The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Tel Aviv is Gallivant's portrait of a city that refuses to sit still. Gallivant translates cities into fragrance, not as souvenirs, but as sensory arguments about place. This one captures Tel Aviv in full: the beach, the Bauhaus, the juice stall on Dizengoff, the heat and the noise and the flowers on the balconies overhead. The composition distils urban energy into something wearable. The result is a bright, sunny, floral fruity fragrance that opens with a fresh fruity head, transitions into a floral heart, and settles into a warm musky base that doesn't let go. It's the kind of scent that makes you want to walk a little slower, stop at a café, watch the city move around you.
What makes this composition work is the tension between sparkling citrus and tropical florals. Clementine and blackcurrant open sharp and bright, that frozen margarita brightness that reads as refreshing in any climate. The heart then blooms into something rounder: jasmine sambac absolute, Comoros ylang-ylang, rose oil, and freesia. Together they create a golden-hour warmth that feels lush without tipping into sweetness. The interplay between the bright top notes and the richer heart notes creates a dynamic tension that keeps the fragrance interesting as it develops.
The evolution
The opening hits bright, clementine sparks against blackcurrant, a frozen margarita on a hot day. Within minutes the florals arrive. Jasmine first, then ylang-ylang unfurling warm and tropical, freesia adding a clean sweetness that rounds everything. The rose is subtle, more felt than named. By the second hour the sandalwood and musk arrive, warm and close to the skin. Benzoin adds a honeyed resin that extends the wear. The liatris is the quiet surprise, a green, almost grassy quality that keeps the base from becoming purely warm. The sandalwood and musk linger close, intimate, skin-warm. On fabric it fades faster, but on skin the warmth holds and the fragrance continues to evolve in its quiet, persistent way.
Cultural impact
Tel Aviv by Gallivant is one of the few fragrances attempting to capture this specific city. The launch arrived with a distinctly Tel Aviv character, reflecting the casual beach culture, the Bauhaus architecture, the street markets, the mix of languorous and electric that defines the city. It's not trying to please everyone, and that specificity is part of what makes it work. The fragrance speaks to those who know the city or dream of it, offering a sensory shorthand for a place that pulses with its own particular rhythm.
The House
GallivantGallivant is a London-based independent fragrance house founded by industry veteran Nick Steward, channeling wanderlust into unisex eau de parfums inspired by the world's most compelling cities. From Brooklyn to Berlin, Tokyo to Tel Aviv, each scent captures the spirit of urban exploration, inviting wearers to pause, wander and discover. Small-batch, handmade in Britain and France using carefully sourced materials, Gallivant offers perfumed escapism for the curious explorer.
The Creator
Karine ChevallierKarine favors transparent structures that reveal their ingredients step by step. She often begins with a bright citrus or aromatic opening, then introduces a heart of soft florals or subtle spices.
