Gris Clair Serge Lutens for women and men

I have a strange connection, or should I say disconnection with lavender: one of the notes I claim to love the least, always failing its promise to sooth and relax, bringing not so pleasant memories from my childhood. But then, occasionally, there's a lavender scent that proves me wrong - even more so, because I never expect it to.
Gris Clair starts exactly with the bright rustic lavender note I dislike, the typical "Provencal lavender" theme you find in the home decoration section. And then soon enough its bright top transforms into slightly sweet and dusty texture: tonka bean (sweetness of memories), incense (air and dusk), iris (balmy and cold). None of them dominating, but expanding the picture.
Gris Clair is simple enough, in fact so so confident in its simplicity that anything else would feel stupid, unnecessary.
And I think it's the initial intention. Serge Lutens was never afraid to explore sadness and gloominess, that strange unexplained moods with no proper names that a scent can evoke, so often tied to memories and past wounds.
Note the ellipsis after the words. The fragrance is actually called "Gris clair..." - as if a poem is starting and the conditions are set.
In lavender, such a common note, Lutens and Sheldrake found and emphasized the mixed emotion of a cloudy landscape and a deep longing for something, out of the blue.
I don't so often look at the past the way I used to, but Lutens scents like this helped me a lot to accept and understand such feelings.

I don't feel like Gris Clair is metallic or cold, it smells exactly like a starched white blouse fresh from the dry-cleaners. I am a little surprised so many people voted this as being a masculine fragrance, to me this is unisex through and through. Over-spraying will make the lavender note more noticeable.

My first sniff immediately took me back to childhood. To all my fellow Brazilians that used Cheirinho de Bebê Blue as a kid, that extremely specific scent is in here and it’s wonderful. That coupled with the subtle hot iron smell, which I only detect when I’m sniffing quite deeply and digging my nose into my arm (which I’ve been doing for the past 20 minutes)…. Absolutely beautiful and so comforting.

One of my favourite scents of all time; but keep in mind that I do not like white or yellow floral scents but prefer clean, fresh unisex scents. The only florals I do like are lavender (which I adore) and iris. This fragrance starts out as a crisp fresh and very clean smelling simple lavender, never gets soapy, and dries down with a bit of white musk, subtle incense & iris, but the lavender still remains true throughout the day. Many reviewers note that it is cold - I do not disagree - but quite like this aspect, as it makes the lavender feel more modern. I have a 1/3rd full bottle of this iteration which I use sparingly, and am trying to get my hands on the newer iteration, but as I'm in Australia, its proving quite difficult. Alas!

Light, frilly, sweet and powdery. Possibly the faintest perfume I've ever used. Multiple sprays to get anything to stick, although as always that may be particular to my skin chemistry. It's actually a very lovely scent in itself - although veering dangerously close to a granny perfume - but the fact that you have to dump half the bottle on yourself to get a good whiff lets it down a little for me.

This to me does indeed smell of a steamy, hot iron, but very faint. Vibes of a crisp, white, just-ironed cotton shirt. The first comparison fragrance that came to my mind, and it was an immediate association, was Hermès H24, but much fainter. The starchy iron smell of H24 is too intense and nauseating for me, whereas in Gris Clair its pleasant and comforting, but overall too faint. I'm surprised I didn't see the Hermès in the "This perfume reminds me of...." section. The lavender manifests differently in this than most lavender scents. I don't think the lavender should be the top-listed accord. The incense note, which I assume is represented by the 'smoky' and 'balsamic' accords, seem most dominant to me. And its probably the incense that manifests the lavender differently. The incense is what really gives the hot steamy iron vibe. Gris Clair is nothing like Ferrari Pure Lavender, nor is it anything like Penhaligon Sartorial, both of which I have. I don't think Gris Clair is an out-and-out fougere. But all in all I like the scent profile of Gris Clair, although its performance is way too timid. That timidity, along with pleasant, clean vibe, renders it an ideal "office scent".

My absolute favorite lavender fragrance- it's basic lavender and some incense, nothing crazy. Quite beautiful, really, and not an overtly masculine lavender or overly feminine floral- truly unisex. I've held onto one of my older bottles for a while and am dreading having to try a newer release after this one is finished. Easily one of my top 10s.

I'm glad I was reminded by the previous reviewer, that the lavender here is cold and synthetic.
The best herbal lavender is in, Kilian, "A taste of heaven". Discontinued, but you may still find it on eBay, for a markup.

Shopping in Paris. That’s where I’m transported. Great memory activator.
Soft warm lavender, will not offend anyone. A bit powdery but just the right intensity, as I don’t usually like powdery scents. Not ashy or smoky at all to my nose.

A beautiful unisex fragrance. Lavender is strong, the dry down is exquisitely soft. Recommended.

Smells like:
A cool breeze through an open window at the end of a still, gray day
Sprigs of lavender on a crisp white tablecloth
Warm incense whirling in from another room
An ethereal, quiet, twilight mood...

A biting natural lavender with an underlying vanillic sweetness. Very herbal and sharp. I wish the tonka was able to smooth some of the edges rather than just adding a semi-discordant "sweet" note.

Opening is pleasant and harmless. Warm. Feels a bit like a store or a hotel, but with a bit of cosiness that feels almost cloying.

Warm lavender, vanillic Coumarin, maybe a trace of cinnamon - nice & cosy but very straightforward

3-4 sprays, soft to medium projection
For several hours

Serge Lutens Gris Clair (2006) - pressed shirt - #christophersheldrake creates this fougere with a simple accord yet in interesting proportions. Overdoses of Lavender, dry and waxy Iris are combined with a Tonka Bean-Amber accord. Supported by a huge slug of Oakmoss and a woody base. The result of such extremes? A perfume that surprisingly works well with a clear point of view and almost minimalist qualities. Reminds me of a freshly ironed shirt just fresh from the dryer - steam hissing and detergent smell evaporating.

This is one of my all time favorite scents. I can wear this day or night and it lasts until well into the next day. It's light enough that the scent isn't overpowering, but it still has a lasting impact.

Gris Clair is a good name for this one because it feels gray or pastel blue gray. What you see is what you get, lots of soft crystalline lavender, a moderate dose of iris over a bed of amber, tonka, and musk. I didn't get much incense at first but can detect now.

Not reinventing the wheel with the notes but it's done pretty well.
Like an overcast day it's not terribly exciting or energetic, more of a relaxing vibe. Sillage is ok, projection and longevity are average. I get much more incense on my skin than my clothes and thankfully it doesn't overpower.

Overall pretty nice and reminds me of white linens and gray skies.
Scent 7/10
Performance 5/10

Just smelling it now, it reminds me of original Bulgari pour homme from the mid 90s, it doesn’t smell so much like it it’s just the style reminds me of it.

I was confused by this fragrance. I had tried on another fragrance earlier that day and think I tired my nose out, because this first blast gave me a hint of a headache. However, after reading some of the comments below, now all I smell is hair being blow dried and straightened!! It's honestly a very nostalgic and enjoyable scent for a short period of time, though I will not be wearing it

Opens strongly like lavender essential oil (which I love) but fades to something soapy and lily-of-the-valley like (though this isn't listed), then completely disappears.

This fragrance is essentially discontinued. Yes, Serge still sells something with the same name in a different bottle, but that fragrance is a watered down shadow of the juice that was in the tall, thin bottle. Trust me, I hate all the talks of reformulations because usually the people who talk about that are just trying to sell their supposedly “vintage” bottle for more than it’s worth. But talks of reformulation are actually critical and necessary in the case of this fragrance. The fragrance went from a 9.5/10 score to a 5/10 score in my book.

smells like a fancy hotel hallway
nice but not super special nor memorable

This fragrance is unique. I like it, but it’s easy to overdue it and then it becomes too much. For me at least. I like lavender in scents, although it can not work at times. This one does though, as long as it is not over-sprayed. Then it becomes overwhelming. One of the more unique scents in my collection.

Reminds me of being in the bathroom as a girlfriend gets ready to go out. I can smell what perfume she applied, her hair straightener and blowdryer and some sweetness from shampoo/conditioner radiating off her almost dry hair

Very unique scent, I just can't get past the hair straightener / blow dryer vibe I get. Comes off feminine to me. Reminds me of my teenage dating years.

Oh god…to me this smelled like drying wall paint. Hard pass, unfortunately.

well, this was a revelation. the steamy, hot iron is indeed very present. there is a comforting, buttery sweetness in the drydown-- like cookies baking in the distance. a solitary, cozy cottage welcomes you after an arduous winter trek; the warmest melancholy imaginable.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep" (frost)

i even get a little bit of that decay accord from lutens' de profundis. am i alive, or asleep? the cold warms my tired bones; perhaps i'll linger awhile...

"And this is why I sojourn here,
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing." (keats)

I have been exploring the scents of Serge Lutens/Christopher Sheldrake for the past few months. I've been trying to train my nose to develop a more sophisticated perfume palate and also learn where the line is for me between art/wearable art. This is an amazing collection of perfume with so much depth and breadth. For instance, I love Muscs Koublai Khan but am not yet confident enough to wear it publicly so I keep my dabber sample and enjoy it at home.

I ordered a sample of Gris Clair from the Perfumed Court and the hot iron/laundry steam accord was so unique and pleasing to me I immediately ordered it. It was slightly melancholy but also comforting in a beautiful way. Overcast Monday morning fume. I received the dreaded new square bottle despite the picture being of the old tall narrow bottle. The new formulation literally bears no resemblance to what it was - not a weaker, cheaper copy - literally nothing to do with the original release under this name. It is a basic as soap and water barber shop aftershave that fades into nothingness quickly. I am FURIOUS. After putting so much time and effort into appreciating their work they have the nerve to let this go out under their name? I'll use up my dabbers but I will never buy a bottle of Serge Lutens perfume going forward because I am a grudge-holding beyotch about these types of things. *dusts hands together* DONE with them.

reminds me of Loewe 001 Man EDP.

Gris Clair is a lovely scent - used to wear it to the office back in 2015 but I see it being more suited to evening day outs, or other special occasions than just the office environs.

It is kinda average on sillage and performance which is where I think Loewe 001 EDP outshines it a bit. Otherwise a great frag. It can pass for unisex but leans more toward Male than female

The scent takes me to walking through a city in the morning. There is a lavender bush nearby. I stop to smell the fragrance in my freshly pressed shirt stopping to admire the architecture around me on this beautiful day. My hair and makeup are perfect. The sun hangs low and golden light surrounds me. I am carefree and confidant with a warm drink in my hand. I'm on my way to work in a job I love that's become more of a lifestyle for me. I am happy. I am ready to live. I am me.

My God I love this perfume. Gris Clair will be my new everyday scent. I was looking for something lavender that would compliment the aromatherapy I've been doing and this is perfect. It reminds me of Mon Guerlain, I scent I enjoyed, however Guerlain is overly sweet, floral, and vanilla for me. Gris Clair is more lavender, clean smelling, and far superior. It's a scent you can wear anywhere without smelling like you're trying to wear a fragrance. It just smells like you at your best. On me it smells very feminine. I can't imagine ever wanting my husband to wear something like this.

I could not stand this. The metallic note is nauseating, cloying and overpowering everything else. But if anyone else is into this, it really lasts. I try to wash it off several times but it sticks around with a huge silage.

Why oh why did they have to change the formulation?? I love this version! It lasts FOREVER on my skin - longer than most. I don't usually smell my own perfume after 5 hours. This is an exception! The Incense, Amber and/or Tonka notes are heavier in this one. The new formulation is really very masculine to me. I finally found a bottle of this after searching for 6 months. So so happy!

A cool, dry, melancholy lavender, Gris Clair showcases its herbal, astringent qualities, especially in its opening. I chose to listen to Magnetic Fields' album "Charm of the Highway Strip" before I adorned myself with Gris Clair, and it makes for a complementary soundtrack. "Your eyes are the Mesa Verde: big and brown and far away..."

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, 42, 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.

Gris Clair from Serge Lutens makes me think of Moira Rose's observation in a later episode of Schitt's Creek, where she's strolling along the path outside their hotel room and remarks to her husband that she "detects a scintilla of lavender" in the air. Gris Clair is several scintillas of astringent lavender, crisp linen, and sharp, smoky resins in a cut-glass crystal bowl. I actually love to layer this with the pillowy vanilla Lea from Calypso St. Barth's. Together these fragrances lend depth where nuance is lacking in one and buff out the bitter edges of the other. Think lavender vanilla bean shortbread cookie bath bomb bedtime treat.

