Francique 63.55

First, I have to disclose that this review is based on initial spray and 3 days on the shelf. I will update as time passes and the fragrance has time to mature. A few months back, I purchased Liam Grey as a blind buy and I fell in love at first sniff. It has quickly become my favorite fragrance. So much so that I intended to purchase more bottles for backup. Then, I thought maybe I should try other offerings that attempt to mimic the Gris Charnel DNA. So, I purchased this... Francique 63.55. I have also acquired Aroma Concepts Ministry of Oud's Oud Beyond The Wall. I really don't know what I was expecting... but, I surely wasn't expecting a better experience than the one I had with LG. Francique 63.55 is the most exquisite fragrance I have ever put my nose on. In a comparison, because I feel it is the best way to get my point across, Liam Grey takes a much more spicy route. That's not to say that LG is too spicy. But, it has a much more pronounced, almost peppery note, Tea and Cardamom forward. That does die down with time and certainly mellows out with support from the Iris, Vanilla and Sandalwood. But, it does maintain that spiciness throughout its duration. Francique takes a much more mellow approach, leaning more Vanilla, Iris and Sandalwood forward with the Tea and spices in the background. Creamier and more velvety, if that makes sense. The scent cloud is glorious. Performance... I will not speak in terms of comparison as it is not a fair fight a this point. Liam Grey is a great performer. Only time will tell for the Francique. Be on the lookout for Oud Beyond the Wall. Its a peculiar fragrance. The addition of apple is interesting. The first hour it struggles as a clone of GC. But, one hour in, it is a beautiful take as Francique with juicy apple in the background. Another frag to look into if you like the GC DNA is Lattafa Velvet Musk. I bought it for a musk addition to my collection. I was taken aback by the fact that it is Liam Grey with a much stronger white musk and coumarin note in the background. Performance is stellar and beyond even LG. Update to come.

Just got it in mail. A lady was selling it for cheap, full bottle. First of all the packaging is really stunning, it looks sturdy and expensive. This is amazing. During the first 5min I smell black tea, fig, cardamom and a bit of iris on the back. Its not sweet but I feel the sweetness of the fig coming through. The black tea is kinda metalic and cardamom ads some warmth. It also kinda smelled like tobbacco? Its kinda manly, which I love. After like 30ish min to 1h it becomes softer and more tea-like, and more feminine. I can still smell it on my skin after a few hours, its very close to skin, but retains the same a bit bitter tea note. Its smooth and not sweet at all, no cheap sweet drydown, amazing! Ive tried Gris Charnel Intense in the shop few months ago and it smelled so divine. Just referring to my memory the Intense was more creamy and fuller, but this one is very similar and the same type of fragrance and vibe. I wasnt really sure if its suitable for summer when I first sprayed it, but as it settles quite fast it can be worn maybe during summer nights. Its not really a perfume for heat in my opinion. Im curious how it will feel during colder weather. Ill try it again on some rainy colder day and Ill update here.

Fruity aromatic tea. Elegant, put together, while remaining laid-back. I'm personally not a big fan of sweeter scents, think Invictus or Born In Roma and this strikes the perfect balance for me. It smells fruity, you get fig and I surprisingly also detect a hint of cherry which isn't listed here. All this is beautifully balanced by the woodiness and spice you get from the cardamom and woods in the base. I'd say the tea note is more of a supporting actor, along with the vanilla it smooths out what would be more of a contrast between the fruity and heavier notes. Lastly the patchouli and iris add these subtle aromatic floral notes that finish off this blend beautifully. Wearable all year round. For me, this fills a similar niche as Dior Homme 2020, they smell different of course, though both are sweet, woodsy but not overbearingly so, due to the inherent freshness/lightness present, in the case of the Dior that's mostly due to citrus, with Francique, it's the green and aromatic notes. Unisex, maybe leans a slight bit fem. For the price it's a great pickup imo

I bought this on a whim because I love Gris Charnel and wanted to try something similar for less expensive.. well let me tell you it's a love for me. It's 85-90% the same, and you might not know the difference unless you have them side by side, but it's a tad more sweet and airy and dare I say even a little more feminine? (Of course anyone can wear it like any fragrance it's still leaning unisex) Gris Charnel is a little woodier and thicker and fully unisex, someone else said Gris Charnel is creamier and I don't think so, but it's denser. They're both pretty creamy. I am so happy with this one I don't think I need a bottle of Gris Charnel as this one gives me what I love about the OG and also I love the bit of added sweetness and feminity. Liam grey went the opposite direction and made it more masculine like the extrait, but this went the other way and made it a bit softer. I also love the bottle for its simplicity and solid quality feel. And also the fact that it can double as a weapon if anyone sneaks in and tries to steal my perfume collection.

Side by side review with BDK Gris EDP. BDK opens with a peppery scent even though it's not listed in the notes. I do like black pepper scent so I do prefer this opening more than the Francique's. Francique when I sprayed on paper, it was pretty shocking to me how close it is to the OG. However, on skin, the middle notes tend to grow a bit "citrus" to my nose (which I don't like that much). But, the base notes actually nailed it, so close to the OG. In my country, 1 bottle of BDK can buy around 6-7 Francique bottles, so this is a really great value. I haven't got the chance to compare these 2 with Liam by Lattafa, but I do enjoy the performance of Francique so I guess I will buy the full-size. Edit: Already bought the full-size. Maybe previously because I was spraying from a decant so I couldn't smell much of the peppery of the Francique; However, now it's there. Can't complain. I love it so much.