fragrance--it's marked as a masculine, but I could never imagine this on a man, save perhaps on a dandy! It smells quite powdery to me, light and sweet with that peculiar leather note that smells absolutely nothing like leather! Sadly, after a while, I felt like I had been handed a slightly less offensive Youth Dew, that is to say, I aged about sixty years. After about six hours, this juice induced nausea.

Fragrance is so, so personal, so please don't be offended if you adore this ... I just don't. It is classy and smooth, but not for me.