Reviews of Gris Clair (2006)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Some scents are just too big to fit in a bottle. This one is. It is like opening one of those children's books where an intire 3D scenery pops up. It pure lavender at first whif, not the extract but the real thing from the bush, crushed between fingers. And then something strange happens. I cannot single out any other note. It all comes together in a -linear indeed- but so compact smell that I at least cannot break down to its componants. Someone has already said something about being in a kitchen with a hot cup of tea in a winter morning. To me the esthetic and emotional impact of Gris Clair is the smell that comes from good quality cotton or linen that is being ironed, no fabric softener applied. I know the lavender is there. I know other notes are there, but there is just no way to analyze this fragrance. It's take it or live it. It takes you back to a place where you're sitting in a cold afternoon, the sun has just set but the lights are not yet on, there's the warm fuzzy feeling of your mom being around, but still you are so distant from all this. Comfort and melancholy at the same time. I couldn't imagine wearing it on a hot day. I couldn't imagine it being widely popular on a mass market base. But then maybe it's just me and a private emotional chord it had striken.

Lavender plants have been blooming in my garden and they have been trippling it's territory every year. Gris Clair smells like crushed dry lavender without the green edge. Cool, crisp, ashy and metallic, quite realistic comparing to the real lavender with a little toned down on the sharpness I would say. Doesn't seem to have developed much on the skin. Great longevity, moderate sillage.

Oh joy! A lavender scent that doesn't turn into stuffy-old-man soap! I love fresh lavender in the garden, but tend to steer away from lavender scents. Unless they have strong animalic components - like Jicky or Ungaro II - they become oppressively soapy on my skin. Not Gris Clair.

My experience is that almost every time Sheldrake and Lutens break out of their obsessive sweet oriental groove, they strike gold: Sa Majeste la Rose, Chene, Un Lys, Tubereuse Criminelle, and now Gris Clair. The element of success in this scent, I believe, is balance. The lavender is palpably real and three-dimensional, but not overwhelming. Instead, it's perfectly offset by smooth woods and soft spices, enlivened by a mild camphorous note, and rounded out by just the merest dab of sweetness in the base. It's not sensuous in the manner of most Serge Lutens scents, but rather quite reserved and formal.

Gris Clair is a scent that I would turn too when I'm dressing well in warm weather and want to project sophistication, poise, and confidence. Better than average lasting power and adequate, yet controlled sillage and projection add to its charms. Bravo!

As autumn begins its final transition into winter---leaves fall from trees, leaving silvery structures tracing smoky skies, before grayness is dusted over with magical powder---a reflective quiet falls over the land. Bugs have passed and birds prepare for cold, plants go into dormancy. Subtle rains cover the land before air becomes cold enough to mold raindrops into crystalline trinkets. During these days of stillness suspended, it becomes impossible to ignore the inner mind, while moving through the isolating--yet strangely comforting--calmness of November, in places that boast distinct seasonal phases."Gris Clair" captures such a time in all its transitional, ancient-seeming glory; it's like a wet, smoky air that's been purified by a cool breeze. It's haunting, beautiful but not disturbing; sometimes, it seems like a celebration of an alcohol note (like "L 'antimatiere") without the cutting harshness of that burst, but after an initial (and disconcertingly masculine, only to quickly dry down into something more universal) blast of dry lavender, it morphs into a clear, comforting sweetness that reminds one of walking through a historical "living" museum as outdoor bonfires are put out by a soft rain. It's an idealized scent of stories like "Braveheart" and "Robin Hood", where the quiet, magical dankness of Anglo-Saxon land, marries with spiritual sensuality and intellectual beauty in representing lost stories and eras. Mind you, the smokiness of "Gris Clair" is not a dirty, working residue---it's a clean, pulsing haziness, cozy like a wooly wrap but fresh enough to wear year-round. Lavender, to me, is the scent of wisdom and meditation; it can be sensual, but only under the most euphorically passionate, transcendental terms. "Gris Clair" is a surprisingly unexpected scent; it's dry, majestic, yet sweet and cozy. It has a rare character all its own and glorifies one of the most unpopular and misunderstood seasonal transitions of the year. I think this might be a quick buy for those who are sick of the boring status quo of department store releases. Come on, marketing groups and buying public; every fragrance doesn't have to smell like a Malibu beachhouse or international bouquet. There can be beauty and contentment in quiet solitude.

My favorite winter scent (though it works just as well in warmer weather).

This one is an enigma to me - cool and warm at the same time, crisp and mellow, refreshing and comforting. It reminds me of looking out of the window from the kitchen on a bright winter morning, with a cup of tea in my hands. The mineralic-woody-oriental base is just gold. Perfect sillage & longevity.

