Grey Stone Castle

This is a spectacular perfume. Epitome of class and distinction. It’s not wildly ground breaking but the lemongrass and deertongue give it a herbal axis that the citrus and woods lean against and it works unspeakably. If you like stuff like Terre D Hermes then consider this a vast vast upgrade on performance quality and scent.

Very crisp indeed! Impressively original, strikingly durable citrus-based scent which veers right off the usual cliched 'bright and light' freeway and takes some fascinating detours: a fresh approach to making a fresh scent. It's the lemon grass that does the trick and makes the difference here: recognisably lemony, but also herbal-grassy, and savoury-gourmand-mouthwatering, for me it's the main event. The orange just rounds it all out a little but is never centre stage. Aromatics nothing too spiky or weird, just giving a constant, buzzy, invigorating hum underneath. So overall this is much more interesting than the fortieth or fiftieth treatment of lime or orange or neroli or bergamot, the usual suspects of summer, you might smell! Grey Stone Castle somehow has an even cleaner, greener, sharper, fresher aura than a bergamot-based scent would. There are moments where it all gets a little cold, maybe even bitter for my taste - almost shrill, but never shrieking, it always pulls back just in time though. Some users might find that strong lemongrass presence too reminiscent of lovely Thai food and be disconcerted... but it's a stone winner for me, at least. It's very definitely THERE, the whole time. Seems like lemongrass also has the kind of staying power that most zests or peel or juice don't, too: for GSC manages to hang in there on my skin through most of a full working day, which really is exceptional for a citrus scent. Perfectly unisex, though skewing male (there's no sweetness here at all, and I suspect some women might find it a little too butch and reminiscent of male citrus-splash eaux de cologne) and really deeply classy. Close to unique as well: I can't recall smelling anything like it from other brands, so if you love to be exclusive and smell different from the rest, this could scratch that itch as well. I was smelling a tiny decant of this made by a generous fragrance friend - so don't have a realistic view of the cost; it does justify a higher-end niche price, but not dizzying heights of the ultra-expensive extremes of the market. So: refreshingly sharp, delightfully oddball, strikingly hardwearing. A delight to sample and a true original. Deserves your respect, no question.

It starts off with blast of mandarin, lemongrass, vetiver. The drydown has vetiver and hay. Overall, it is a very safe scent, not too citrusy but balanced well with green and woody notes. It becomes a skin scent after a few hours and has basic projection. I got about 6 hours longevity maximum on skin. This is definitely the safest buy out of the line, I think it leans more masculine. A fairly pleasant scent but not groundbreaking. 6/10

Apparently even in the Ivy League frat houses smell of piss and stale beer. This is foul Easily recreatable at home. Get drunk, come home and take the top off your Terre D'hermes, pee in it, replace top, job done.