Love, love, love! Dried lavender, hot iron and something sweet. One of the sexiest scents a man can wear. My husband uses in sometimes and I cannot stop sniffing him.

Wearing a sample today. Perfectly pleasant but unmemorable for me. Opening is shaving cream-y on me after which i get a blast of tonka bean that settles into a powdery amber cooled by just a touch of iris. Ultimately just not very "me" and leaves me wanting more.

Soft bedtime lavender. I prefer my bottle of Alexandre J. Western Leather which is more of a sparkling lavender. Both are great for sleeping. Alexandre J. may have more personality and is more masculine, but overall Gris Clair is reasonably priced, and is relaxing. I'm not crazy how the iris makes this one smell a little cold. ⭐⭐

This has been my all time favourite winter scent for years now. I have the old bottle, and its potent stuff! The lavender is cold & dry, the other notes give it an ozony feel, like during a dry thunderstorm. It is definitely unisex. Sillage and longevity are strong, two sprays are more than enough for me and it lasts and lasts and lasts.... Even though lavender is such a cliche scent for me, in this it is both recognizable and original.

On me this is a faint lavender iris scent. Hardly anything there at all. My husband can smell it but I can't. It's cold and dry. I don't enjoy it at all. I imagine this would be nice on a man in summer if I could actually smell it. Definitely try before you buy.

I love this! It's almost like inhaling the steam from a hot iron with soft lavender and mint mixed into the steam. Totally delicious!

There is something addictive about this perfume to me, I can't stop smelling it and I crave it. Cold lavender, leather, something kind of sweet and familiar. Leans masculine on my skin and I usually dislike that for myself but this is an exception. Beautiful.

I spend all year in casual clothes so I want to wear this even though it doesn't suit me. This perfume is lavender but not for the bedroom but for the daytime.
The scent of burnt leather is like a whip. A woman nearby was surprised by the smell. Yes, most areas of Japan are odorless.
It may be difficult for me to wear it, but I will do my best.

"This is pollen wafting over an abandoned city. Grey like ash floating on the breeze, dust shot through with sunlight. Lavender, and then, to make this lightness grey, frankincense — I adore it! In every sense, it censes my senses!"

Lovely cologne, lavender + linen + smoke & resin + herbal notes = lovely! It's dry and pleasant, comfy and refreshing. Leans masculine. I really enjoy it. It's a nice twist on something really eternal and classic. 8/10

Update: the dry down emphasizes the warm resinous notes... it's really really beautiful and full bottle worthy 100%!

On me this morphs into a scent that's somewhat similar to Snake Oil by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Definitely not an exact dupe, but ~5 minutes after the initial application I'm getting the same aromatic incense smokiness that's both sweet and cool/menthol-y and reminds me of Snake Oil. I'm fascinated by this fragrance, but I haven't been able to decide whether I can pull this off yet.

Gris Clair is a top notch creation by the nose Christopher Sheldrake. It starts off with a juxtaposition of a smoky, dry lavender and a metallic-mineral-like linen (tonka) note, with a trail of basil and an accord of iris that confers it a powdery, talcate feeling with lavender - let's say a chypre finishing.

After a while, the composition sets on a more incense terroir. Lavender is still shining through and gains a more fading trail and an ambery finish. Almost remember a fougère, a true barbershop 'old times' manly cologne, with a feminine, gentle side that resolves in a neutral, mineral and unreal experience. Like a post-apocalyptic experience.

'Like pollen blowing over a lifeless city.
As grey as ashes floating through a sky of sunbeams'

I love lavender, and this scent is gorgeous. The only downside is that its performances are not in the heavy/ long league, but it's also appreciated as a more relaxing, meditative and introverted fragrance.
Gives you a sensation of fresh and clean, and even if the appearances make you think otherwise, this is a more spring/summer oriented fragrance, to use in the daytime as well.

All in all, a solid choice, but you probably will spray a lot of it to keep the performances, and price point is quite high, but the experience of Serge Lutens Maison shines through the foliage.

Review of an old, narrow and tall bottle. Blind bought.

I am reviewing this perfume on behalf of my husband. He loves lavender and grow three bushes himself so I thought this will be perfect for him. And he loves it. The perfume is so calming but he doesn't know that he is leaving a trail as he walks around. So glad, I got a bottle but an old formulation by the way. Not the new bottle.

乘着fragrancenet打折清仓买的，味道虽然不是我很感兴趣的薰衣草，但和其他配料配合的很妙。
柔中带刚，刚中带柔。以后入了职场就喷这个。

Nice but nothing special, on first sniff Gris Clair smells like a bouquet of lavenders drenched in sunscreen before settles into that smokey note. It isn't repulsive, but I wouldn't wear it.

I envy the earlier reviewers that had the old bottle because what I sampled recently was as weak as a lavender cologne from a chemist. Surely as people realise and sales drop Mr Lutens gets concerned? Or has greed and complacency settles in. Shame.

The new bottle is bad

Gris Clair... was my favourite from SL and favorite lavender frag. Now it is reformulated into the new bottle. I am disappointed with the new one. It is watered down. Anyone who wear the old version can definitely tell the different.

lavender flowers in a crystal vase sitting upon a table with freshly washed linen. the tonka gives the linen effect a creamy comfort. there's something rather detached and dreamy about gris clair, not unlike the ellipses in her name. right now i enjoy wearing it before bed, but eager to try it in cooler, crisper weather. for context, i have an older bottle, not the new relaunch.

gris clair. clear grey. just dreaming...

This is very very heavy on iso e super. Very much not what I expected, or maybe I should have known that incense-woody by a niche house is probably going to mean a ton of iso e super.

This is called light grey, and weirdly if I had to try to describe iso e super in color, it seems grey-ish, silverish to me, wonder if intentional. If scents had colors, this would be grey indeed, but a suffocating colorless grey to me.

I can not really judge accurately the rest, I thought the blend of lavender with iso e super was particularly unfortunate, it reminded me of insecticide almost, a tingling in the back of my sinus. Very synthetic.

I am grateful I did not blind buy this, I thought I was going to love it but it turns out I can not actually wear it comfortably.

I got some untouched samples if anybody is interested.

One of the most beautiful lavender fragrances around. (if not THE most beautiful)

It opens with a strong blast of lavender, the main player here. Shortly after, the lavender will be rounded by the tonka and balanced by a slightly acrid woody note, as well as a subtle iris note. The drydown is dominated by an ash-y/metallic incense, with the lavender still present as a subtle supporting note.

One of the many Lutens hits. A masterpiece imo, that does not have proper recognition nowadays because of the lavender note, which is often - unfairly - perceived as dated. I wish it performed a little better though. Still, a love for me!

Unisex leaning slightly masculine (imo), spring/fall days, 25+

The most amazing lavender-metallic-cologne scent ever to be created. And, yes, I will say it loudly to it's Creator - your decision to abandon your child is unforgivable! Outrageous and simply not right. To produce such a fine and unique scent, to engage people to love it and than to reformulate it. Yes, new edition of Les Eaux des Politesse of Gris Clair is no longer the same Gris Clair you used to know. The old, good, fine airy, fresh Gris Clair giving you always whenever you wear it, this fantastic feeling of being after a shower in the open luxury bathroom of some architectural pearl in the isolated piece of nature... Cold metal meets blooming grey lavender in the Tuscan sun.

@Monsieur Lutens - I will not forgive it!
@Amateurs - how about a mass scale petition?

I tried it from the tall narrow bottle, and it was amazing, but when i decided to buy it, i got the new type of bottle, square ans textured, and for some reason i'm slightly disappointed - the scent feels weaker. Did they change the formula?..

One of the best lavender fragrance I ever had. Sweet in the good way, longlasting, calming, addictive and distinctive.
Fade to grey, through a classy french way of life, "des beaux quartiers", rive gauche. De ce gris sort la lumière, douce et radieuse.

Il faut que tu n'ailles point
Choisir tes mots sans quelque méprise:
Rien de plus cher que la chanson grise
Où l'indécis au précis se joint.

Paul Verlaine, Art poétique

One of my favorite Lutens scents! The idea of hot iron on freshly washed linen with lavender sachets wasn’t appealing to me at first, but after I got to wear Gris Clair for a few hours, I knew: I must have it. There are perfumes that make you wear a little black dress with pearls (like Eau de Soir), there are perfume that make you wear leather and super high heels (like Dzing!), but this is a go-to scent that sits close to your skin - warm and powdery and just the right amount of wood notes, just letting you be you. It helped me through a very cold and rainy week in Istanbul - the smell of Gris Clair on my scarf calmed me down and warmed me up, reminding me of an afternoon walk from the beach through Cours Saleya in Nice...

Funny, the overwhelming impression I have of Gris Clair is hot, damp wool infused with lavender. Like a warm wool sweater that was washed in lavender water and is being dried on a heated bar.

I like it very much, although it is not at all what I expected. I can't imagine wearing it in warm weather, but on a cool/cold day it is amazing; soothing, nostalgic and extremely long lasting.

This is a beautiful lavander fragrance, sweet and herbacious at the same time. I like that lavender stands out, it’s not hidden behind loads of other notes as it often happens in other perfumes.

It does have a bit of a male cologne feel to it. But it’s a must try if you love lavender.

My male friend says this smells like when he accidentally bites his lip and the blood runs into his mouth.

I am wearing this today for the first time. Not exactly what I would reach for during a hot summer day but I put it on anyway. It is more on the masculine side on my skin. The initial blast is not very friendly, nor welcoming, but after it settles down it is a really nice lavender scent. I'm not expecting much in terms of longevity in hot weather; I'm sure it'll perform much better in fall/winter. Happy with this one and will wear it more next cold season. Recommended.

Opens with a very strong/straight forward basil flower note which I recently been digging in perfumes.
And as usual, when Serge Lutens do a note-based fragrance, perfection is the most certain outcome (whether it gets along with your preference or not), that being said, this is the most natural clean Lavender note in a perfume imo.
I really love this one in all of its stages.

An old French barbershop. Because of the tonka, I expected more sweetness, but this is herbal, calm, and restrained. Still unisex. I don't get any metal, just lavender over a smooth blend of incense, tonka, and wood.

I can still smell it after a six mile hike. It's been over nine hours since I dabbed it on my wrist. Nine sweaty, windy hours.

I've never liked lavender in perfumes, and I'm still unconverted. But if I had to wear lavender, I would pick Gris Clair, even though it is a long-lasting, linear perfume with lavender as its centerpiece. That says something.

(I should note that though I love this in my own, conflicted way as a woman, I would find it too conservative and predictable on a man.)

Currently my favorite lavender scent, a beautiful and natural lavender with a little powdery incense (powder effect might be due to the iris and tonka notes). It's soft but also masculine.

And I can understand how Gris Clair may be polarizing for many women who find it too masculine. In the middle of winter the opening turns almost metallic on me, so much so that I can taste it, so this is better in the shoulder seasons of Fall and Spring.

یه کار با کیفیت لوندری و کمی بالزامیکی که مانند بقیه کارای سرج کانسپت است تا عطر
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Scent & Qualiy: 7/10
Longevity: 6/10
Sillage: 6/10
Creativity & Uniqueness: 7/10
Affordability: 6/10
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Overall: 6.4/10

Love, love, love the lavender opening, but it doesn't last long and dries quickly down to a rather masculine scent, reminiscent of my husband's aftershave, but I won't give this to him because I like it too much. I don't get any of the unpleasantness that others mention. The initial smell right out of the shoot is natural, authentic lavender. I may try to layer with 4711 Lavender to extend that note.

Edited to add: terrific longevity here. I have gotten whiffs of the lavender many hours after the initial spray. I doused myself again before bed. This is really lovely.

2/10

It's a bit boring because it's a pretty monolithic scent . It also remembers other designer perfumes, in fact, just sprayed reminds me various times that I´ve been at one particular Bodybell.

It consists of a lavender a bit smoky and green, with many tonka beans, which can be reminscent to Allure Extreme´s one , and in the deepest drydown a touch of amber , making the whole more balsamic .

Lavender is quite green and herbal, as I said before, without the annoying urinary nuances that this flower sometimes has.

The mixture smells good, altough the ripe side , almost mossy , from lavender mixed with Tonka that reminds many others, along with the fact that the aroma is quite little changing and doesn´t have many nuances , given the "high" price it has and the wide of my collection , I won´t include it even though it perfoms very well.