In my opinion a really good example of what not to do with lavender. It is not featured in a natural way nor integrated in a complex way. Instead the scent strikes me as over produced, sacharin sweetened, de-medicinalised. All the purple roundness is removed leaving a monochrome two dimensional flatland.

I get no pathos with this, it is too technical and has no flow. It would make a good flavouring for a travel sweet in a tin. It lacks in depth of conception and execution to me.

My favourite lavender scent.

Its crisp and sharp accords make this perfectly suitable for the warmer months (if worn during cooler weather, it’ll fail to fully bloom). Gris Clair is fresh, unapologetically dense and possesses plenty of charisma – at no point does it ever develop into generic blandness.

It’s a superb summer staple for anyone’s wardrobe.

Extremely different from most Lutens scents, Gris Clair is somewhat brutal, quite one- dimensional and very masculine. It definitely breaks the mold regarding what we´ve come to expect from this house. Neither ambigous or an oriental-candied fruit-honeyed-sweetness-meltdown, Gris Clair is a modern, sharp and quite dark take on lavender.

The lavender has a clear metallic edge to it that is very special - reminds me a bit of the small spice sachets that grandma had lying around drawers with linen.

But it´s also easy to argue that Gris Clair in fact is a stronge move toward the mainstream. It´s miles less original than most Lutens fragrances, and elements of it are extremely reminiscent of widely available stuff like Lanvin L´Homme or Rocabar from Hermès. Perhaps this is the route many niche houses will be taking? At least Fredric Malle´s Outrageous and many of the latest L'Artisans seem to indicate such a development.

To conclude, Gris Clair is a cool (literallly)and macho spiced juice with some serious bite. Mellow and subtle it is not, but an accesible lavender that'll work great in a professional business enviroment assuming it is applied with moderation. A nice fragrance on it´s own but only okay granted it´s maker and niche status.

Sharp, crisp and melancholy use of lavender here. I see blustery moors and snow-covered hills when I wear Gris Clair - it's not a warm and fuzzy frag, no. It's pure wintertime crispness, with no prettified edges.

Gris Clair is an interesting take on lavender—it’s heavy, a bit dark, unique, but cool at the same time. I’m not usually a fan of strong lavender fragrances, but I have actually given serious consideration to this one. I like that it’s not sweet; I love that it’s quite aromatic; I love its darkness. I question that it doesn’t seem to go anywhere—it just sits there being interestingly linear. The drydown is definitely a Lutens creation; it is rich, unique, Oriental, and it has almost impossible longevity. In spite of the excellent drydown, and even though I would rank it as my favorite lavender fragrance, I am still considering if I like Gris Clair enough to buy a bottle. It is an intriguing, beautiful fragrance that deserves a thumbs up. This could be a great fragrance for a lavender fan who might appreciate a completely different take on this interesting note. I’m working on it—I may buy it yet.

Must've been no mean feat to make a lavender scent so stuffy. Pass.

This is the perfect scent for a cool, misty day hiking in the Alps. More melancholy and austere than L'Heure Bleue, sharper and fresher than many lavender-based scents, this is a poem, this is Goethe in a bottle.

hm, nice but.. the drydown is very similar to Gucci Pour Homme, at least the basenotes seem to me almost identical. So if you really like this fragrance I suggest try GPM as well, you may get almost the same for less than 1/3 the price of this.

Strange, I think of Gris Clair as the heavier of the two Lutens' lavender scents. It has a very thick, creamy, sweet base that smooths out the intensity of the sharp lavender that opens the show. Sweet, but probably not too sweet for the summer. It has a cheerier feel than Encens et Lavande. Not sure if or when I would wear this scent. I like it, it's just not one I would imagine reaching for often. Of course it's a Lutens, so it has strong sillage and very good longevity. It's good, maybe not my thing though.

I decided to buy this fragrance today but only after I've sampled it a week ago. This scent made such an impression that I had to have it. I've always loved Lavander but this is the one that I actually would spend money on. The Annick Goutal Lavande comes second.

I can not say this any better than MikeD. This is like genuine dried lavender crushed in a mortar and pestle. It is very similar to Encens et Lavande but somehow feels "cooler". It has a lighter feel than the Encens et Lavande that I find more wearable for myself. I will have to be in the right mood for it however.

A very fresh, very well-done lavender. Be aware though that in hot weather, the lavender can really take over. Best worn in cooler weather, where the smooth dry-down can really come out and play.

This is a fascinating fragrance, in that it has a truly genuine lavender feel about it, which is not found in most "lavender" scents. It reminds me of lavender in the summer, crushed between the fingers and allowed to dry on them. There is a hint of coolness here as well, which adds to the comfortable wearability quotient. A nice, soft dry-down completes this summery scent. Unisex and recommended!