Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Serge Lutens Gris Clair: the anti-Lutens, Lutens?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Serge Lutens Gris Clair: the anti-Lutens, Lutens?

post #1 of 20
4/24/07 at 7:50pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks to a generous Basenotes member, who sent me a sample of this masterpiece, I'm wearing Gris Clair again. After 2 days, I 'm convinced that this is my favorite Lutens fragrance. My question is: is this really a Lutens? Didn't someone else besides Sheldrake do this one? It is so different than his typical syrups.
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
post #2 of 20
4/24/07 at 7:57pm
  • Ged
  • offline
  • Gender:
I agree. It is such a sharp, almost fresh, lavender. Very distinguished. I love it too.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 20
4/24/07 at 8:19pm
Some other anti-Lutens lutens (all of which I like more than the Lutens lutens):

Encens et Lavande
Iris Silver Mist (perfumer: Maurice Roucel)
MKK

I havent tried Rousse, but from the sounds of it its an anti-lutens lutens too.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 20
4/24/07 at 9:06pm
Gris Claire is a masterpiece, and definitely different from other Lutens. It's my favourite fragrance right now.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 20
4/25/07 at 5:45am
Rousse is without doubt a anti-Lutens, Lutens.
Opens predominantly with cinnamon, seems to be quite long lasting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zztopp View Post

Some other anti-Lutens lutens (all of which I like more than the Lutens lutens):

Encens et Lavande
Iris Silver Mist (perfumer: Maurice Roucel)
MKK

I havent tried Rousse, but from the sounds of it its an anti-lutens lutens too.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 20
4/25/07 at 8:55am
Rousse is Cinnamon on steroids. If you've ever walked past a Cin-A-Bun store in the mall you have an idea of it's sillage.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 20
4/25/07 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fredricktoo View Post

Rousse is Cinnamon on steroids. If you've ever walked past a Cin-A-Bun store in the mall you have an idea of it's sillage.

I think this qualifies Rousse as a Lutens' Lutens!
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 20
4/25/07 at 9:56pm
Could someone give me a brief description of what a Lutens should smell like and why Gris Clair and Rousse etc are "anti-Lutens"
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 20
4/25/07 at 10:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rompip View Post

Could someone give me a brief description of what a Lutens should smell like and why Gris Clair and Rousse etc are "anti-Lutens"

Serge Lutens is known for a sweet benzoin-honey-amber accord that's present to varying degrees in most of his fragrances. While that may sound cliche, it's actually done in an unusual way, and it's amazing (if you're into that kind of thing). Rousse and Gris Claire just don't have as much of that certain accord type, making them stand out more in the line.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 20
4/25/07 at 10:45pm
Thread Starter 
Gris Clair is such a cool fragrance. Lutens are usually warm and sultry. Many of them take a single note and screw around with it by juxtaposing the unexpected, in this way Gris Clair is very much a Lutens - lavender juxtaposed to ashes. But, it is the most unusal of all the Lutens for not using an oriental approach.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 20
4/25/07 at 10:52pm
Lutens has done a number of "cold" scents, and Gris Clair is my favorite by far of those. It's very Lutens, just the flip side.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 20
4/26/07 at 2:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rompip View Post

Could someone give me a brief description of what a Lutens should smell like and why Gris Clair and Rousse etc are "anti-Lutens"

I think the Lutens Syrup Theory suffers from oversimplification. In addition to the perfumes mentioned to correct that picture - how can one forget the many beautiful florals and citrus groves? That makes four different lines already, and a closer look ( if someone really knows all 38 frags listed) might reveal some more. It is not Serge Lutens' fault if (within BN) mainly his Orientals are being discussed. Of course they achieved particular attention because they are rather close to Arabic traditions. European people nowadays have taken more of friendly interest in the Middle East. Almost all of these Eaux are early EDP, another plus with his Jasmin and Rose frags! I feel grateful for that kind of syrup.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 20
4/26/07 at 5:11am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by narcus View Post

