Hello Lutens fans;
Of all the scents I tested from SL, Gris Clair was the one that impressed me most favorably and most quickly. From the beginning I knew it was the one that I could actually wear...and so I got caught in the web and now I'm trapped. Interestingly enough, despite my love for orientals, I never found any other Lutens that I could wear. I consider them works of art but they have elements that are unpleasant or distubring to me (emotionally/mentally). Sometimes it's the curry note, sometimes the smokey amber... dark, strange...just not my thing. And some are just not extraordinary.
For this reason, I've also been sampling Ensence et Lavande.
I'm a little surprised at the constant comparison of these two. Yes, both feature lavender but they're very different. Reviews are mixed. I find GC more unique than EeL and I would want it in my wardrobe.
GC has a distinct tonka and smoke/ash note that pushes through very quickly. It lasts on my skin forever and I get sudden whiffs of it out of nowhere. It is very much in line with the descriptions in the press/ads (the flower...burning flame...cool but cannot touch). It's cold and ashen--yet warm at once!
On the other hand, EeL is much lighter, fresher, more transparent and has less of a presence and diffusion off my skin. It's lemony fresh at the top and the incense is not nearly as smokey as GC. In fact, the development of this scent is much slower and the incense comes up ever so slowly, quietly, softly--more like turning the page of a book slowly. Is this why many call it "deeper" than GC? Some call EeL warmer, darker, and more smokey (!). I don't agree. I've smelled this treatment of incense elsewhere but I haven't smelled GC elsewhere.
What's your take on these two?
Thank you!
RM
Of all the scents I tested from SL, Gris Clair was the one that impressed me most favorably and most quickly. From the beginning I knew it was the one that I could actually wear...and so I got caught in the web and now I'm trapped. Interestingly enough, despite my love for orientals, I never found any other Lutens that I could wear. I consider them works of art but they have elements that are unpleasant or distubring to me (emotionally/mentally). Sometimes it's the curry note, sometimes the smokey amber... dark, strange...just not my thing. And some are just not extraordinary.
For this reason, I've also been sampling Ensence et Lavande.
I'm a little surprised at the constant comparison of these two. Yes, both feature lavender but they're very different. Reviews are mixed. I find GC more unique than EeL and I would want it in my wardrobe.
GC has a distinct tonka and smoke/ash note that pushes through very quickly. It lasts on my skin forever and I get sudden whiffs of it out of nowhere. It is very much in line with the descriptions in the press/ads (the flower...burning flame...cool but cannot touch). It's cold and ashen--yet warm at once!
On the other hand, EeL is much lighter, fresher, more transparent and has less of a presence and diffusion off my skin. It's lemony fresh at the top and the incense is not nearly as smokey as GC. In fact, the development of this scent is much slower and the incense comes up ever so slowly, quietly, softly--more like turning the page of a book slowly. Is this why many call it "deeper" than GC? Some call EeL warmer, darker, and more smokey (!). I don't agree. I've smelled this treatment of incense elsewhere but I haven't smelled GC elsewhere.
What's your take on these two?
Thank you!
RM
