Question:
I've had a lavender gap in my wardrobe for a long time. I wore Agua Lavanda exclusively for most of my 20s, then switched briefly to Pour un Homme just as I was becoming more interested in fragrances. After a while I decided PuH was cloying and not for me and moved on to a variety of other things without revisiting lavender. Later, I re-bought Agua Lavanda, but it never "clicked" the way it had for me when I was younger. I think I'd become a little spoiled by that point, to be honest.
So today without much premeditation I picked up a bottle of Gris Clair, which I'd tested before and been unsure about. It originally seemed there was something almost bizarre/unnatural about the strength and persistence of the lavender note, but I decided that could be managed by varying the application (and might be a good thing anyway). I'm excited about having some lavender in my life again after a number of years.
What do others think about this one? I get mostly lavender from it, but someone else suggested it has a significant musk element too. I'm still forming my opinions about Gris Clair and the times and places for it, but I'm inclined to think it was a good choice.

Answer:
It's certainly a most exceptional lavender. Powerful, smoky and very realistic-smelling. You can really imagine the fragrant grey lavender growing in some rocky place with a hot dry wind blowing etc.

Answer:
I really like Gris Clair. The lavendar is a bit overpowering to me ... at first. But on the drydown, it definitely takes a step back and lets the other notes come through and blend with it.
Not sure if I like lavendar all that much, but I still have about half my decant to go through before spending the money.

Answer:
I've tried it a couple of times and am still trying to make up my mind whether I like it. I love lavender frags, but this one has a note that smells like electrical wires burning that makes me recoil slightly when I get a whiff of it. I'm not sure I could wear this one for long without getting put off by that.

Answer:
I loved this the first time I sampled it (it was a cool day) - I found the lavender wonderfully true but was bemused by the sweet musky dryown. The second time I sampled it, it immediately became a cheap 70's chypre cologne with all cheap musky smelling powdery woods dominating the blend. I admit it was a warmer day and maybe it doesn't wear well in the heat but it was very off putting.

I much prefer Crown Fougere and Maxim's pour homme for my lavender fix (sometimes topped up with Yardley Lavender Cologne or Lavender EO). I also like Guerlain Jicky EDP but find it rather schizophrenic (like Shalimar) with its bright lavender bergamot opening and deep sexy (dragon's blood scented) vanilla musk incense dry down.

Maybe Serge Lutens Gris Clair is his 'Jicky' for a modern generation?!!

Answer:
This is a wonderful lavander/smoky scent. It's a good fragrance specially on warm summer days. It also has good longevity. It's the only Serge Lutens I have on my wardrobe, so far.

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I'm a big SL fan here, but I'm still not sure whether or not GC will become a future purchase for me. Prior to testing GC, I was always blown away by Borneo 1834's medicinal, camphorous opening, but GC even trumps Borneo in this department ... not for the weak of heart!
I can't make up my mind about the drydown: seems like a reincarnation of Un Bois Sepia's thick, sweet woods, and I'm not sure I like that with the bracing lavender on top. I was surprised to find a really strong incense note in there, though (shades of Encens de Lavande?)
If you haven't yet, give LV Inglese a try: it's not as strong as GC (nor does it have GC's longevity), but the mix of herbs in Inglese really puts the lavender in a beautiful light, and IMHO elevates the lavender from being just a "linen water" type of scent into something really memorable. It retains enough of the lavender's freshness so that it works well in summer heat, while the herbal complexity would also make it a good fall scent.
Anyways, enjoy your new bottle of GC ... should be great for the coming fall months!

Answer:
I've been wearing Gris Clair this weekend and liking it a lot. For its strength, it wears closer to the skin that I expected, which I like. And I'm also liking the balanced drydown that maintains most of the richness of the original blast.
Thankfully, I don't get the burning electrical wires at all.

Answer:
Originally Posted by juggernet (shades of Encens de Lavande?) That's exactly what I thought: Gris Clair strikes me as a reworked, musk-enhanced Encens et Lavande for the export market. It seems like Lutens took one of his most inconsequential Paris-only scents and made it fuller, and then, with more flesh on its previously brittle bones, chose to let it out of its Palais Royal confines.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Serpent That's exactly what I thought: Gris Clair strikes me as a reworked, musk-enhanced Encens et Lavande for the export market. It seems like Lutens took one of his most inconsequential Paris-only scents and made it fuller, and then, with more flesh on its previously brittle bones, chose to let it out of its Palais Royal confines. Serpent-- do you think Gris Clair is an improved version of Encens et Lavande? I mean would you own both?