Gris Clair fragrance notes
Head
- lavender
Heart
- amber, tonka bean, iris
Base
- dry wood, incense
Where to buy
Latest Reviews of Gris Clair

Gris Clair lets every note hit hard - everything here is strong, from the lavender to the spices to the tonka/coumarin to the clever ashy incense note. But ultimately, its strength is its main issue. Really, it comes down to the coumarin, which can be extremely sharp with its terpine undertones jabbing at the nose like gas fumes. Somehow, the coumarin in Gris Clair amplifies and sharpens every other note into something unpleasant, and the end result is an aggressive perfume that seems to want to fight.
If you like what this does, minus its anger issues, I'd suggest trying Lutens' lighter take on these notes, Five O'Clock Au Gingembre, or Diptyque's excellent Eau de Lavande.

Dusty wafts from the incense note undulate hauntingly as Gris Clair dries on my skin. I do agree with others that there is also this distinct hot iron element as well, which brings me nostalgia for a time where I did need to press shirts for work, now a distant memory as I permanently work from home. I recall when I was young and felt like I was well on my way to being 'upwardly mobile,' not yet 30, wearing a crisp shirt, walking from the train through Boston's Chinatown to my office, listening to Wim Wertens "Struggle for Pleasure" in my earbuds. Gris Clair is bringing forth memories such of this. It reminds me that I was younger, more naive then. Crisp shirts, crisp outlook.
Here I am today, 43, no where near upwardly mobile, but more content, contemplating the view through a lavender-tinted rear view mirror, with clouds of dust and smoke and Gris Clair slowly warms, with its resinous base embracing me, as if to say, "you have done wonderfully, so far, my friend. You deserve some comfort." This older bottle will be relished.
ADVERTISEMENT


The base is dry with an incense that seems woody, although I couldn't tell you what kind of wood. Later it reveals a bit more floral aspects, always with the woody-incense thing lingering. Iris rises and falls. Overall, this is lovely. Not a strong, pungent thing.


Put an old rusty cast iron kettle full of water on stove, when the it begins to sizzle, open the lid, that rusty metallic, simultaneously hot and cold smell of boiled steam will hit you like a punch in your face.
This is what the opening of this perfume feel like.