I quoted "high" , because nowadays it seems than euro / ml. is cheap . Recently , Luca Turin wrote the top price for a perfume would be the cost of a good dinner, around 120 euros to 100 mls ... ( and what a good dinner hhhhh ). He said that when we try to be persuaded to believe that expensive raw materials justify 2 euros / ml. we must smile .

The problem I find is that if many perfumes which cost euro / ml. or more sometimes don´t deserve this price, the quality / price ratio is maintained for cheaper perfumes, they have a very poor quality. Thanks God there are discounters and exceptions hhh .

The opening of this fragrance, like with many Lutens, is quite unbearable. Only, amplified to nauseating. If I were to wash my hands of it immediately, I'd be missing out on something remarkable.

This is NOT the type of thing I expected at all. The opening, which I can't get my mind off of, is in no real way any indication what's to come. Sure, it progresses rather logically but if you take the opening and compare it to what you'll smell half an hour later, you probably wouldn't think it to be the same perfume.

The below reviewer hit the nail on the head with this one: the opening is metallic, boiled water from a rusty kettle.

The middle and base are where the fun is. By fun, I mean restricted class with an Hermes scarf tied around your shoulders to correct you posture. Not an Her-mees scarf, an Hermes.

Do you know what boiled water smell like?

Put an old rusty cast iron water kettle on stove, when the kettle begins to whistle, open the lid, then that rusty/metalic, simultaneously hot and cold smell of steam will hit you like a punch in your face.

This is what the opening of this perfume feel like.

It starts very nice and clean, mostly lavender as main player, but about hour later on my skin it turns into smell of overheated electrical wires. Even sprayed on paper I detect hints of it too, although not as bad as on my skin.
So, unless you're arsonist adoring smell of burning wires, you should get tester to check how it turns out on your skin!

Smells chlorinated and like it's produced from the sweat glands. Very cool. I'll have to try this one at the gym

I first smelt this on a colleague , one cold November day, as we were on our way to work. There were about 5 of us in the van and I kept getting whiffs of soft, warm lavender. At first I thought it was someone's soap or shower gel so I hightailed it to the shop (Superdrug!) right after work and bought every lavender scented shower gel I could get my hands on but nope. Finally realized it was her and I hesitantly asked her what her perfume was - hesitantly because I do understand that scent is a very personal thing for some people and they may not be too comfortable sharing their fragrance - but thank goodness, she was all too happy to share! "Serge Lutens Gris Clair - like my name, " she told me excitedly in that lilting Belgian accent she had, as she pulled a tiny flask out of her bag. She had decanted it onto a smaller bottle as we were traveling for work at the time. She sprayed my arms and neck as we were all walking to dinner at a tiny gastropub in the lovely Leamington Spa.

I felt so chic, so mysterious - like those French It girls that pepper Instagram - tanned noses buried in books, a thin cigarette nestled between crimson lips, idly sipping cafe au laits in a tiny cafe in Paris.

Alas, on me the scent was stronger, more masculine, smokier and muskier. We now have a running joke - " We smell like rich, old men." Nonetheless, I scoured the interwebs later that night and 24 hours later I had my very own 50ml bottle - courtesy of Liberty London's online shop. The scent makes me feel like I'm enveloped in a thick cashmere blanket, warm and comforting. It reminds me of autumn nights, sat in front of a blazing fireplace. It is both cool and warm on my skin.

I still love it, no matter what and it will forever remind me of my darling Claire and my love for everything British.

This Serge Lutens creation is a decidedly lavender perfume, and I have a very personal attachment to this plant: In my childhood summers spent on the island of Crimea, we used its essential oil to cure the sunburnt skin. This is the reason why it's a summertime scent for me: It evokes sweet beautiful days of the past and dashes the hot air with the striking lavender coolness.

For me, Gris Clair is not about sensuality, but about acquiring tranquility, on the one side, and, on the other side, it is an example of fascinating dialectics, when icy purity of lavender blossoms meets upon the warm earthy sweetness (I can mostly discern iris and incense). A perfect summerday companion for those who are in love with lavender.

So glad to have sampled Gris Clair-- this is stand-out!
My skin rejects lavender, amber, iris, and tonka; and with a 4-out-of-6 fail rate, I would have skipped this. Having received the decant as a gift, however, social obligation weighed in to at least *try* it.

It's a delicious minty Coca-cola, and a fresh clean laundry scent. A refined version of Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale.

They say the 'coca-cola' accord is a blend of lemon, orange, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and coriander. Amazingly, not a single one of these appear in the pyramid.

Despite the hazy-winter hue, this juice is refreshing for a warm summer day.

It's cool, calm, comforting and very grown-up. Spicy, but so so cold. VERY pepperminty on me.
For some reason, I have an image of walking through a windy park on a cold autumn morning, wearing grey suede gloves and cashmere sweater and eating spoonfuls of a grown-up version of mint chocolate ice cream from a cup - mint & chocolate without a hint of sweetness.

100% perfect

Really spicy, all I smell is cinnamon even though I don't see it as a note.

This smells like the warm exhaust of a laundromat. EXACTLY!!! Including the warmth. I love it. When I wear this perfume I fell like I have just stepped out of a steamy laundromat or as if my clothes have just been dried after washing. I do not detect any flowers or wood, just good smelling dryer sheets. To me this is a safe scent if not sprayed too much.

I bought this one a couple of years ago on a whim. I like most Lutens and I wanted something other than the heavier winter fragrances.

I am not usually a fan of the big brash lavender based fragrances, so this one, being more subtle and smoky was my choice.

Gris Clair is unfortunately a bit too dry for my taste. The smoke makes it austere, too dry, too dusty. I have worn it many times, in different weather and it doesn't really work for me.
You know when you wear a scent and, all of a sudden you move and you catch a bit of your own fragrance? Well for me, with Gris Clair that momentary reminder is not pleasant. It feels dusty and flat as if some extra notes that should be there are missing.

a cold perfume, the scent of lavender and slightly smoky. a good lavender, not pungent,but strong, reminds me at times smell of detergent for dishes. I do not like . 4/10
good longevity and sillage poor.
the drydown is quite gourmand. i feel anise and a sweet note.

I love this one.
It does smell like lavender, but not sharp or medicinal (although I would love it too as lavender is a favorite of mine) and it smells like incense, just a little smoky, and you can get the ice queen iris and its powdery quality, and even a hint of raisin bubble gum (it sounds scary but it works!) but Gris Clair is not about the ingredients, it's about the feeling, and it's pretty amazing...
Simple but evocative. Soft. Potent. Beautiful. Addictive. Translucent. Soulful.
It's a little on the sweet side for me but really, it works. I can't stop wearing it.
I love this one.

Here goes nothing... Discovered this by accident in the very corner of a perfume shop. At first sniff I LOVED IT. It smells grey, cold, clean. Almost ozonic like the night air after a thunderstorm where the moon just peeks out. Exactly what I would love in a perfume... But then it later develops inti a more musky lavender?? Very masculine. Is it wrong to say that I almost expect it to be worn by Christian Grey?? I can't stand the drydown and had to wash it off..

A fragrance, like many Lutens, that shows you should always keep your samples. I had a 3ml roll-on of this and didn't like it at all - I thought. Too smoky, dusty and masculine. But I couldn't stop sniffing my wrists. I wear Pour Un Homme a LOT and this could hardly be more different. Where PuH is powdery, warm, vanillic and cozy, Gris Clair is cold, pale, grey-suited, a little cruel. I absolutely love it, from the true lavender top notes (I grow lavender and this is what it smells like) with their medicinal tang, to the smoky, incense drydown. Fabulous.

I really like the fresh woody lavender opening, I might even be smelling a bit of citron.

However after that it morphs into a super powdery incense that just smells off to me. It also has an undercurrent of vetiver that screams men's cologne with every powdery moment. It's a pity because the actual incense note is really nice, but all of the notes supporting it aren't right on my skin.

When I decided to try my first (and so far only) Lutens, I had a craving for lavender, so I got Gris Clair rathen than some of its more famous siblings. I'm happy to say that the risk of blind purchase paid off, and such fears as I had were put to rest.

My worst fear, based on some other niche experiences, was that this perfume would be an everlasting toxic cloud. Happily, the sillage and longevity are reasonable, and there's nothing headache inducing, nor anything my mind recognizes as blatantly synthetic.

My second-worst fear was that it would be too demanding for regular wear, more of an olfactory journey than a work and travel scent I really needed. Happily, it's not that either; I find it versatile, easy to wear, and unthreatening to the surroundings.

The third-worst fear was that it would be too masculine, and while I don't think it is, neither is it an uncomplicated unisex like e.g. CK One. Husband and I share it happily, but it might be a bit too barber shop for a girly girl, as well as a bit too sugary for a guy's guy. The idea seems to be a simultaneous presence of the opposites rather than the common ground between them.

And were there any disappointments? There may have been if I hadn't been reading reviews with an amount of caution. Perhaps I lack poetry, but I don't recognize myself in the otherworldly experiences had with this perfume. It's a lovely lavender scent with a clever twist, and it does make me curious about more of Lutens. But it's not a gateway to another dimension, and I don't particularly feel like a boob for sticking mostly with designer scents.

If you hate lavender, I say give it a miss, because I don't think it will magically change your perspective. If you love it, though, it is a must-try, and you might even wish there were more of it.

On me, the initial blast—pure lavender, intense and bright and clear as a bell—gives way within minutes to tonka-ish sweetness and powdery iris, with lavender retreating to the edge. (On husband it seems to be all lavender all the time, so likely it's a matter of sniffing distance.) Then the burning wood wafts up, and it's the scent's most intriguing surprise. It's a catchy dissonance that prevents the whole from being boring, a surprising counterpoint to an otherwise wholly pretty scent. After that it's another day, and I want that blast of scintillating lavender again. For me, the whole thing is a keeper. Sweet lavender with a smokey twist.

Lavender is such an intrinsically beautiful, fresh and uplifting fragrance that I often wonder why anyone feels that it needs to be "improved" upon.
One of my favorite swap buddies sent me Gris Clair because I do love lavender and despite my rocky history I felt that for once Serge and I could and would click.
The best made plans...
At first all that came to mind was a men's aftershave from my childhood and then I waited to see...
There were some moments of hope with a nice sweet woodiness but then nothing. It was gone.
Adieu, Serge!

Lovely, lively lavender through and through...opens with a lavender blast then settles down to let the incense and slightly woody bits come through...like a warm cup of tea on a chilly, rainy day...Love this one...

This fragrance taught me to always keep my samples. I tested this a couple years ago and put it aside as pleasant but too masculine. I recently tested it again just to remember what it smelled like because I adore lavender and I still hadn't found a lavender scent that I liked, and OMG I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. What a beautiful, unique, versatile scent that can be worn anywhere, anytime. It's linear but that's fine with me because I really love it and don't want it to change. It's soft but tenacious - it hangs around most of the day. I immediately ordered a FB, and I don't do that often because I like to keep my FB collection small. This is so underrated, but I guess that makes me happy because not many other people will smell like me. I'm more of a perfume "wardrobe" person rather than a "signature" person because to me perfume is like clothes - you don't wear the same ones everyday - you choose based on season, occasion, and mood. So it is for me with perfume, but this is the one I wear most often. It's the go-with-everything diamond stud earrings I wear most days - classy but understated and casual at the same time. Just goes to show that tastes and senses change.

A lavender scent, from beginning to end. On drydown it has a bit of tonka and incense, and the amber here feels like Ambre Sauvage by Annick Goutal.

First impression: lavender scent.
Nothing wrong with a good quality lavender but even so this was kind of expensive I thought, Oh well, off to work. By the end of my shift I had almost asked two customers what wonderful scent they were wearing only to discover I was smelling Gris Clair on myself.
The lavender note settles but never leaves entirely but what it turns into is magnificent.
Unisex yet undeniably floral, I don’t think a man or woman under 30 could pull this off. It’s a very grown up scent.
It has moments of a granny vintage like vibe if your granny was Zsa Zsa Gabor that is.

This doesn’t feel sexy; it’s too refined to be naughty. Too cool to be cheeky. .
What a winner, I spritz some on and turn to the mirror to tell myself with full confidence
“Now I smell fabulous”.

