Gypsy Water
Byredo (2008)

The fragrance itself is fine, but even if it was amazing, there is no redemption for using an ethnic slur in the name of a perfume. Very bad form Byredo. Until the name is changed, or the fragrance discontinued, I will not consider spending a dime with this company.

G*psy is a slur. Opre Roma!

Brands update, re-brand and reformulate all the time for many reasons. I don't think it would be out of reach for Byredo to simply rename this one. If this is a good scent, I'd never know, because I'm not going to touch it with a ten foot pole. G*psy is not my word to use, and I won't wear a frag whose name I wouldn't speak aloud. It doesn't mean free spirit, it doesn't mean wanderer, it's a slur used against a marginalized group.

I know this doesn't bother a lot of people, but whether we like it or not, our spending speaks for us. I hope people aren't buying this stuff because they explicitly don't care about the oppression and genocide of Romani and traveling folks. And if they aren't, maybe they shouldn't be buying it at all.

When I first smelled this fragrance, it immediately caught my attention. While it's not a standout scent, I still consider it one of Byredo's best offerings. However, its performance could be improved, and the high price point makes it a bit of a disappointment. Despite enjoying the scent, it's hard to justify the cost. Additionally, there are some concerns about the name of the fragrance.

I would describe this as 'pleasant'.

Everything about this is nice, nice opening, nice drydown. Does it have the 'wow' factor? I'm not too sure.

The citrus - especially bergamot - opening is bright and positive, but is not strong enough to have a really refreshing character. There is a fruity undertone that morphs into a coniferous woody drydown with a gently balsamic undertone, but without much of a raisinous component.

The base adds a vanillin note that is accompanied by a weakly ambery sideline.

I get weak sillage, poor projection and a rather suboptimal longevity of three hours, with the last hour being very close to my skin.

This summery scent is pleasant in its top notes, but only in a watery sense of a way; the rest of its development not exactly bad, but it is characterised by being generic, synthetic and diluted - as evidenced by the poor performance on my skin. 2.5/5

Light, airy citrus with creamy vanilla-amber woods. Very unisex and pleasant throughout. Smells almost commercially too good, like it's something found in hotel soaps or shampoos. The vanilla in here is muted and more floral, not gourmand. The drydown many hours in reminds me of Davidoff Silver Shadow.

Projection is adequate and longevity is decent lasting 6-8 hours.