Grain de Soleil

This is a beautiful, rich, warm fragrance. I have owned it for a couple of years - but given the size of my wardrobe, haven't worn it for quite a while. It's a cool weather scent, for certain. I sprayed it a couple of times this afternoon, because I'd moved a few bottles of perfume around and the distinctive bottle caught my eye. Initially, Grain de Soleil packs quite a powerful punch, but the sillage becomes moderate, in my opinion, within a short time. I envy those on whom it lasts a long time, as - on me - it lasts about 4.5 hours or so (but my skin absorbs most perfume very quickly). I was wondering which perfume GdS brought to mind and had been idly thinking about it for the last few hours, when it finally came to me. It's a far more restrained and polite Alien Essence Absolu. I've spritzed a little AEA on the back of my left hand and refreshed the GdS to compare them side by side. Now I am not suggesting that Grain de Soleil is a clone (it would be the other way round, as it was launched over ten years earlier) or that it could even be mistaken for AEA - but there is definitely a similarity. They have incense, amber, vanilla and jasmine in common; both also have a slightly powdery quality which is probably coming from orris root (in AEA) and iris (in GdS). They also have a woody substance to them (cashmere wood in AEA) and sandalwood in the case of GdS. Grain de Soleil is a very classy perfume and certainly smells far more expensive than it is. ETA. My comments about Alien Essence Absolu are absolutely not intended as negative; I love it (and am now wearing it instead). Further edit 11 December 2018: There are also similarities between Grain de Soleil and Joop! Le Bain; again, I am not suggesting a clone, just... I've spritzed Le Bain before bed this evening and it's made me think of GdS.

This was my very first blind buy. I was disappointed there was nowhere I could go to test before buying but the company I bought it from had a satisfaction guarantee, where they send a small sample with the purchase and I could return the bottle if I didn't like it. After all the positive reviews, I took a jump! The bottle is just so beautiful, and cute! At first spray I was a little worried I wasn't going to like it. It's very potent in the beginning, almost sour?, but as it dries down, Grain de Soleil becomes warm and powdery. All the notes blend together perfectly and create a kind of very soft, velvety and powdery sensual oriental floral vanilla. I can smell soft powdery vanilla notes, warm amber, gentle florals, a hint of spice that balances it all beautifully. The projection is strong! I'm an avid over sprayer but you definitely don't need to with this perfume. A couple of sprays and you're wrapped in a beautiful aroma! Like a big cuddle of warm sunshine, soft flowers and a sweet breeze. The more I wear it, the more I love it. Sillage: amazing! A few sprays and you can smell me when I enter a room. My husband said I smell like a fresh washing blowing in the sunshine. ☺️ Longevity: long lasting! I sprayed after my shower and I could still smell it the next day. Fresh and beautiful Value: good value for money. It's not terribly expensive and you don't need alot of product to make a big impact. Bottle lasts a good amount of time. Weather: I'd wear this in all seasons myself although I can see it fitting more in a beautiful sunny spring day and cozy autumn nights in. Gender: can be uni-sex although I feel it's more on the feminine side due to the soft floral notes. I definitely will be recommending this product to everyone I speak to! What a gem. 🙌🏻

I blind bought this perfume, which is always risky, but it does contain all my favourite notes. Thankfully I love it! I really do get that solar feeling here, but it's unlike any other solar perfume I've tried before. It feels like walking through an old spice market in the morning heat. There's faint wafts of exotic spices and apothecary products, homemade with dried flowers. Incense is perfuming the air somewhere in the far distance. You are slightly sweaty from all the exploring and the sun has warmed your already tanned skin. This perfume is so beautifully blended that it's hard to describe which notes appear and when. I mostly get vintage powdery notes, possibly from the heliotrope? There's cinnamon too, which adds a dry, gentle spice. The amber is absolutely gorgeous! It's warm, glowing and inviting. I think I pick up on the faint iris note, but it's not cold or melancholic (like iris can sometimes feel). There's also a slight floral lift, which may come from the jasmine or orange blossom, but I can't be sure. No note sticks out individually. It also has a little bit of a funk to it, which I love! It reminds me of the way Shalimar has that mysterious, lived in warmth. It definitely smells vintage, but in a very understated and effortless way. It never feels heavy or old fashioned. I wouldn't call this a vanilla fragrance really, at least not to my nose. It's very much a note in the background. The incense note is fairly quiet and comes deep in the dry down. It's not church-y, thankfully. Right now this perfume is fresh out of the box, so I can't wait to see how it matures. I've seen a few people's bottles darken with age, and I have a feeling this will only get better over time. Maybe the vanilla will reveal it's heart, we'll see!

