Grise

I read good reviews on it, for the price, I had to try it. Been looking for a rose centric scent in spray form. As a man, i have love/hate relstionship with rose. Some are so cloyingly sweet, or synthetic. My best friend loves real rose oil. As a muslim, rose plays a prominent role in both male and female scents in what we wear in attar oil. Rose carries such a feminine implication in the west and its a shame because its a wonderful scent. The initial spray is a wonderful accord of rose with a woody, earhty background. Its floral and sweet but the patchouli and oakmoss really grounds it, making it lean both masculine and less heady. The headiness of rose is probably my main issue, for me, its overly intoxicating and drowns out so many notes with it. Grey Ash(formerly Grise) balances it nicely. The rose note itself, I would say is Bulgarian Rose. Its sweet and jammy, but not too cloying. Its not overally floral or spicy like Moroccan and Turkish variety, or soft and powdery like Taif Rose. As it dries, it stays pretty basic. Bulgarian Rose with a woody earthy base. This isnt breaking new ground per say, but its a very well rounded blend, smooth and velvety. Was never able to catch any bergamot. The distinct cedar and sandalwood notes are very subtle, sitting very close to the skin. At arms length, you get a more general soft, creamy wood tone. The amber keeps it warm, preventing an overlt dryness the cedar and sandalwood typically evoke. This scent for me defines "velour and velvet." You can almost feel the softness of the material ehen you smell it. I love this smell. Its so out of left field for me (im a tobacco, leather, vetiver and pungeant authentic oud fanatic). My florals are jasmine, violet and lavendar mainly. This is probably the first rose smell I can actively handle without feeling headache inducing or choking me out with a massive scent bubble. I find it unique in how powerful it fills a room with 2-3sprays without being nuclear. The longevity is excellent on my skin, 8+ hours. Ita decidely unisex, though i feel western men in general may be uncomfortable with such a rose centric perfume. I cant think of a season, occassion or time of day/night where Grey Ash can't work. Its one of the most versatile scents I own. If you love rose, male or female, this is an excellent pick up for the price. Its a semi floral, jammy Bulgarian Rose but never cloying or gourmand with the jammy vibe thanks to the patchouli and oakmoss. Ill always have a bottle of Grey Ash. Its unique in my collection and I love it.

EDIT: this has now been re-named Grey Ash, AND the plasticky notes aren't there, even before maceration (I hope they don't appear...). Absolutely lovely. No reason to hunt down Grise (I have a large sample of it) - get Grey Ash. I absolutely love my bottle. I think this is unisex, but does lean feminine. INITIAL REVIEW: I definitely recognize this from expensive perfume stores! I didn't quite understand back then what perfume I was smelling; it smelt kinda like some very calm perfume and a bunch of plastic from around the perfume packaging. Turns out, the sweet plastic smell WAS part of the perfume 😆 It is a soft chypre: soft patchouli, barely-there rose, soft oakmoss, soft woody notes. Everything is kinda toned down and "greyed", like the name itself. In a good way. But can also seem a little placticky, as mentioned above. Smells very expensive. I'm considering getting a bottle- currently I only have a large sample of already macerated Grise.

My bottle is called Gray Ash, the re-named version of Grise. Manufactured date of 7-24. I studied on this version of Dior Gris before I purchased it. That’s just me when I blind buy. EVERY NOTE makes an appearance and oh so elegantly. Very earthy and beautiful synonymously. Nothing over powers in this elegant Rose-Chypre blend. It’s not bright or modern, (thank heavens) It is rich and elegant diffusion of old world notes comprising a glorious chypre fragrance. Lasts 7+ hours with decent sillage. You wont smell like granny or gramps. You wont smell cheap or 2nd tier. You will smell refined. You will smell unique. Found my bottle on Fragrancenet, for $16. I’d call that a steal!

I have Grey Ash by Maison Alhambra, which is what they renamed Grise. Must have been too similar to the Dior named fragrance. I love it. It is one of most popular scent profiles from a few years ago and there are lots of similar scents at all price points. Grey Ash is 100% worth the price, I wouldn't pay more than 40$ for this though! It smells of Rose but honestly other than that it is well blended and the other notes all work together well. I would describe the dry down as kind of mossy and woody but the rose sticks around. It isn't fruity or gourmand like everything else these days. I really like this scent. I would love a real bottle of Gris Dior.

Renamed to Grey Ash. Classic and refined. There's nothing overly loud here, nothing sharp. Best way I can describe it is "soft" or "desaturated", but in a really good way. I get a little bit of the bergamot in the opening, but it doesn't take long to fade out. Cedar and my chemistry don't always get along (which sucks as I love cedar), but here it's done really well and plays nice with my chemistry. Overall, it's very comfortable (no unsettling opening, just straight into soft, grounded roses) and an easy reach. It has quickly earned a place in my daily rotation.