Homme de Gres

Now this fragrance harks back to another time in structure and is nothing like what you would find on the shelves today. No sugary sweetness here! After a few sprays upon the skin the scent smells quite harsh with bitter herbal lemony citrus notes. But the beauty of this fragrance is how in opens up and takes you on a olfactory journey. Wait twenty minutes and the scent starts to unfurl and soften with the introduction of lavender and jasmine floral notes. This starts to make the scent more aromatic as slowly the bitter herbal citrus melds with the lavender and floral notes on a underlying bed of leather. Eventually the herbal mossy lemony citrus starts to fade and the floral jasmine notes start to come through more and the scent starts to become more woody. So you can smell a lovely herbal floral woody scent on a leathery base. Quite beautiful (reminds me a bit of Carons third man scent). The scent is beautifully crafted in how the different notes are introduced and then meld together quite beautiful. Every-time you sniff the scent you are picking up a new different aspect. I am impressed how all these different notes all come together to create a alluring beautiful scent. I get several hours of longevity and the basenotes seem to linger on the skin for ages where modern fragrances they just seem to disappear.

A luxurious and complex green chypre that smelled to me like a cross between Cabochard (by the same house) and Givenchy III. Both those other fragrances are marketed to women, while this, as the name suggests, is for men, which just shows how futile it is to assign gender for perfume combinations (I would consider all three of these scents unisex). The peach note is much less evident than in Givenchy III, but it is certainly here and adds just the nicest touch of sweetness to the entire accord. Basil is much more commonly put with orange than with lemon in perfumery, so this adds a nice surprise; and I swear I smell leather at the base (though it is not in the note pyramid). This is the sort of rich and heady fragrance I just love to smell on myself even when I'm alone at home. At the same time, it's versatile enough--and not so indolic--that you can wear it to the office. If you like green leather chypres, this is one of the best there is for men, and although it's been apparently discontinued, you can find good deals on it on the Internet.

Unfortunately Gres fragrances don't get the recognition that they should!! I own Cabernet de Homme and now I finally picked up Homme de Gres. There both unquie covering a wide range from spring into late fall. Homme de Gres has an exquisite aroma of citrus notes and a herbal undertones creating a monster of a fragrance. The lemon note is subtle yet it has a very sophisticated complex aroma with a fine blend of voliet and woodsy notes. Longevity and Silage are both very high lasting over 6hrs during the summer. Finally thoughts, This juice is far better than what's in the market today. I really enjoy the opening notes of citrus notes with a pronounced herbal voilet aromatic scent making luxurious. To bad this frag isn't sold in the stores. Highly recommended if you want something a citrusy/herbal blend. 8.5/10

Here's another stunning masterpiece that has been sadly discontinued. The citrus is bright, basil crisp. petitgrain verdant and shining, neroli is natural, jasmine nuanced. While moderately better, I find that it is the olfactory equivalent of the refreshing bitters that are imbibed in the Mediterranean, a treat for the sense, a palate cleanser in a world of excessive fatty sweetness. Reviewer JFrater makes some great observations at some of the sophisticated elements included in its composition, including pyralone in the sultry base, an aromatic tobacco/leather aromachem, and the inclusion of some animalic tones that become more apparent as it continues to dry down. Lest we mention the generous dose of oakmoss which harmonizes it all ingeniously. What a knockout. 10/10.

In the same vein as Loewe Pour Homme, vintage Gucci Pour Homme, vintage Eau Savuage, YSL Pour Homme and so on. Lemon, basil, lavender, moss and woods are the main players. A scent profile thats been done over and over again yet to me this is the overall better and smoother one. The petitgrain and peach combo here is bitterly delicious and I just love the labdanum/benzion blend and lemony woodsy dry down. Also - though different scents, Gres shares a subtle herbal similarity with 1872, but Gres leans Mediterranean and old fashioned whereas 1872 is more of a modern fougere. Anyhow, I can't imagine spring without this gem. Fantastic elegant stuff.