My boyfriend knew how obsessed I was with this perfume’s bottle and gifted it to me for Christmas. For that alone, I love it. But in the 5 or so months since having it this perfume and I have developed a unique relationship. I don’t always reach for it, and yet I have such a fondness for it in my heart. It’s familiar and yet unlike any other scent I’ve smelled. Contrary to others’ reports of this being an ‘old lady’ scent (I hate that description!) I think a person of any age could wear this, even a child, and that’s a testament to its range. It isn’t sexy, and it isn’t trying to be. It’s comfort. It’s a hug from your grandmother, and the laughter exchanged between friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time. It’s the powdery smell of a woman who makes you feel safe. It’s the smell of skin after a bubble bath, tucked in warm to your twin sized bed, ladybug sheets pulled up to your chin, your mother’s bracelet-clad hand stroking your forehead. It’s your childhood friend’s mom’s perfume, and their house, and the smell of sleepovers. It’s the scent of a lovely young woman working at a local store who always treats you with dignity and kindness. I think this scent works for all seasons. My one disclaimer is that this scent, though wonderful, is not immune to becoming overbearing. Spray sparingly; you’ll be surprised at how much this projects. I recommend at the wrists and/or neck; when I spray it on my chest I find that it becomes too cloying to my nose. I’d also caution against wearing it everyday; this somehow takes away the magic of it. If you grow weary of it, as we sometimes do with dear friends, just leave it on the shelf for a bit. I have a feeling that, like me, you’ll come back after awhile.

Wow.. the perfect scent for seasonal depression.. it is so full, dense and warm, yet so soft and powdery and gentle. It comforts you, caresses you and hugs you like a winter sun Notes are blended greatly, you dont notice one note over the other (maybe patchouli jumps out here and there, but in a cozy way and not a dank way) The vanilla in here doesnt smell like vanillin, which is good because vanillin smells extremely masculine to me. The iris is textural, the jasmine is indolic, the incense is unlit, the heliotrope isnt overdosed and doesnt smell like playdoh, the amber is vintage and elegant (no ambroxan detected! It smells really soft and resinous) I only detect a HINT of rose, and i dont really smell anything necessarily cinnamony. Weirdly, it reminds me of cacharel’s eden combined with guerlain’s l’heure bleue and a hint of jil sander sun. Yet its not the same as those three at all. Idk. May need some more time to collect my thoughts. But this is beautiful! And im obsessed with the bottle! Immediate edit: omg this reminds me of a chai latte... specifically celestial bengal spice. Theres no sweetness , but the heliotrope makes it slightly milky and i guess the cinnamon does add some warm spiciness without being obviously cinnamon. I always add dried rose buds to my chai so maybe thats why it doesnt pop out so much. Theres patchouli settles quite fast which is why it doesnt overwhelm. But it may just be me, if you want a gourmand chai i wouldnt recommend this..

Where has this been all my life? I know that this was launched in 1999, many years before my beloved Alien Essence Absolue, or even the original Alien, so calling this a dupe for AEA would be an absolute injustice. If anything, it's the other way around. They are like sister fragrances, despite being made by different companies and in different eras. This has the classic Alien DNA before Alien even existed. Yes, it 100% is very reminiscent of the Essence Absolue flanker that we all know and love. In fact, it's so similar that I don't even miss Alien Essence anymore. The pain of its absence has been softened by the discovery of this hidden gem. Are they identical? No. But they're very similar nevertheless. This is creamier and smoother, with dainty powdery notes. My bottle is brand new, so I have no idea how it ages, but I cannot wait for the juice to darken and for the notes to deepen as my bottle matures. I've seen used bottles of this turn an almost red color, while mine is a very pale yellow. Perhaps once it ages, the similarities to Alien Essence Absolue will be even more apparent, but as it stands, they are already very similar to one another. If you are missing Alien Essence Absolue and are contemplating forking out $200 or $300 for a bottle, don't! This is just as good and it's far more affordable. Plus, this came out years before Alien or any of its flankers, so it truly does feel like the big sister to Alien Essence Absolue.

