GrigioPerla (1991)
by La Perla

A very masculine fragrance. Barbershop style. Together with Rive Gauche my favourite in this style. 5/5

Edit: I think this was the inspiration of Gillette Cool Wave.

31st March, 2011.

A pillar of the italian perfumery. A moody semi-oriental fougere with a strong initial aromatic phase and a smooth, ambery, woodsy dry down. It's a decent office fragrance very versatile because of its further romantic, soapy vein which emerges from the accomplished dry down making it usable in the course of a night out. Its aromatic presence of anice, basil, coriander, rosemary, clary sage, oakmoss, bergamot, lavender and other elements plus its subtle barber shop initial feel make it similar to Drakkar Noir which is a less dark and subtle one. Grigioperla is more moody, mysterious than the Laroche one. It's less loud and woodsy. Some astringent flowers are present in the middle in order to enhance the romanticism of the juice. The final outcome is smooth because of ambergrise, smoky tonka, musk, woods and a touch of leather. Not bad. Powerful longevity and notable projection.

29th March, 2011. (Last Edited: 30th March, 2011.)

An amusing, slightly weird fresh fougere in the style of Cool Water. Grigio Perla does everything that the current formulation of Cool Water does, but better. The opening is somewhat Italian and herbal. The drydown comes quickly and is sweet, soft, and lovely, without any of the synthetic, sinus-scorching penetration of CW.

At times it was reminiscent of Chanel's Allure Homme. Both Allure and Grigio Perla have a muted, restrained quality that I like - they're really not trying to be exciting or innovative, but that doesn't mean that they're bad.

I had no trouble finding this online. Sillage and longevity are both moderate. This is nice, well-made juice, endearing and good.

EDIT - The drydown really does share a creamy, minty barbershop accord with the even cheaper (but very nice) Captain by Molyneux. Good stuff.

2nd March, 2011. (Last Edited: 6th March, 2011.)

Very nice, a scent of a class comparable to Cool Water, maybe.
It is fresh, greeny, herbal and with an amazing drydown note of earl grey tea to my nose.
A early autumn or springtime scent in my opinion.

4th February, 2011.

Great fresh fragrance of the classic fougere structure. I get whiffs of a Cool Water like accord but there's more freshness and herbs than Cool Water. Plus there's no sandalwood drydown. GrigioPerla is a fresh, green fougere that's great for everyday wear.

19th April, 2010.

One of the best barbershop fougeres on the market, but it's not just another barbershop fougere - its development is rich and complex, its layers very distinct and prominent. It's also unlike pretty much every fougere around. Grigio Perla's opening and middle notes are chock full of green - herbs, fern, light moss, I even get a slight hint of pine, all accompanied by a splash of light citrus in the opening and the barbershop soapy note in the middle - it's like a more refined and higher class Brut, when Brut was still made by Faberge and still a giant among cheapo frags. As it heads towards its base after a couple of hours and long after the citrus goes, the classic fougere gives way to a sweet floral which isn't too feminine and the soap lingers in the background. Sillage and longevity on me are great. Like a previous reviewer said, you still CAN get this despite the discontinued marker. Hopefully it won't be properly discontinued because it's a little masterpiece.

19th March, 2010.