As a regular lavender lover this is right up my alley ! Sooooo good , very aromatic and soothing herbal sweet lavender scent. I am in love ! This is my first bottle and won't be my last. It's not far off another favourite of mine , taste of heaven by Kilian , they share many notes and have the same character for sure.
Oh how to describe this beautiful perfume ??? It's a perfume for people that love the outdoors and nature. It's the smell of my childhood in the Austrian Mountains. It brings me back to happy carefree moments in my life. My father and mother and siblings ,not having a worry in the word. It's happiness in a bottle. Gris Clair has a minty , medicinal sweetness of lavender and a herbal balsamic woodyness. It's almost a gourmand lavender , just like TOH ,I love the vanilla ,amber , Tonka smell , it gets so warm and rounded and cozy it's hard to describe. It's definitely soothing relaxing and happy to my senses , it's very aromatic and I would say one of my favourite lavenders ever. Jersey being the other and taste of heaven .
Gris Clair even tops them all it's just so mesmerizing it feels like a warm mountain breeze , also a good snuggle scent after a long hard day. I am in heaven when I smell this. It's aroma therapy for me. Truly one of the best !

~ This to my nose is what the true "taste of heaven" is! It evokes in my mind riding on a comforting smokey cloud of incense and pleasant lavender. It also carries my nose away to what it would be like to inhale deeply in the middle of an actual field of lavender with the early morning chimney smoke of a nearby cozy cottage rising in the background. This Sheldrake creation is definitely an all~season pleasant scent that is very safe and not challenging at all for me. As my first S.L. full bottle Gris Clair has made another classy choice as a personal pleasant companion during my daily chores of yard work, quiet times reading or even present an air of debonair with a suit and tie at my place of worship....how fitting for a true taste of heaven.
Kind Regards, Plat ~

There is no wood, smoke or incense in this. Are people crazy? In brief, fleeting top notes there is lavender and ambergris. It's dry, herbal and salty. Then, quickly sweetness rises. There's still a hint of lavender. Faint. But, it smells gourmand like some baking or cooking spice I can't place. Maybe pure vanilla extract with a little boozy note.

I'm entirely shocked at this, i've smelt a lot of "smokey" fragrances, but this legitimately smells like the most beautifully fragrant burning wood. i was smelling it and i felt heat on my hand--thats how realistic it felt to my senses. i had to remind myself my hand wasn't actually on fire--LOL
i get an intensely medicinal lavender incense dominating this, with everything else in the back. it's a really fascinating scent, and it reminds me why lutens is one of my favourite houses: his scents take you on olfactory experiences. i don't have much occasions to wear this, but its really awesome for what it is.

A very decent creation by Serge Lutens.

Melancholic, fresh, chilly and pungent lavender opening bringing in mind the first cold days of Autumn when I had to go back to school ! In about 20 minutes a hint of smoke along with the discreet appearance of woods and spices softens the bitter harshness of lavender and Gris Clair turns into an easy going creamy and smooth, woody lavender scent that lasts for hours.

A great choice when the weather is warm and I need to socialize with people smelling clean, fresh and confident with just enough elegance and sophistication.

Inspirational.

8/10

P.S. I must admit that there are many instances when Gris Clair reminds me of Aqua Velva, an after-shave my dad used to wear back in the 70's !

This is one of my favorite fragrances, and when I wear it I can't stop sniffing it. Normally, my type is woody/resinous fragrances with a citrus top-note; this is the most floral thing that I've liked. It is very "lavender," of course, but underneath that it is dark, spicy, smoky.

So, I have to agree that it is evocative of charred wood, smoldering ashes and incense, underneath a cool, consistent lavender. I love the contrast here. Fragrances that are all wood and smoke can be musty, which is why I tend to prefer ones with citrus; in this case, it is the cool floral note that balances it, while the dark, ashy base keeps the lavender from being soapy or too light.

I've had the pleasure of growing up in a region covered by lavender fields and was looking to find myself a lavender fragrance that captures the natural aroma of lavender radiating in the dry heat. After doing research and reading reviews, I had a feeling that Gris Clair could be the one. There is a brief moment (under 2 minutes) when first sprayed where I like the bright lavender, but then that vanishes as powdery tonka and sugary amber syrup rain down and ruin this for me. It turns into something that reminds me of Armani Code for Men, which is a fragrance that I hate. I know people will vote down this comparison because they can't stand designer frags being compared to niche, but these both have a lot in common. I really want to like Serge Lutens since I adore his concepts and bottles, but all of his scents that I have tried have been too syrupy, sickeningly sweet and powdery for my taste.

If you are into the powdery sweet (usually containing amber or tonka) genre that dominates the designer male fragrance scene - La Nuit de l'Homme, The One, Sauvage, Armani Code - then you may like this a lot more than I do. I would suggest a testing first for sure.

I am seriously going tog finish this sample quite, quite fast. I love this scent but I don't get any flowery notes. Am I the only one picking up black pepper in this? Lots of spice and tobacco. No flowers at all but I still like it a lot! It is quite comforting and... well, cozy.

Ahh I get my lavender kick from Gris Clair, I love to have a bath before bed and spray this on, it's really calming and not too harsh or heavy. Completely unisex, herbal lavender.

To me Gris Clair is like something you would get if you combine the good parts (ash, smoke, dry wood) of the somewhat disastrous Serge Noire with lavender and tonka. Gris Clair is a total delight from the aromatic opening to the smooth drydown. I'd describe it as a smoky and ashy lavender that is sweetened with tonka and amber. The construction is supported by a dry woody base and iris brings a tinge of powdery floralcy into the mix. Very evocative, calming and absolutely gorgeous!

It's unisex and I'm totally comfortable wearing it as a woman. GC works like a charm as a summer scent, but I think it's suitable for all seasons and occasions. Performance is pretty good: longevity at least 7-8 hours with a surprisingly noticeable projection (of course "the volume" tones down gradually as time goes by, but it's not a quiet fragrance by any means).

The skies stretch out before you like a stormy sea - there is an electric doom tingling through the air. Beneath the sullen sky lie endless fields of royal purple lavender blowing sharply in the piercing wind. Green lightning arcs across the sky and strikes - the singed stalks of lavender permeate your senses. You are overwhelmed by the smell of dewy grass and ambery vanilla...another arc traces the skyline and your vision goes white. You awake many hours later in a grand cathedral - the incense burning mingles with the majestic lavender seared into your sinuses. You slowly look your half-naked body up and down - a salve reminiscent of tonka beans with a hint of civet is slathered over the burn on your side. You feel euphoric for just meeting death and having survived. You ache to rise but something invisible binds you....you drift off to slumber once again. Many hours or many days later, you wake and inhale what feels like your first breath - the tonka and warm leather and licorice of your singed flank fills the air. You sit up on the slab you were resting on while your memories slowly return - you are no longer among the living. This strange new world, not quite heaven nor hell, is your new home. Off in the far distance you hear footsteps - the scent of a guardian angel surrounds you in prophetic warmth. Resolute, you gather your belongings, wipe ash across your face to mourn your loss, and embark to seek what lies beyond the end - for this is no end, just another beginning. May we all be so brave as to continue on after all we knew was lost.

Day 52 - In the end
Listening to: Anathema - The Beginning And The End

Notes: This graceful and ominous fume opens with potently medicinal lavender that is slowly soothed to reveal the fantastical nuances of lavender - the greenness of the stems and leaves and the rich, vanillic undertone that make lavender such a beautiful note. This is soon complemented by an airy and warm, nutty tonka bean and a slightly smoky incense and guaiac wood. The fume basically becomes a soothing roasted nut and vanilla fume that holds some of the floral properties of lavender from beginning to end. I also feel there is a subtle weaving of cool licorice and skin-like musky leather throughout the latter half. It lasts around 10 hours on my skin and it gorgeous throughout!

I love this one! I completely agree with Lalaith when s/he says "dusty" rather than powdery. The Italian translation of the two words could create confused results, yet "polveroso" sounds to me a perfect description. Lavender starts off dusty and dry, incense comes up later, and a dark honey accompanied with tonka and woods which close this masterpiece. Remember incense essential oil has nothing to do with smokiness: you smell smoky incense only when you burn it!

I want to preface this review with the note that this is one of my favorite fragrances and I love lavender. Gris Clair makes me think of sitting in a lavender garden while reading a book in the early morning with fog around the edges of the landscape. I also associate it with the literary character Jane Eyre, and I think this is a scent she would have worn- at times the lavender almost smells masculine, but that is probably because the perfume industry has used lavender in so many masculine fragrances we automatically think that it belongs in a cologne rather than a perfume.

Gris Clair to my nose starts off strong, the lavender at the start smells not just like the flower, but the stems, leaves and a bit of the dirt the plant is growing in- think sitting in the middle of the lavender field. As it develops the vanilla arrives with a slight hint of the incense, but it's not over powering. At the base the Tonka brings some creaminess to the composition. I love this scent and it can be worn anytime, though it is a favorite at bedtime because the lavender just mellows me out. But I would definitely recommend sampling though, lavender as the main note can betaken as either a masculine or feminine note and might be a turn off to those looking for a traditional floral composition.

I got this for under $50 so I blind bought it.
I'm still a bit disappointed, but it's usable and it's surely more masculine than unisex.
If you know Bvlgari Black or Midnight in Paris this has that spicy rubbery smell that many mention of those two fragrances. It's like pepper and vanela with lavender, is what you mostly get with Gris Clair. The harsh rubbery opening does settle in 15 minutes, and it becomes a decent peppery, slight bit of cinomon spiciness, with a nice lavender. I think many will like that sharp spiciness. I will still use it from time to time for something different. I'm one who never liked "Midnight in Paris", if you do, this is more long lasting, and overall better quality, you will like it.

Some say the lavender is non existent, is because they don't know this kind of lavender that's semi floral smelling, it's more green and herbal, like the flower with the stems, roots, and leaves together.
I think the incense is non existent. I have good incense frags that are made from frankincense, this is the synthetic incense that is listed in many note pyramids, but it's just a sharp peppery scent that they call incense like in L'Artisan's Dzonka fragrance.

The general vib of this is a spicy with some lavender. One reviewer said the woods here are like the woods in Terre de Hermes, kind of, it's like the wood and Flint accord in Terre de Hermes, but the wood and Amber in Gris Clair are very vague and hard to pick out. I think the Tonka note is good and saves this one a bit.
Very interesting, that no spices listed, but Gris Clair smells like a spice bomb. If you know and like that frag called " Spice Bomb", you will like this. Tonka can be bitter sweet note that smells like mown hay. This may have a very strong Tonka note. Women beware of this fragrance, the spiciness is quite harsh; recommend to try before you buy...

Rating: 7/10

Happy Easter. John 3:16

this opens up with an aromatic lavender and incense. i get tonka and iris a bit later. i find it toes the traditionally masculine/unisex line. so, i am really liking this on me but would love to smell it on a man. i really love the combination of lavender and tonka in this. it is a bit reminiscent of versace dreamer, though that scent is far more strong on the tobacco and it sweeter. i'm not saying they smell exactly alike, but they seem to come from the same aromatic family. this scent has a calming, meditative quality.

I don't dislike this scent, but I'm not sure I can say I love it, either. It intrigues me, like meeting someone intense and magnetic. The opening is, I admit, harsh and even off-putting in its sourness. But given time, it turns to incense with a woodsy touch. But what I like so much is that it isn't waxy--it smells literally like a stick of incense is burning against my skin. Crisp smoke. It makes me want to sniff it again and again without knowing why. I can't say whether this is very wearable (I will have to test it around people), but as a scent experience? A pothole in my memory that can't be filled.

3e time testing Gris Clair. It is lavander, sweet lavander, soft lavander. Then comes the incense and wood, light enough to make the scent rounder. It keeps this way for half hour, then it becomes to fade and pretty fast. It remains as a skinscent, soft sweet lavander. It is a safe office fragance, unisex. Buy it? No. I am sampling Serge Lutens fragances and this one is just ok but for me it has no "wow factor".

2x trying to washing it out... impossible. I must say wow factor of not Serge Lutens fragances have well quality.

Just a note, not a review . Have you seen "Firfty shades of gray "? Well, this smells exactly like Mr .Gray.... Raw, bizarre, painful , alluring , rich, different, masculine, erotic, perverse.
It's a very twisted lavender and I don't know if I can handle it, I'm more of a lady than an adventurer, at least consciously .