it made my eyes becoming wet like an overdose of hairspray at first, but yes it's quite nice once it seddles down, the sandalwood and amber are strooong, yet powdery, woody and spicy, the orris makes it very earthy and mysterious, some hints of vanilla barely detectable... this frag has no sweet, what's quite unusual. i don t know yet if i like it or not, it's kinda very mature, not oldfashioned but a bit harsh and dry, earthy and spicy. i was expecting really something else by the notes... hmmm i can t distingue different stages on this perfume, it's almost linear but very complex and well blendet. it becomes better and better with the time and the slightly sweet vanilla lingers trough the earty-woody notes. maybe this should be applied with ligher hand than i did to enjoy it from top to bottom. sillage enormeous, staying power enormeous. it's for shure a very good quality perfume, but maybe not daring enough for me. bottle lovely, a stunning collector object! add.note: i m using it today the second time and i did apply it today by dusting it overall my body and hair.... it's fantastic! the scent is really strong, so a little goes far and it can easely be oversprayed, what can induce headache or sneez-attack (hairspray-effect). handeled with light hand it's a very very nice scent! love it.

This is one of my favorite scents of all time. My sister gifted me a small bottle a long, long time ago after her visit to Grasse and I never forgot it. I ended up buying a big bottle a few years ago and I just love it. I don't wear it all the time, but whenever I want to feel like I'm being comforted in a cloud of warm, powdery, ambery, vanilla goodness, this is what I reach for. It is just gorgeous, in my opinion. I find it's a bit strong and yes, very "vintagey" at first, but it quickly mellows out, warms up, and rounds itself out. It is so very feminine. It is sweet, but not cloying- more like incense than sweets. Also, it lasts forever. I put it on in the morning before work and I can still catch whiffs of it when I get home 10 hours later. I would say you can't go wrong with this one unless you really dislike warm scents.

I got this as a substitute for Alien Essence Absolue. I’ve never flown through a bottle so fast. My mind wants to compare the pyramid and differences between notes. My heart wants to describe a feeling, like so many others have. AEA makes me feel like a formidably sexy, boss-lady vixen. GdS isn’t a boss-lady scent; it’s the scent of a matriarch. Wearing it is like experiencing a consoling hug from a wise woman. It’s that hug that you didn’t know you needed, until the embrace makes your eyes well up with emotions you didn’t know you were holding in. Maybe this wise woman is an aunt or a teacher. Maybe she’s your best friend’s mother, or maybe even your own. But whomever she is, she understands what it means to walk in the shoes of a woman. She has lived your experience. Maybe she’s you.

This is how I always imagined "the smell of sunshine". I bought this when I was hardly seeing any sun, I was working late afternoons and always stay awake all night. When I wear it and close my eyes I feel like im on a car ride, sitting at the back, closing my eyes and listening to others conversation but I barely can concentrate becouse im falling asleep. We are on the way back from a wonderful day trip, full of laughter. We are passing by wheat fields, everything is dry and hot. Its late summer and the sun Is not too hot, I can enjoy it shining on my face. 🌾🌞🚗💤 "It’s like powdered sunshine. It’s a freshly bathed baby kicking on a picnic blanket in the sun-dappled grass, with a floral-laden breeze wafting past." HeidiLynn commented and I agree 100%

I have but a wee sample of this and it's not very jasmine-like to me, there's maybe a hint of it with another floral, but I mainly get the cinnamon, amber and vanilla. But also, strangely, there is something in it that slightly, very, very, slightly, reminds me of People of the Labyrinths - Luctor et Emergo. They're very different fragrances, but there's just something I can't explain. I know it sounds strange, because the image I have with POTL is of wandering through an antique shop in midst of winter or the damp undergrowth of Mirkwood with a basket of dried cherries. POTL is definitely deeper and darker, but with Grain de Soliel, it's like I was in the deep dark woods and just wandered out into the warm sunshine (sans cherry basket =:)

This scent is rich and complex. It reminds me of Miss Me by Stella Cadente (which has been discontinued). That's why I didn't buy a bottle, because I have something too similar. I can definitely smell cinnamon, incense, vanilla, and some other exquisite florals. Grain de Soleil conveys mystery and allure. It's an extremely fair price considering most perfumes on the market can't surpass it in quality. Update 5 years later: Unfortunately it is no longer anywhere near the potency that it used to be. It is dull and powdery at first, then it dries down to a muted amber with white flowers. Still nice, but it's lost its "mojo" and has become rather ordinary. So sad that the constant ingredient bans of the IFRA destroy perfumes like this.