I think the Lutens Syrup Theory suffers from oversimplification. In addition to the perfumes mentioned to correct that picture - how can one forget the many beautiful florals and citrus groves? That makes four different lines already, and a closer look ( if someone really knows all 38 frags listed) might reveal some more. It is not Serge Lutens' fault if (within BN) mainly his Orientals are being discussed. Of course they achieved particular attention because they are rather close to Arabic traditions. European people nowadays have taken more of friendly interest in the Middle East. Almost all of these Eaux are early EDP, another plus with his Jasmin and Rose frags! I feel grateful for that kind of syrup.

I agree with you about the danger of over-simplification, but I still think Gris Clair stands on its own amongst all the other Lutens/Sheldrake/Roucel creations. As I said before, I feel its presence is extremely cool to the nose, something very un-typical for a Lutens. Btw, I worship at the Lutens altar, that is, when I'm not praying to St. Guerlain.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 20
4/26/07 at 11:37am
There are at least a couple of other scents besides Gris Clair in the Lutens line that do not lean too heavily on the supersweet basenotes, in particular Sa Majeste la Rose, Daim Blond and, to some extent, Mandarine-Mandarin and Chypre Rouge. I agree that it's the big, sweet orientals like Chergui, Fumerie Turque, and Ambre Sultan that get all the attention, and its a shame that some of Sheldrake and Lutens's cooler, drier scents don't get as much press. Just look at which scents in this post have parsed links!
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 20
9/17/10 at 8:01am
I associate incense/smoke notes to many of the Lutens but L'eau by Serge Lutens is very different to my nose and I find it very fresh and wearable.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 20
9/17/10 at 9:53am
With ISM, Rose de nuit didn't be designed by Sheldrake (Gilles Romey).

Gris clair is the interpretation of a natural phenomen in Marocco, Atlas mountains. When volcans are in eruption, the lava is drying slowly, and even after an eruption the lavanda can grow on burned layer (lavanda pierce the dried ash of lava).
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 20
9/17/10 at 11:19am
Rousse is a dry, woody, relatively cool cinnamon. It is not sweet or sticky or gourmand at all.

I would also place Borneo 1834 in this category. While it has some sweetness, its style has more in common with Rousse than with fragrances like Arabie or Cedre or Fumerie Turque and others that tend more towards the fruity and syrupy.

I'm a big fan of Lutens, from the syrupy to the floral to the drier, perhaps leaner ones like we are discussing here. The only one I haven't come to terms with is L'Eau. Having worn it a couple of times already, I can't say that I like it much.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 20
9/17/10 at 3:35pm
I've always considered Gris Clair a clear Lutens fragrance because I associate Lutens with strong sweet scents. With Douce Amere, Gris Clair has a lightness that is unique from Chergui or Fumerie Turque or Chene, but they are ALL sweet, and there's nothing subtle about the sweetness either. Gris Clair is so sweet that it's sweeter than even a vanilla tonka bean fragrance like Shalimar and Bvlgari Black.

But this doesn't mean I don't like them I just adore all my super sweet Lutens. The Lutens I'd tried that I'd consider 'anti-Lutens' would probably be the florals like Silver Iris Mist, which is a real stark contrast to the other fragrances, but still maintaining the 'thickness'.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 20
10/11/10 at 12:48pm
L' eau b Serge & Gris Clair are non-typical Serge Lutens IMO. Typical Serge Lutens tend to be heavy as mentioned above.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 20
10/11/10 at 3:10pm
Gris Clair is one of my favorites, too. (Kevin, we share a birthday AND a few favorite fragrances, I'm realizing!). The big bad syrupy Lutens style is not my cup of tea, though. I do enjoy Chergui, and I could see wearing Arabie once a year or so. Gris Clair is a real joy, though. I love its cool clarity.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: MFD Archive

Features on Basenotes

Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Serge Lutens Gris Clair: the anti-Lutens, Lutens?