Grain de Poudre

I have to admit, as much as I love the house of Saint Laurent, I'm generally not a fan of the current standard YSL fragrance range, the only exception being Opium (2009). The rest is either seriously underwhelming (Libre, La Nuit, Y) or outright offensive to my nose (all Black Opium flankers, Mon Paris). I am, however, falling in love with the majority of the Le Vestiaire des Parfums collection. Grain de Poudre is named after the type of leather Saint Laurent uses for their leather goods, reminiscent of Chanel's caviar leather. But don't worry, this actually does not smell like a handbag or a leather wallet. This is a "cold" scent dominated by violet leaf and a prominent leather/suede accord. In the opening I also smell a hint of coriander seed, but no black pepper. Wait, leather and violet leaf? This might sound like a heresy, yet I can't help but think about GDP as a classier, more wearable and less offensive cousin of Dior's Fahrenheit, even though it clearly lacks what makes Fahrenheit instantly recognizable. Both fragrances share similar floral and ozonic qualities. I dare say GDP could be a good alternative choice for someone who is turned off by the overly noticeable masculine gasoline and burned rubber smell that many seem to hate and criticize, ladies especially. GDP is perfect for moderate temperature days in spring and fall when the sun shines just a little. I am unsure how it will perform in summer heat. For me personally, leather accords become cloying and unpleasant when it is too warm. For winter it is simply not heavy enough. 100% unisex and in my eyes very inoffensive, suitable even as an office scent. I have to be honest, sillage is not enormous, but the fragrance definitely makes up for this in longevity. On fabrics I can smell it even a few days after spraying. What is even more surprising, I do not experience absolutely any anosmia with this scent, even though I go immediately noseblind with a lot of other perfumes. Sprayed myself in the morning three times and I can constantly smell both violet leaf and suede on myself! I just checked the batch code for by bottle bought in 2022 and mine was produced in January 2019! Must be the initial batch. I'm surprised this does not sell as quickly as for example Tuxedo does, because the scent is equally good and deserves more attention. Grain de Poudre is another gem from Le Vestiaire des Parfums, an outstanding creation by Quentin Bisch. 10/10.

Quickly becoming one of my favorites... Let's get the Fahrenheit thing out of the way real quick. You could say there is a similar DNA but Grain De Poudre is definitely its own fragrance. Replace the leather with suede and tone it down a notch. Remove the petrol note for the most part as well as the designer synthetic vibes and replace with noticeably higher quality ingredients. Also, there's a different spice note between the two. Grain De Poudre: Top: Black Peppercorn, Coriander seeds essence, Bergamot Essence Middle: Clary Sage Essence, Violet leaves absolute, osmanthus absolute Base: Musk, Suede Accord, Benzoin Resinoid Is a well blended fragrance where the violet / suede / Peppercorn create this soft yet spicy, warm yet lightly fresh, quality vibe with a little sweetness. I'd highly recommend getting a sample of this if you like violet or pepper or suede notes. No note is too dominant and it's a great blend which makes it easy to recommend to most people. Performance - Long lasting and projection is big at first then gets moderate somewhat quick. Should work well for when you don’t want to be too loud which is probably better for suede / leather scents in general. Edit: Performance could be a bit better but I'm happy with it. Its performance makes it suitable for indoor / office environments.

I blind bought this fragrance on account of it being made by perfumer Quentin Bisch, and he does not Disappoint here. Overall it’s fresh spicy in the opening, semi sweet green herbal and Violet mid, to a white musk with beautiful suede leather accent. The opening had a slightly sweetened bergamot and black pepper, black pepper disappears very quickly, leaving a fresh Violet and osmanthus scent with small touches of coriander and even smaller ones of pepper. The smell is not loud at all and dies down to a skin scent in an hour at which point it’s a white musk fragrance with hints of leather and osmanthus. I want to emphasize the osmanthus because for the first hour all the “leather” is actually a beautiful osmanthus. I would not say osmanthus is very apricot or peachy here, but it is a bit sweet and tea like. Very tamed and smooth scent, still many facets- leather, tea, herbal, spices, violets etc- it’s quite a surprise actually that all the notes end up smelling like this, so simple and pleasant, yet all clearly there, and that’s a wonderful experience. The great downfall is performance. Total skin scent and becomes simple white musk after 1.5 hours. However it’s a delight and I’m happy to have a bottle for times I need a short lived perfume

I was excited to try this scent just due to the "violet leaf and sage" notes listed on the bottle. I liked the calming, green coloring, and it seemed like something that would be quite light on me. Typically I am a big fan of powdery scents, and while leather is listed as a note, I find that leather performs much differently on my skin than on others. Staying power and projection are so-so if not downright marginal. I cannot smell the pepper anywhere. At first dab, I get a lovely green, fresh, herbal burst with the sage and smidge of violet, and then the scent calms down considerably. This is one where I can overspray and not be concerned about offending anyone on the bus or in the office. Very much work or church appropriate. After a couple hours, I get a lovely sweet musk on my skin that is skin-scent, but also sweet with violet and powder. This one definitely mixes well with my natural chemistry and seems like a "skin scent but better" on me. High quality ingredients, nothing screechy and nothing that would make me sneeze. A bit pricey but I would buy a full bottle if I found one for a good price.

Being a huge fan of violet leaf this was an obligatory blind buy, risking disappointment but ending with quite the opposite, Grain De Poudre was an instant love. Herbal and aromatic sage, coriander and mild pepper are blended to a velvety texture, mostly devoid of sweetness and leaning savory for some minutes. As the violet leaf gains prominence the fragrance becomes ozonic, a touch of botanical sweetness is present and the overall effect feels watercolor green, the violet is neither grassy, petroleum like or harsh. The base is a long lasting buttery suede and slightly furry musk. Regarding the name i dont find this fragrance particularly powdery, the drydown does evoke the sensation of running your fingers over alcantara suede which has a dry almost powdery feel, so in that respect i can see the connection. Overall its a softer experience and wont appeal to those seeking a loud fragrance, this one is about calmness and quiet confidence while smelling incredible.