This is the perfect all seasons, all occasions scent if you are looking for something fresh with a touch of sweetness. As long as it is not over 85 degrees with high humidity this can be worn in the summer. The woodiness keeps the Tonka and amber tamed and well balanced but below gourmand level. I really don't care for lavender but I love it in this. Sheldrake is my favorite perfumer so I guess I am a bit biased towards it. Try before you buy as some women say it's too masculine for them but it's perfect for guys.

I bought this frag because I expected lavender. Unfortunately, this perfume didnt work for me.

* I dont smell any lavender at all. Zero lavender.
* perfume is too complicated, its a mess of notes
* heavy, not dynamic or refreshing
* reminded me of Black by Bvlgari. Same burning rubber.

Overall, its an interesting concoction (especially for winter/evening), but has nothing to do with lavender.

P.S. I was quite astonished to read in one of the comments that Gris Clair smells like Yardley's English Lavender (I have both of these perfumes). Nothing even remotely alike.
We all indeed have different noses and fragrance perceptions.

An authentic burst of laundry fresh lavender, moves swiftly to a softly aromatic amberl, then settles with a cool slightly nutty woody note (may be the iris combined with tonk a). Not for me, but lavender-lovers may find it worth a try.

I wonder if they came up with the name once they saw the colour of the juice they had conjured. Anyway, it's a perfect match. Gris clair... is light grey in colour and soul. Melancholic, a bit sour, dreamy.
Lavender is the key player.
Iodine-like in the beginning, it changes moods before settling into a state between happiness and sorrow. Spirit of incense, Reality of cedar, Mind of iris, this lavender leans towards memories of the past, instead of facing the present. Its home is dry and dusty. And i like it.
****(*)

I had hopes on it as a lavander fragrance. It's lavender. Only not that kind I like. It reminds me more herbals than flowers. Like Crimean lavender, while I prefer french.

It's good, but I would prefer Jersey by Chanel or even Oud Lavender by Montale.

I think that it will more suitable on men. Maybe on them it will play as it should.

It opens with a blast of iris and incense, and then the lavender blooms in. Gris claire! if you love gray, you must try this out, it matches the colour perfectly without being boring or generic. Sharp, medicinal, fresh spicy. My idea of solitude. Love it!
Shame for the silage though.

I tried this in a Barney's store in Las Vegas. It's a good lavender scent, but, for the money, I could probably be just as happy with the less expensive Pour un Homme de Caron, which strikes me as nearly the same sort of thing. (I'm sure somebody will chime in and state that this product has subtleties that the Caron does not, and I suppose that's true.)

Note: I am not an especial fan of lavender, which, to my nose, smells bitingly of some kind of astringent lemon-limey thing. But I recognize that I could get to like it in time.

Lavender is an incredibly comforting scent for me. I've used the same laundry liquid all my life and it smells of lavender so I associate it with childhood - climbing into bed and burying my face in fresh linen. And yet I disagree with others who have said that this smells 'clean'. This sits so well with one's natural body smell, working with it instead of swamping it in synthetic musks. Lavender can be a little sweaty, and perhaps that's why this works. Like a well worn woollen jumper, the slight sweetness of the tonka bean brings warmth into an otherwise cool composition.

Gris Clair is also wistful bordering on melancholy. What others have described as incense to me smells like wood ash and smoke - the faintest hint of an Autumn bonfire lingering in your clothes.

It's rather fitting somehow that the first time I wore this I got lost in the woods on a clear, cold night and only found my way home by walking in one direction until I saw lights at people's windows emerge through the trees.

Lutens fragrances usually speak to me with concrete pictures. It's the same with Gris Clair. When I sniff it, I see old attic room with a lot of dust everywhere, with old furniture and with bunches of super dry lavender hang on metal hooks near the ceiling. Dust is dry and also a bit sweet and it's quite hot in the attic room. Window is open a bit, it's early autumn (but the sun isn't shining) and the wind brings the smell of smoke from fire...

And now, how does this really smell on me? It's a dry fragrance, starts with a blast of lavender and powder iris. After a while it settles down a bit and tonka bean comes to place to make it a bit sweeter, than incense joins the whole companny - and adds a bit of smokiness. This fragrance is dry, as I've mentioned several times, and also hot - I can't explain why, but it's hot and dusty... After the very first notes it has a little masculie edge, but I like it a lot. For me it's the best in autumn, becouse it seems to me also a bit melancholic - like many others Lutens.

Not my cup of tea. Smells highly like ironing cotton that has been washed with a lavender based fabric softener. Might be soothing to some but I find it a very dull, non sexy and non charismatic scent. Don't see how this is going to draw compliments, ever - most of the woman will link this back to the repetitive ironing chore.

Removed it from my want list after this test, good that I finally started sampling before I buy.

This is the first lavender scent I really like. Although it's lovely in real life I've never been particularly drawn to lavender as a perfume note; I associate it with an unpleasant kind of soapiness, synthetic and too harsh and masculine... But I'm aware that's probably an unjust prejudice, and I'll try any Serge Lutens at least once, so I jumped at the chance to get a little decant of this one, anyway.
And what do you know, my prejudices were dispelled just like that. Gris Clair starts with a blast of pure lavender, but it's not soapy or synthetic at all - in fact, it's exactly like the real thing, very natural and bright. Then not five minutes later the scents starts softening and warming up with tonka,incense, woods and amber. These darker, deeper notes gradually supplant the lavender until there's only a ghost of it left in the background. I like this drydown phase the best, it's so cosy and soft but mature at the same time, smoky and a bit spicy but not at all in that foody way that I dislike. The name, Gris Clair, fits this cashmere sweater of a scent perfectly.

As for the great unisex debate: I guess this is more masculine than feminine, but it's not macho at all and I don't feel conspicuous wearing this. All in all I like it very much - I think it's perfect for a gray, rainy summer day like this, and it'll work very well in fall too, although I want to try it in warmer weather as well to see how my skin reacts. I don't think my decant will be the last I see of this one!

Serge Lutens does Lavender best, hands down. I adore this, as well as Encens et Lavande, and Fourreau Noir. While Encens is ethereal, churchy, incensey lavender, and Fourreau is dark, voluptuous, and mysterious, Gris Clair is crisp, lovely and refreshing. All three are gorgeous, with very different character. I think I'm leaning more towards Gris Clair as an everyday scent though. Perfect for fall. This is classic, beautiful, Serge lavender rounded out with powdery iris, and perfectly balanced by a hint of sweetness and woody depth. Love love love. So much love.

At first it is very nice, lavender scent, but unfortunately after some time I can smell only heavy woody & spicy notes. It's also rather masculine type of smelling. Not for me.

I must agree with kim_klaus below...

Today, I also wore Gris Clair for the first time since the cooler months... And wow, it certainly made an impact on a rather mild English day. I always had this down as an Autumn/Winter scent, but the light aura it manages to give off, drifting between the incense, woods and lavender, is truly beautiful and very calming.

The more I wear this fragrance the more I recognise what a true masterpiece it is.

Heavens, I must reevaluate that little joyful piece! My first review was made at wintertime and though all well done I didn't find it captivating enough.

Now, at the summertime, I absolutely enjoy Gris Clair- it is far more lively, more deep and oh so enjoyable. It is fresh, breezy and dry lavender, not at least oily as the lavenders often tend to be.

I find it to be a wonderful choice for a man during the summer time- it is altogether clean and sophisticated, finished by a refined touch of a dry, smoky incense.

I'm a newbie to Lutens frags. Just received this on the mail. I get the initial lavender blast at first. IMO this is a lavender/iris combo, with that flowery, powdery facet and a sparkle of spice coming from the Tonka bean. That, to me, is that "metallic/cold" smell some have commented. It is also all about the Tonka bean all the way through the drydown. I don't get much lavender after the openining, and middle notes. It's a nice frag, nothing out of this world. For being niche, it smells average.
It never ceases to amaze me how Americans associate lavender and lemony smells, cornerstones of traditional French perfumery, with household products. Really???
Smell great, my friends.

My French isn't great but from reading previous comments I see that Gris Clair translates to Light Grey... which is a fairly good description of this scent. It makes me think of strolling through a quiet park on a grey, gloomy autumn morning...

Gris Clair, to me, is a relatively simple scent which opens with a hit of pure cold lavender followed by a dry down of warm woods and incense. The lavender still plays a part and is comforting, slightly relaxing (which lavender is often said to be). Longevity is good, projection is light, but this, to me, is not an issue - it makes for a very subtle and satisfying skin scent.

This is my first SL fragrance and I am now very keen to try many more...

I have been using Gris Clair for a few years now and the mix of lavender and warm smoke never fails to impress. I love the way that the fragrance seems to twist and turn over time. It is almost as if the balance between its elements are constantly being pulled and pushed. This is a first light on a November morning kind of perfume for me.

I love lavender and have been looking for one that suits me. This is it! Its a lavender without the harsh edges and has warmth. This fragrance really brings out the best in lavender.
I cant believe anyone saying its not unisex. My partner loves it on me . He was puzzled when I asked him if he thought it was a mans fragrance. He thought it smelt positively feminine and this coming from a man with over 30 fragrances in his collection!
Moderate longevity and same for the sillage.

This is one of Serge Lutens most underrated perfume, it is gorgeous yet rarely is mentioned when discussing Lutens fragrances. It's not terribly complex, but it's also not linear and it's definitely not a common type of scent.

I'm really not sure why it's considered more masculine than feminine, yes the initial blast is very "men's cologne" but that is just the super strong raw earthy lavender. That phase passes within 10-15 minutes, after which it becomes creamy lavender tonka bean woody incense, at this point I'm sure it could still be considered somewhat masculine but it certainly seems plenty feminine to me.

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT....for my husband. Though it's marketed as unisex and I adore the fresh true lavender blast, then later comes the wood, incence and amber, it's not very feminine, maybe Tilda Swinton can pull it off. Nevertheless, I love how all of these notes combine and make this more than your usual Yardley's lavender-type scents.

Lavender! Very strong. Very man's cologne-y. One tiny spray from a sample vial is overwhelming me and I'm going to have to go scrub. If it weren't so overwhelming I might be able to appreciate a glorious, subtle lavender.

Edit: a week or so after trying this, I walked by someone wearing a different lavender scent and was suddenly overcome by the memory of this one. Not a lavender person generally but suddenly I wanted nothing else.

Not a technical review.

Our family visited Furano, Japan when I was 10. It was summer time and even in the northern Japan we got toasted by the strong summer sun. Furano was (and still is) very famous for its massive lavender fields, and of course as curious tourists we went to check out one of the farms which sold all sorts of lavender-infused products: tea, biscuit, ice cream, pillows, scented bags for decoration... all made of real, high-quality dried lavender.

I remember standing in this massive sea of purple with bees buzzing around, and breathing in that strong, earthy, herbal lavender. The smell was so potent it was almost formidable even for a 10 year-old.

Gris Clair replicates that exact smell of lavender and, IMO, has done the flower justice. The lavender note is powerful and wild like the actual plant, radiates from the skin with a very dense sillage. In the meantime the extra tonka beans gives the fragrance sweetness while incense and amber provide warmth and depth to cut out the earthiness of lavender just a little bit.

Wearing Gris Clair reminds me of my favourite part of the farm trip: enjoying that big, sweet, refreshing lavender ice cream under the scorching sun!

This thing lasts days on my clothes and can still be smelled after shower. My lavender holy grail and current most-wanted.

Gris Clair is simply stunning- it may be the most in love with a fragrance I have ever been. Starting with real sticky resinous lavender- just as you would snatch from a bush as you are walking by. And then joined quietly by just enough hot ashy vanilla and iris. It is joyful and melancholic- aware of mortality but hopeful for the future. It is also grounded, sophisticated and sexy- and morphs and changes on different days and different wears. Some moments more resinous, others like hot cotton or vietnamese bread. It smells beautiful on clothes and resonates in the morning and twilight and when wearing black. Writing this on a bushfire alert day- high temperatures and strong dry winds, there is a sense of danger and loss that is part of the natural landscape after a bushfire. I have never smelled anything quite like it. I can imagine Eve in Only Lovers Left Alive wearing this- beautiful, in love, not bound by age or gender and accepting the past while walking towards the future.