Oh YES! I blind bought this on the hopes of it being similar to Alien Essence which I adore. This beautiful scent does everything for me that I want from Essence! It's warm, rich and enticing. The rose thankfully does not appear on my skin which would turn this beauty a bit more vintage classic scent. On me the lighter notes are barely there on the background which makes this júst too different from Alien Essence to be an exact dupe, but my god for the price and warm richness this is a very good replacement to wear instead! This scent is strong and pretty lingering, so do not overspray! Honestly for the price I think everyone should try it. Ultimate warm cozy fall/winter scent. I'm never going to stop buying this for sure.

This fragrance embodies everything I love in perfumery: creamy sandalwood, powdery iris, almondy heliotrope, comforting vanilla, spicy cinnamon, and balsamic incense, all resting on a bed of white florals. I especially enjoy wearing it on a cold winter morning or before bed to unwind. It's like a drop of sunshine warming my soul 🥹 This is my favorite Ambrée scent I've sampled thus far, and with that striking bottle and amazing price, how could you not want to buy it? Hands down, the best offering from the house of Fragonard. In my opinion, this is a true unisex fragrance—the vanilla isn’t overly sweet, and the feminine, powdery aspects are perfectly balanced with the warm-spicy, balsamic elements.

I've had this for a long time, and never wore it much, until today I decided to revisit it. So first off, I loved Alien Essence Absolu and still have a bit of it left (why do the good ones get discontinued?). Anyways, on my skin, this smells very similar, but with a powdery aspect added. So to me, it's a slightly powdery version of Alien Essence Absolu, and if you miss that fragrance, there's a strong chance you'd enjoy this as well. It's a lovely fragrance that projects a warm glow about it. The vanilla, amber, heliotrope, and white florals stand out most on my skin. A very comforting perfume and an anti-depressant in a bottle. If you loved AE Absolu and miss it, try this one.

A smooth, complex and bright oriental with a slight touch of something cool that reminds me of men's cologne. Looking at the notes, I have no idea what that might be. Has anyone else felt this? I skimmed through all the reviews hoping to find a mention of this coolness, but apparently I am the only one? And as others have mentioned, fantastic sillage and lasting power. Update: If you have this one and want to save money by using less of it, choose one of your bras and just get a little of this perfume on it, and then wear that bra instead of spraying yourself with the perfume next time. The bra I wore a week ago STILL smells strongly of Grain de Soleil!

Hands down, THE most exceptional perfume that I own and despite being quite an accidental discovery is one that I have finished within one year (my personal best for perfume usage) and actively repurchased already. Grain de Soleil smells like nothing else! Its heady, exotic, warming and somewhat mysterious. I have never had so many compliments on a fragrance in my life nor so many requests for the name of the perfume and where to purchase it. Unusually, it works all year round! In the winter months it is warm and comforting, but in the summer heat it turns into something exotic and magical. Heaven in a bottle.

So many say that this is a cool weather fragrance but must disagree. I wear this whenever the mood strikes me and I get more compliments when it is warm out than any other time. I have never experienced so many compliments from men especially. If I was on the market, I wouldn't think twice about this being my choice for a fragrance. Warm, inviting, sexy, this juice has it all. It is not for those that prefer timid fragrances. It will end up wearing you if you don't have the chemistry to pull it off. Longevity on me is easily 8-10 hours, if not more. Silage is moderate with minimal application.

It is simply so unique; many others have something similar, but this one is incomparable. The scent is absolutely perfect—sweet and light, never cloying, and suitable for wear all year round, whether in summer or winter, in sunny or rainy weather; it boasts a multitude of layers and superb note development, the blend of cinnamon and patchouli for example, it is simply perfect. The final note, the drydown is hard to explain, it evokes a combination of spices, cleanliness, a subtle powdery note, sugar, skin and vanilla. I have never smelled anything quite like it.

I love this perfume so much. It was my first from the house of Fragonard and was a blind buy. I can not stop smelling my arm as it is so gorgeous. So beautifully soft, warm, spicy, with a little vanilla. I have never quite smelled anything like this and it will always be in my perfume wardrobe from now. The heliotrope and sandalwood makes this so beautiful. Sillage and longevity are very good. I am so pleased that this little gem is in my collection. Many that I own I will never repurchase, but this one I will for sure. Perfume heaven for me.