Pi

Givenchy now divides Pi into three layers: mandarin and pine needles at the top, an accord called Infinium at the heart, ironwood and benzoin crystals at the base. The house files it among woody ambers, Osmoz among woody orientals.

Mandarin and pine needles at the top

Mandarin and pine needles open the fragrance, according to the house. Osmoz described a freshness of basil, rosemary, tarragon, mandarin and neroli, laid over an otherwise warm eau de toilette.

Infinium at the heart

Infinium, an accord unique to Pi, occupies the heart; the house sets it against the strength of the wood as a pure abstraction, a vast open space. Osmoz finds it again in 2001 in Pi Eau Fraîche, paired with ironwood.

Ironwood and benzoin at the base

The base pairs ironwood, which the house says was traditionally used to build sailing ships, with benzoin crystals. Osmoz identifies this ironwood as guaiac and describes a woody base blended with benzoin and vanilla, which a final note of bitter almond brings close to gingerbread.

What remains outside the declared accord

The basil, rosemary, tarragon, neroli, vanilla and bitter almond described by Osmoz no longer appear in the house’s current description. Infinium, a house accord, enters no layer as a material; coumarin is named only by the label.

What the label declares

Nineteen lines make up the list for the eau de toilette. Behind alcohol, water and fragrance come coumarin, a first UV filter, limonene, linalool, a second UV filter, a butylene glycol ester and citronellol.

Added to these are BHT, citral, benzyl benzoate, geraniol, isoeugenol, alpha-isomethyl ionone and tocopherol. Two colorants, red and yellow, close it; neither lilial nor lyral appears.