The Hilliard Ensemble is a British group of singers specializing in the interpretation vocal compositions from the Renaissance to the Baroque period. As I´m writing this review, I´m listening to their rendition of Johannes Ockeghem´s “Requiem” and “Missa ´Mi-mi´”. The Ensemble´s interpretation is divine: incredibly soft, pure, meditative, ideal for a quiet winter evening spent by the fireplace, preferably with a glass of mulled wine to lift one´s spirits a bit higher. I started this review by mentioning the Hilliard Ensemble because lately I´ve been trying to match various musical compositions and styles with appropriate fragrances. I once sprayed on Serge Lutens´ “Gris Clair...” while listening to the aforementioned CD, and was amazed at how effortlessly the music and the scent complemented each other.

“Gris Clair...” is a melodious interplay between two notes, namely lavender and tonka bean. Thanks to the lavender, the head of the perfume is markedly herbal and aromatic. The lavender note provides a generous amount freshness to the perfume, evoking the feeling of genuine joy. Gradually, the herbal character of “Gris Clair...” is toned down and substituted by the spicy sweetness of tonka bean. The initial feeling of joy is transformed into nostalgia, meditation, even a longing for the unattainable. Lurking somewhere in the shadows of the fragrance´s two stars is iris, so delicate it´s barely perceptible to my nose.

Due to its straightforward, aromatic freshness in its opening, “Gris Clair...” initially displays a different character to the other perfumes I´ve sampled from the Serge Lutens line thus far. Simultaneously, it is firmly embedded in Lutens´ olfactory philosophy owing to its emphasis on the quality of raw materials, substance and the belief in the artistic value of perfumery. “Gris Clair...” might never become the most celebrated Lutens fragrance, but it surely is, just like medieval polyphony in music, one of his most comforting ones.

My favourite lavender, cool, sentimenatal, deep, appealing, not so obvious, mmmh. Definitely addictive.

A white scented satin buttons shirt that has been burnt from the chest side by using an extreme hot old iron in summer time. the burnt is fresh and the air condition is cold. that what you'll smell when it's calm. quite weird but very acceptable.

Unique = yes
acceptable = very
worth it = kind of
i'd wear it = sure

another unique fragrance from Serge Lutens. Needs time and more tests.

Chill, foggy dawn in a field of lavender. Bracing, yet hazy. If it were a color, this would be a marled heathery lavender-gray. My favorite lavender is the pure soliflore by Caldey Island, and I often have trouble with it in other perfumes that do not do it justice--but I grow four different types in my garden, I am a fan. And I like this perfume. I wasn't expecting it, somehow--it was outside my frame of reference for Lutens. And despite Lutens' usually voluptuous sillage, I was expecting something more sheer, perhaps misled by the name, and so the first time I wore this I oversprayed and what a mistake! Bracing, INDEED, and the lavender really gets into the same spicy register as cinnamon or pepper and wakes up everyone around you. The second time I applied more carefully, and was able to relax into this more. It's got a touch of the masculine about it, but not astringent as some poorly-handled masculine lavenders become. I feel it's definitely unisex enough for me to wear. It's classy, clean, I like it on a gray day particularly, and feel it will also work well in summer and be a refreshing change from my citruses and figs.

On the whole, I like Serge Lutens perfumes. I have 15 of them, and I generally find them well-made and, if not necessarily something I would want to wear, then at least something I'm glad I sampled.

But not this time. Gris Clair is horrible. It reeks of Christmas potpourri, it stinks like walking past the doorway to Yankee Candle at the mall. Its massive, cloying berry and cherry syrup smell is punctuated by a scent like men's "sport stick" deoderant.

There is one thing that needs saying about Gris Clair, and you may make of it what you will. I got my sample from the little perfume shop that recently opened up nearby, and the reason I was keen to try it was that, in this shop, they keep little glass beakers stashed behind the tester bottles, with bits of gauze in them that have been sprayed with the perfume. And when I sniffed the gauze with the GC on it, which had been sprayed a couple of times and dried down repeatedly, it smelled just like static electricity. It was FASCINATING. But I have been unable to recreate this smell at home.

A scrubber for me.

This perfume opens with strong lavender which then turns a bit sweet and creamy thanks to what I'm guessing is tonka bean. This is more masculine than feminine, but still unisex and fresh. I'd recommend this as an introduction to perfumes for men who want to move on up from aftershave.

I think this fragrance is supposed to be smooth but I find it quite a bracing one, especially to begin with. I don't find particularly soothing like lavender usually is but quite overbearingly floral especially in the opening it reminds me of the smell of hyacinths. It's kinda like a very WET lavender if that makes sense? It's a fresh bouquet complete with an almost bitter, waxy off putting edge. I can only put this down to the combination of iris and lavender. The drydown has hints of incense and definitely becomes woodier on my skin but still not to the point where I love it.
It's a little bit too much like a 'room' scent for me but I don't hate it. There's a strange air of chanel type sophistication and something that alludes to more interesting themes without fully committing.
I know my pal Plat likes this and I can see why but it's just not for me I'm afraid.

Gris Clair is a beautiful blast of Lavender. The initial spray is lavender and incense. In the dry down I can still smell the lavender but in a very soft way. It also leans towards woody notes. I can wear this in the daytime, in the heat and feel comfortable with it.

This is so different from my other SL 'fumes. This was a blind buy, FB, and right now I'm liking it a lot. But I suspect that like will turn to love when the smoke and incense hit (if they hit...). I grow a variety of lavenders in my backyard and some have said this is the dry lavender; actually, it smells like both: green, fresh in the early--mid-spring, as well as the end of summer August/September dry flowers. It smells of both leaf and flower of lavender, and it hits hard: herbacious, menthol, camphorous, sharp, metalic, cold. Now, nowhere has anyone compared this to the "berry-full" Angel by TM, but unlike all the noses out there that smell vanilla goodness & gourmand sweetness in Angel--I've always received a hard, tough, metalic, cold smell from the juice(can't say I'm a big fan because of the berries, though they are sweet too). I suspect readers will react with horror at the mere mention of "Angel" in conjunction with an SL fume. But in terms of its impact, it "reminds" me a bit of Angel; they are not "alike," however. So I don't mean to either attract or put off someone from GC. I've now sprayed them both on separate cards, but the "cold edge" that I pick up is in both. Gris Clair moves into a warmer phase that is a bit more of a traditional and softer lavender with iris, and then a woodsy, amber-tonka bean resinous smell quietly hits while the colder almost "minty" lavender moves off stage on my skin, leaving traces of the iris. On the paper, the lavender becomes a more traditional soapy lavender (not unlike Yardley). This is a scent that I think can wear well despite the season--any time would be a good time. I wouldn't call it sexy, but I would call it interesting, memorable, provocative. I'm not even sure I'd call it clean as so many lavenders are at the middle stage, and even at the beginning. I will update again after going through my various "perfume testing rituals..." Sillage is low at the middle stage; longevity is not as good compared to other SLs for me. I think with a moderate-heavy hand this would go the distance to five-six hours on my skin (which drinks scent up-only a very few last a day, day and a half). I reccomend if you are an SL fan and like his woods, his spices, and warmer scents--try this for a change of pace.

IT IS MY 1ST TRY OF GRIS CLAIR , I CANNOT DESCRIBE HOW MUCH IT RAISES MY MOOD , SPECIALLY WITH THE DOMINATION OF THE GREAT LAVENDER , MY FAVORITE NOTE ALL TIMES .
IT IS SOFT , BIT SMOKY , ELEGANT AND NOT LIKE ANY OTHER PERFUME .
SUGGESTED FOR WHO LIKES TO SAY LOOK I AM HERE I AM SPECIAL I AM ELEGANT YET I AM NOT ARROGANT .

This masterpiece smells just like the air when it is about to rain. So fresh, delicate and clean. Warm and soft lavender incense that makes you feel just fine. Brilliant!

This smells just cheap on me. Cheap synthetic lavender and cheap synthetic musc. It has no saving grace. I feel I smell like a bathroom deodorant from the '80's. In one word: yuck.

Whoa, so much lavender on me! But so conforting, very beautiful drydown, that goes more citrusy and more round with each minute! Very deep Iris detected too! The sillage could have been better, on me it goes away so quick!

I'm using samples now on vacation and I turned to Gris Clair prior to taking a walk. Well, it's definitely a bracing-up scent, one to use when you want to feel fresh and clean, but a sophisticated one. The initial lavender makes you feel so out-of-the-box, I mean new, fit and ready to start your day. Warmer notes came by and transformed the perfume into a lavender-vanilla/tonka scent. He feeling was for a moment that of wearing Rochas Man, to the effect that lavender here is what coffee is to Rochas Man, both being rounded by a vanilla feeling. A classy perfume to work well on women and men, not overpowering and very pleasant.

This is so unique.

When I first sampled it, on a test strip, all I could really make out was the lavender with an anchoring use of amber and wood notes. Nice, but the lavender, while I do like it, seemed rather strong.

Today I tried it, let it develop, gave it about an hour to do so, and wow. I keep getting an impression of a piece of soft, gauzy scarf rippling in the wind - silk spun. Or a star-lit, frosty evening. Moonlight shimming across rooftops and water. Paris by night, perhaps.... at the end of autumn.


There isn't really anything like this on the market, which is why it is the forerunner in being the next Lutens fragrance I choose, as I can confidently attest, that this line is the only one I can see myself reaching for in future. I've mentioned elsewhere in another review that I'm wanting three Lutens fragrance to alternate between, and that this one might suit that middle ground between my other two - Clare de Musc and Fille en Aiguilles (which is my favourite Serge creation thus far...), as it sits at the crossroads of these scents. Ashy, smoky, mysterious, and yet pale, pretty, and easy to translate between occasions, but always elegant.

This fragrance is electric, like those moments before a storm. Where the hairs raise on the skin. The ash and grey skies effect is abundant, but not overpowering. Evocative, and strong in that sense. I love the idea of this being worn all year and how it might change on the skin depending on the seasons. I am surprised at just how well the lavender has been used here - how it is overbearing at first but settles into the woods and ash. The incense here is top notch.

There is something about this perfume which takes me to an old bookstore. Not only in the feeling it carries and seems to be charged with, but that almost bookish smell, like old time-stained pages and the magical smell they hold. So, I want to say there is a dusty note to this, but I don't want to put anyone off by saying so. Because it's not dusty in a must-filled way. It's pleasant and balanced by the skilful use of the lavender and what it is allowed to become in the way it is brewed by the parfumeur.

As I write this, I am also smelling the card, and with it getting impressions of an old carnival. When something sweet fades a little, but clings to the canvas. The passing scents of cotton candy. The tonka bean here is like that - it underpins the scent with this windy, unusual selection of ideas and smells that work on cohesion. I imagine drawing back a tent flap and looking up and around as smoke from a recent bonfire curls into the crisp, cool air. The memory of candy apples and candy cotton linger in that space. The smell of the trees, the way the air tastes as sunlight melts through it as dawn breaks across the world.

Perhaps thunder is rolling somewhere in the distance....

A beautiful one, subtle and poetic. Lavender, woody and almost vanillic (due to amber and tonka bean I suppose), but not at all in a heavy and headache inducing way, like could be Pour un homme de Caron.
Gris clair, parce que le gris est tout dans la légereté et la nuance, dans un moment de poésie.
A touch of class.
Masterpiece, 10 / 10

I have to start by saying - I don't like lavender, never cared for it. Tried Gris Clair just out of curiosity and because I love woody smells. I've been wearing this fragrance most of the day today and I can't get enough of it. The lavender is not in your face, it's more dry-herbal then fresh and it is wrapped up in this leathery, little smoky, vanilla, woody aura. Elegant and mysterious, so beautifully done.

Looking at the notes and reading the reviews, one might think this perfume is mainly about that lovely purple blossom - lavender.
Truth is, on my skin, this is a fascinating variation on tonka beans laced with lavender and iris.

This scent twists and turns, changing again and again, from medicinal herb to man's cologne to deep sweetness, until it settles down to become a true, unusual beauty. It takes some time to get used to it, but give it a chance and you shall not regret it.

This is lovely lavender but not the soapy sweet lavender most scents contain. If you like lavender you will love this one. I find it very wearable for any situation, either sex as well. That is one of lavender's endearing qualities. It's also timeless.

Gris Clair is exquisitely composed and I find it soothing, and mysterious. Not floral nor sweet, it's creamy, dry spicy and I can't take my nose away from sniffing my inner arm where I sprayed it.

Again, if you like lavender you will adore this. If you like spicy you will enjoy this fragrance as well. There's powder in the dry down, if you don't like powder just be aware it's there.

Closest I can describe it is the Yardley's English Lavender I used to wear in the 80's

just getting around to sampling this, quite a beautiful fragrance, wearing this in the office, some positive comments. very impressed with just the overall presentation of notes. very classy, elegant and trying to figure out if it really leans one way or another. I think one of those fragrances I will just not worry about it and just enjoy it. I would be proud to own this. looking at price, seems very reasonable for a scent of this caliber.
thanks Plat for mentioning this one. I am so glad I sniffed this one out. I have enjoyed many of the Serge Luten's fragrances I have tested, this is so far at the top of the list. just so elegant. would be wonderful for dressing up or what the well dressed man is wearing. I say that as I sit here in levis or maybe it dresses you up. worth sampling, beautiful use of lavender in a fragrance. two thumbs way up.

overpriced mess.

Gris Clair was released in 2006 and its name means, in English, "Light Grey". They say it's a tribute from Serge to the lavender, who defines this perfume as follows: "it's like pollen blowing over a lifeless city. As grey as ashes floating through a sky of sunbeams. Lavender, then, to add grey to clarity. I also added incense. I'm crazy about it! In every sense, incense makes sense to my senses”.

In my interpretation, Gris Clair portrays the grey of the cities, the rush of city life and the power of a fragrance in the moments of relaxation amidst the chaos.

It contains notes of lavender, amber, tonka bean, iris, incense and Woods. Still, some say there are also musk and an accord of ashes. On the skin, it opens with a lot of lavender – not that type of herbal nuances, but of soothing and silky characteristics. After about 30 minutes, it shows itself creamier and more balanced. Then, it is possible to better understand the presence of amber and tonka bean. With respect to the incense and the iris, it is as if they didn't exist in the composition, because I could not smell them.

Gris Clair is very comfortable and, although it is unisex, tends to behave more like a women’s fragrance. At least, that's how it reacted on my skin.
In my point of view, is a safe choice for those who are afraid of taking risks in the universe of powerful niches of this brand. It exhales and lasts way beyond reproach.

As a metaphor, I would say that Gris Clair is like a flower that grows between the rocks – even in the most extreme conditions – to exude its perfume.

Um... ok, so this is a very beautiful frsgrance. Like some other reviewers, I was worried about the lavender too, but it's beautifully done. I was also a bit concerned about the incense because that's an accord that can become too much on my skin, but it's very muted here.

Wearing it reminded me of the calm after a thunderstorm. It's such an elegant, understated scent. Lutens can be difficult for people because of the tendency towards headiness in many of their scents, but this one doesn't have that problem at all.

But... (and this is where my "ummm" comes from") I kept intermittently catching a whiff of something that conjured up the strongest image of my favourite uncle. I couldn't for the life of my figure out why - and then it hit me. Faberge Brut. He always wore that when I was a kid and there's something about this that reminds me so much of it that I don't think I can wear it again.

Don't get me wrong, this one is still lovely and if it's like Brut, it's in a very well done and expensive way. But that memory being evoked just makes it a no-go for me because I always hated that particular aftershave.

Gris Claire is fun and free...almost like wearing a T-shirt to your own wedding. This is,"Im gonna take my sailboat for a little spin" kind of fragrance; affluent comes to mind. What you have here is a slightly dusty but subdued lavender mitigated by frosty tonka. The woody accord appear almost weightless as it adds a cloak of calm to the atmosphere. This is one of the safest Surge Lutens on the market.

Gris Clair ("Light Grey"): A vignette

It's early morning, the sky is grey and misty, and the earth is just waking up. You're sitting in a field of lavender leaning against a tree, wrapped in a grey blanket and sipping on some vanilla chai tea. You inhale deeply, and you smell the lavender, the tree, a hint of the vanilla from your tea, and a faint trace of smoke from the bonfire last night. There's a chill in the air, for the sun has not yet risen, and you pull your blanket closer around your body. It smells powdery and clean, probably from the laundry. As you take it all in, you smile and realize just how wonderful you feel in this moment. You can't quite put your finger on it--you're not feeling particularly special, or amazing, or excited, but just...content. Yes, that's it--calm, comfortable, and content. Happy to be there, taking a moment for yourself to enjoy the beauty of the early morning. For this quiet, peaceful moment is not full of noise, bright lights, and color, and it's not the starkness of black or white. It is simply....light grey.

A very interesting smell, I couldn't pinned down what it was, but get many compliments every time I wore. Sophisticated, subtle, fresh, clean and elegance. It's one of a kind (well, that's like most of Serg Lutens perfume anyway). I love it.

I used to classify myself as someone who disliked lavender, and especially lavender scents, as being for old grannies. Gris Clair is different. It smells like true lavender - the dried flower and stalk being crushed into a powder. Because for me the smokiness in this combined with the lavender gives this a very dry feel - like burnt lavender ash (as a concept, at least, as I have no idea what that would actually smell like!)
It is not a light perfume by any means - the sillage is moderate to strong and it lasts all day. It is not a bestial lavender fragrance, like Guerlain's Jicky, more of an intellectual affair. Nevertheless, I find this scent very hard to resist on my husband, so it's not all dry books and grey skies.
Whilst I admire the Serge Lutens I have had and tried, I find them too strong and they end up interfering in my sensual experience of the world around me and give me a headache by the end of the day. I prefer this on my husband, but I do still pinch it now and then, when I want to smell clever, seductive and aloof all at the same time. So definitely don't cross it off your list just because of the lavender...
EDIT: I have reclaimed this from my husband and wore it to a black dinner supper. The cold fragrance offset the feminine dress and makeup perfectly.

I am not a huge lavender fan, there are only a handful of fragrances with a dominant lavender note that I care for and this is at the top of that list. Lavender oil has never been my thing because I do not like that type of lavender. It hits me between the eyes and is too herbal and something grates on me...so please do not dismiss Gris Clair if you normally do not care for lavender because this is a whole different animal.

It is a smooth, cashmere like lavender....not screechy or sharp...very smooth and luxurious. There is a hefty dose of tonka bean and incense smoke that completely changes the feel of this from the usual bath product smelling lavender. It is absolutely nothing like lavender essential oil. The woody smoke mixed with the lavender is quite addicting!

When I initially tried this I felt it was too masculine and something I probably would not feel comfortable in but I have completely changed my mind. I can't stop sniffing it. If someone thinks I smell like a grandpa when I am wearing this, let them! Because I think it smells heavenly and I wear scent for myself and nobody else. They can hold their breath if they don't like it because I plan to drown myself in this all summer. They can call me paw paw for all I care. Because I LOVE Gris Clair!

Such an appealing opening. Fresh lavender with some iris, maybe some woods and incense contributing. A very pleasing bright lavender accord, not with the 'usual' lavender/vanilla combination that is in so many lavender fragrances.

Then a slightly 'thicker'' base, The later drydown seemed like some patch or amber but defintely tonka and hints of sandalwood, which as a combination is not my thing.

However, others may love it all the way

Lavender essential oil, strong and strange, spare the big $, buy the oil directly, will be much cheaper and with a same effect. After lavander strong musk comes, very masculine scent.

Lavender scented dryer sheets.

Lavender with a lot of Cashmeran and white musk. Subtle and unobtrusive perfume. Nothing to write home about but a very nice example of a laundry scent.

At first spray, I thought OH MY! I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. All I could smell was Incense wood, and tonka bean. After a while, the lavender finally emerged, tempering the incense a bit, but the woody tonka bean remained in the foreground. I never did smell any iris, which usually, on me turns a fragrance a bit soft and powdery.

Gris Clair is bold and brash and breathtaking and for those who like a gorgeous mix of incense, lavender, wood and tonka beans, this is a must. I had my husband smell it on me and he really liked it. He doesn't know it yet, but it will soon be his. It is just too masculine for this girly-girl.

I tried Gris Clair in an attempt to find similar to Chanel Jersey, so probably my review will be biased by that. Jersey is much better IMO, not out of quality which is obviously good for both perfumes, rather because of personal tastes.

Gris Clair starts with a strong lavender note together with the typical wet mushroom edge that promises luscious musk after drying, so the opening was impressive for me.
I kept smelling it and the first 10 minutes almost made me want to splurge. I said "almost", because while wandering in a big perfume shop, the perfume evolved to something that I like a little less.
Still a beautiful interesting sophisticated lavender plus tonka bean, but something else set in after a while. I guess it's the incense with Woods. it makes the scent much drier and a little musty.
At this stage Gris Clair seems more of an exquisite complicated lavender cologne for men, a very elegant indeed, but from that point GC has nothing of the juicy quality of Jersey.
The Whole scent is basically a composition around lavender of a very aromatic and less mellow type. As usual, all SL have that "something" more, like a note too much, that make them smell too overdone to me.
It's a strong perfume and it keeps steaming for hours with strong lavender, tonka and incense.
I can imagine an elegant dandy wearing this.

I would love my bed linen to smell like this!:-)

Sampling this from a small decant here so performance result may be affected for this reason. The scent opens smoothly with lavender and tonka bean. Stays pretty much the same from opening until it wears off. I don't pick up a lot of other notes here and overall it feels well-blended to my nose. Projection and longevity are moderate on my skin. Based on the notes breakdown I thought I was gonna like this and to my surprise it's actually quite simple and safe by Serge Lutens standard.

This is an elegant, sophisticated fragrance for lavender lovers.

For me, lavender always conjures up images of pastel homliness and sunny country landscapes. It's fresh, powdery and light. "Gris Clair" has all of those elements, but the resins add a richer tone. In fact it almost smells like burning an expensive lavender scented candle. There's a smokey-wax note in there, owed to the amber and the incense, which makes it feel very warm and comforting.

The resinous-smoke notes are probably more suited to a man, however I think a mature lady could pull it off too. It smells very noble and assured.

My first reaction was men's cologne. Then I enjoyed it. Until a CW said is smelled like many of our residents. Who mostly are over 80 years old.

And a second CW mentioned the same thing.

sigh. Not for me. Will see if my DD can wear it . I think it is my skin chemistry. LOVE THE SMELL from the sample.

Sigh. Again.

I know I have a weird nose, and preferences, but I found Gris Clair to be so feminine, so elegant, and so mature! I guess most people associate lavender as a 'masculine' note, but I think it is so beautiful.

The lavender is very natural, green, and herbal, like rubbing lavender stems in between your fingers. That is the big note, it lasts through the heart. Eventually I detect a faint iris, with a hint of powder, that 'makeup' iris variety, which blends nicely under the lavender.

The base is quite musky, and woody, with a tiny bit of sweetness, and here at the end is the incense note (it's all very nice.)

All in all I love the Floral Woody Musk genre, and this is a keeper. Like many SL's this lasts ~6+ hours with light silage, depending on how much you spray, it's not loud at all.

Masculine, Masculine, Masculine!!! Unfortunately, even for me this is a bit too masculine.

The lavender is gorgeous!!! Beautiful vibrant purple lavender being thrown on a hot fire. This is so fragrant and smokey. I can definitely smell the tonka and the warmth of the amber. Unfortunately this is a no go for me but I truly applaud Sheldrake for his creation!!!

For lavender lovers this is a must try!!!

smells like new ironed shirt. steam. but overall nice. the persistence of bad.

Love at first sniff. So deep and soft at same time. Lavender, amber, vanilla, incense, beautifully crafted. Great stuff.

A good one for lavender lovers...
Here we do not have an herbal lavender, not green at all, but a sweet and vanilla one, that makes me remember licorice.
A little bit amber and incense are good to balance it, making it dark and bright at different moments...
A little bit powdery and luxurious.
:D

First spray: Lavender, herbal scents, iris, woodsy notes.

Drydown: LAVDENDER. Holy crap, lavender. The smoke and amber are vaguely noticeable. But mostly, lavender.

After a few hours: Now the iris and lavender blend nicely, with smoke floating through the flowers, and the amber warms it all up and keeps it from being to sweet or flowery.

I do not like Serge Lutens's smoke accord, personally, but this is a very pretty floral scent. Especially for those who want to try out florals without being totally overwhelmed.

I've already done a full review for gris clair, but I just want to add, now that it's soooooooooo hot outside, that this is so wonderful even in the summer. I wanted to put something on, but I couldn't do a sticky floral or a really intense oriental, so I tried this, and it hits the spot! Beautiful.

A masterpiece ! Nothing evokes the smell of Provence in the scorching summer sun like Gris Clair! It smells like lavender fields, rocks, dried herbs, sun, hot air, summer (it's more appropriate for spring though, because it's potent :)). Excellent longevity: 12+ hours on me. I also appreciate that there's nothing masculine about this fragrance on my skin. I love it.

This is possibly the best iris fragrance (paired with a huge lavender) on the market. Much more natural than Prada Infusion D'Homme for example, but works equally well with a crisp white shirt. Sadly, this is just a little too sweet for me.

This perfume is just brilliant. Extremely addictive from the fresh lavender start till the smoky end!

Wears masculine on me. My husband liked it, but immediately said "I think it would smell better on me". I agree.

I can smell the lavender close on my skin at hour 6, but the incense and wood is what I end up smelling most.

A lovely scent, but -alas- not right for me.

I like Gris Clair, although I have a feeling it fits better to my girlfriend than to me.

On my skin it's almost linear, lavender scent. I guess I might feel some "powderiness" also which comes from iris. And from time to time I feel the smoky incense coming out. If it only was more incensy, it would be always in my collection. For now, my girlfriend likes it more than me.

Its lasting power is average - about 6 hours with decent sillage.

It's quite unique, that's for sure. And women seem to like it, really!

Instalove. This is literally lavender incense. A paradox of scents that hang in such perfect balance, that a solid axis in itself is created.

I normally prefer lavender in the form of essential oils due to its purity of scent, but the swirl of incense here makes my head turn. The gently sleeping form of lavender has been shaken, and she moves in a dreamlike state.

This is a masterful blend of contrasts that is reliable at the same time, and has become a staple in my perfume wardrobe. 10/10

Lavender, yes, but so much more. As it dries and warms on your skin you can pick up a cool grey ambergris, the smoky frankincense, a tiny touch of tonka, and I swear there is a touch of vetiver there. Maybe the vetiver is a sharp cedar note. The woody note, whether it is from vetiver or just cedar alone, mixed with lavender reminds me of luxury. It gives me an ambience of class and style, just enough sillage to tease the noses around me. It is no great projector, but I have never liked far flung fragrances. The scent is for me. This one is subtle but long lasting and interesting. Not a daily scent, but something for work or home. Unlike many other SL fragrances, this one is not overly sweet or heavy. Very nicely done.

It is the first "lavender scent" I love on my skin! I guess it's because of the incense and tonka bean, which are both my favourite ingredients almost everywhere.

Very unique.

First time I smelled it, I had a big questionmark over my head - what are the componets, what does it remind me, is it for a woman or for a man.

There's something very addictive in this scent.

"Clean" scent with a twist.

I recommend to try it. Even if You don't like it, You will get interesting experience.

Gris Clair opens with a natural lavender stripped of it's astringent properties and balanced perfectly with the sweet vibrating hum of incense softened and warmed with amber and vanilla. It is at once fresh and warm, a dichotomy of scents, and for what it's worth, the most interesting Lutens I have experienced so far.

After the top notes start to relax their hold, cool florals start to penetrate this rich orange layer, suggesting a drop in temperature with the onset of evening.

This fragrance is an extremely well-groomed and composed gentleman wearing a tailored trench coat, taking a solitary stroll to decompress at the end of a long day.

It is extremely rich and refined masculinity. It is the sensation of an urban pulse beginning to slow, as the avenues become bathed in the saffron and blue hues of dusk.

I have always been a believer in aromatherapy and its therapeutic benefits. One of my main go-tos for relaxation and rejuvenation has been lavender. I actually grow several types of lavender just for the smell when the wind sweeps past it in the summer bloom. This scent is like a beautiful bouquet of fresh lavender straight from my garden for the first hour or so. But it isn't masculine or feminine in its nature - just natural, from the earth. There are hints of tonka and amber that warm it up and through the dry down, those become more prominent. However, the lavender continues to bring its fresh natural beauty throughout. I LOVE this scent.

While I enjoy many of my super "manly/earthy/woody" scents like M7, and Gucci pour Homme etc., I find myself wearing this and loving it when I catch a whiff drifting up and I keep smelling my wrist for that rejuvenating lavender!

Lavender and I are not the closest of friends when it comes to perfume. For some reason the note often strikes me as harsh and sharp. My favorite lavender scents have been smoothed out, but even the best of the best I consider for the most part to be aromatherapeutic inducements to sleep. I also bathe HRH Emperor Oliver in lavender bubbles because it seems to calm his nerves.

Given my attitude toward lavender, it might seem that I would not take very well to Serge Lutens GRIS CLAIR, which opens with a pretty powerful blast of an ink-like dark purple lavender. It's strong enough to evoke vague memories of the essential oil concoction offerings from the house of Lush. Fortunately this composition is not intense and caustic as are some of those--I don't feel my nasal passages burning!

A rich iris note comes forth with more force as the perfume dries down, but the lavender in GRIS CLAIR really covers everything up in the opening, and remains dominant throughout the duration of a wear.

After the somewhat strong, almost lavender-oil opening, GRIS CLAIR swiftly settles down to a smooth ambergris lavender layer. I thought initially that the base was musk, but apparently it is ambergris. In any case, the texture coheres with my concept of ambergris: similar to a supple metal mesh.

While wearing this creation earlier today, I thought of Gandini LAVANDA ED AMBRA ORO, so I decided to compare them side-by-side. Despite the vast differences in the other notes listed in the official hierarchies of these two creations, the lavender and the amber are dominant in both. Where GRIS CLAIR features "old wood", LAVANDA ED AMBRA ORO features patchouli. They are closely enough related compositions that anyone who likes GRIS CLAIR would probably like LAVANDA ED AMBRA ORO, and vice versa.

GRIS CLAIR is better, I believe. There is something appealing about this rich layer of ambergris and lavender embellished with iris, and I understand why so many people love this composition. For me, the inky lavender is a bit too strong, but GRIS CLAIR is nonetheless more appealing to me than some of the other perfumes from this house. It's definitely one of the best lavender perfumes I come across in recent times.

A very interesting and pleasant scent from the opening to the end. Hard to classify as a masculine or feminine scent which makes it a perfect unisex. Another quality fragrance from SL.

Gris Clair rests on the masculine side of lavender. It's a fresh, sharp and wistful sent that feels like an eau de cologne or even a gentle, sublime aftershave. Like some of the other 'cool' eaux de perfums by Lutens, this lingers on that edge between smoke and wind. I've always found the names of Lutens' scents fascinating because they so paradoxical. Gray is rarely clear - gray is the fuzzy area between white and black. Gris Clair is like this as well.

What differentiates Gris Clair from other lavender based men's scents is the lack of other sweet flowers that can turn such a creation into syrup. There are no violets, irises (even though it's supposed to be a note...) or freesias in here to spoil the organic, earthy scent of men's lavender.

This is a special perfume which is not nearly as brash as other Lutens' creations. It's sharp and strong, but extremely soothing. Yet it also makes a statement. A rather beautiful gray paradox.

This is very similar to New Haarlem by Bond No9, just not the coffee note. This one is fresher. If you like that one, you will love this.

Simple but not ordinary.
Smoky, warm and deep.

Beautiful lavender opening.
But the best things come next.
Gris Clair transforms into extremely warm, full of incense and woodsy notes aroma.

Lasting power is really good - 6-7 hours, sillage is moderate but still...I wear it for my pleasure.

The opening of this fragrance is almost a soliflore lavender effect- the scent of a sachet of dried lavender- high quality lavender, but still dried lavender. Then the smoky, woody incense and iris come in and the scent is absolutely heavenly for about a half hour. I was so hoping this would be the final drydown scent, just maybe a little warmer. Alas, not to be.

In the drydown the smoky incense seems to evaporate on my skin and most of what remains is a warm almost too sweet lemony scent, which unfortunately reminded me of soap or air freshener. Since there are no citrus notes showing for this perfume I have no idea what that is from, maybe the tonka? Anyway, to my nose, Gris Clair is not nearly at the level of the other Lutens scents. I am so disappointed because I loved the heart notes with all that smoky incense and lavender together. It was blissful. Sigh!

For everyone who is disappointed by Gris Clair, I recommend Tauer's Reverie Au Jardin- it's fresh lavender, just heavenly!

To all perfume lovers, cheers!
I find it very strange that anyone did not find the (striking, in my opinion!) resemblance between Gris Clair by Serge Lutens, to famous, and now fairly rare-find, Jicky by Guerlain.
Just look for the fragrance notes list. Sure, in Jicky we find MUCH MORE ingredients/notes, but the leading notes, a.k.a. lavender, tonka bean, amber, woods (still, other woods than in Jicky, but...) are the same. In the second thought, it would be extremely interesting to know the resemblance/difference in proportions of all these. Anyway, there are still some notes that we don't find here, too, and they of course make the difference.
The very psychological difference (and we here talking of perfumes, not of persons, but still, it is interesting to think in this way!) between Gris Clair and Jicky lies, I think, in this: Jicky is more 'open-hearted', more 'extrovert' and 'optimistic', in comparison to Gris Clair, that is more 'introverted' and 'introspective' in its mood, so-to-speak. Even the 'passionate nature' of these two show itself in different ways; and it is first of all about the interaction between masculine/feminine facets of these fragrances. And - each of them has a VERY passionate, sensual, and infatuating nature that is unique in different ways. For sure, someone who looks for loud frags, almost cruel sexiness, all these syrupy vanillas, etc., would not be interested in any of these two frags. For the reason being, I think, is not only the price of these (very expensive!). These two work not only for sensual-bodily-instinctual irritation, but asking for mind-body interaction. Something philosophical in them, if you want to think in this way, and even more of it in GC by Serge Lutens than in J, by Guerlain.
For sure, these two frags are for a mature person, man or woman alike. In saying 'mature', I mean not the ‘passport age’, but more the psychological maturity, that is all about the things I’ve just said.

Amazing! It starts with quite a lot of lavander, but lavander of the best quality. It changes soon to something warm or hot like fire. Really hot but literally! I even feel the warmth around my face when I smell my wrist. Or I even feel it when I hold my breath and I don't feel the smell. I have never experienced such a pleasure with a perfume or I'd rather call it something else, not just a perfume but much more, that gives you an incredible experience!

Wow, another SL that has surprised me! I jumped blind into this as I was really intrigued by the reviews and the smoky, woodsy notes.
The first thing I caught from the spray was medicinal lavender oil for bath or burning, but that was so short lived and remained very, very close to the skin. After a few minutes I had to press my nose to my arm to detect that similar vapor.
The revelation comes in the drydown... There is a smoky, ambery, balmy trail that I keep catching when I move around, it's addicting, I tilt my head to each side to catch the fume. It's alluring because it is so different from how it all started out. There is the potential for powdery hints to peek through, but I tend to pick up the smokier vibe. This is definately a unisex frag. and perfect for fall!

I was looking for a fougere on LuckyScent and this little beauty showed up. I ordered a sample, I'm happy to announce we're in love, and now in a very serious relationship.

Seriously, the Lavender in this bottle is so beautiful, and paired with the tonka, wood, amber, and incense.... I cannot keep my face off my wrist!
When I first sprayed this perfume, I thought "oh, this is interesting!" It was slightly sharp (which I like)... but when it moved to the heart and the dry down, all of those woody, resinous, spicy notes came into play... I was completely seduced. It was soft, but didn't sacrifice sillage or longevity. I can easily wear this perfume anywhere. If you're not a fougere lover, I don't recommend blind buying this nectar.

Opening was off-putting for me, smelled almost like menthol. Once it settled however it was indeed quite herbal and fresh, but still in such a way as to make me think of high class air freshener.
Once this dries down to the main body of the scent it's a well done woody iris with a hint of tonka and still manages to smell nothing like Infusion d'Iris. It makes me think of a dreary overcast day. Distinctly unisex, a bit too herbal from what I wanted of it. The most disappointing of all the Lutens I've tried so far though.

magnificent smell!! Unique combination of ingredients, amazing lasting power, immediate effect on mood.. i'm impressed...

some days later: i'm smitten... this is my favourite among the lutens and strongly recommendable for people with heavy migraines like me .... a true remedy...

I feel as though this fragrance was made for me. After years of fragrance meandering, I have finally stumbled upon the one that speaks to me. I am in love with the rebellious nature of this fragrance. I think of a sultry Parisian woman, slightly undone with bedhead and mascara from the night before on rainy, cool day in the streets of Paris. This isn't for someone who tries too hard to be beautiful. It's mysterious, deep and unassumingly sexy.