Hey! I'm back! let's get right to it!
Review No. 6: Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene (The EA formulation)
A little late to this one, but as promised I would roll out the Geoffrey Beene trilogy. Starting with the first, we enter Grey Flannel, originally made in 1975 under I believe French fragrances, then Miami later on, before EA took over, so my version and how I perceive it will be different than a lot of the older members here. So... Before the real review comes in, this is a very, very different fragrance. It's dark, challenging, and at best, somber. Looking at the bottle and presentation alone, it's very... Bleak. It's a tall, dark, murky glass with no fancy shape or emblems, just a label slapped on crookedly like someone just sighed and said "good enough". Interestingly, Geoffrey Beene originally made fashion for women, and notably the fragrances released for women were much more playful and had striking bottles, whilst everything made for men was... Simple, straightforward, minimalistic, and there's something appealing about that. I do know this originally came in a flannel sack, which I would like to have so I can toss this box out, but it now is sorta apart of the character to this fragrances with the total bleak minimalism.
So let's discuss this scent, and I'll walk you through the feelings it presents to me, to paint a picture if you somehow have never smelled it before. I'll try to be concise with the notes but... Well, it's a fragrance from the 70s dang it, it's got 17 notes that can't be picked out!!
The scent: A term I often use for this is it's... Dark. This has a gothic appeal as it's not something you wear in happiness. It has a real grey skies and melancholic mood attached to it's approach, I'd imagine this being worn by Dr. Frankenstein himself, if you've read the novel you'd understand perfectly. If not? Pretend the movie doesn't exist. The book is oozing with sophistication and deep depression over a helping of tragedy. Upon the opening, there is a sharp opening of bitter, realistic greens and bitter, powdery citrus. It starts with Galbanum, Petitgrain, Neroli, Bergamot, and Lemon. You are hit with the Neroli and Petigrain immediately with a sort of choking fog of galbanum, where soon the powdery-musky bergamot rind comes in before settling on a earthy lemon pith (the white stuff under the rind, or skin). The mental image I can best describe the feeling is of the Sun's brightness being smothered by a dark, cloudy, overcast day that won't let up. It won't rain, but the wind is erratic at times and there may be small rumblings of thunder. The heart of this fragrance is a long ride of pure, total florals. It's Violet, Iris, Galbanum, Mimosa, Narcissus, Sage, and Rose. This is deeply lead by a dark, musk drenched, masculine Violet and is backed up with touches of Iris and Geranium, but not soapy geranium you might recognize, instead it's a harsh and earthy geranium with a watery Iris... It honestly reminds me of an old, used sponge in a way. I can't detect any rose, sage, narcissus, or mimosa, but perhaps they bled into the middle as a whole. This part smells like the sky finally broke and began raining, and you're now trudging through a muddy, stomped out field of violets while holding a ruined bouquet of flowers meant for a loved one. This ends on a dark mixture of oakmoss, vetiver, cedar, tonka bean, and almond. The oakmoss is certainly present with a bitter-sour greenness, with a touch of tonka spice underneath giving a scratch to the nostrils. I don't detect the vetiver, as there is no smokiness, but there is earhtiness for sure. Now the odd part is the cedar and almond, or lack thereof. I can't detect any woodiness, and almonds don't really have a scent to detect, but if you heat this up, maybe with being in sunlight or exhaling heat from your nose you can pick up an odd hint of an off putting underlying sweetness, possibly an effect of the almond. This ends with the arrival to this loved one's grave that is visited annually. The scent's of outside mixing with the remnant scent of their brooch you keep close. Was it lilac, or rose? You can't remember, nor do you want to.
This is a dark, masculine, and brooding floral scent with no sweetness. It's bitter, musky, earthy, and hard to approach. It smells like something worn through a dark period, perhaps funerals... It's not uplifting or inviting, it just smells like "go away, and leave me be" if it needed a scent to match an appearance. This is best worn in Autumn and early Winter, but certainly never Summer. You might get away with it in Spring as a good contract against the bright and colorful blooms of spring, to say even while the world is jubilant, your heart is far from it.
I happen to love this scent, despite not wearing it often. It doesn't smell like anything you have ever smelled or even own. It's challenging and is totally opposite to my true taste and Personality, and it helps I am a Violet enjoyer. It's a scent I can only wear in odd times and scenarios, and while it's away my heart grows fond. When I first wore it about 2 years ago I could not tolerate it, but now I simply appreciate it for what it is. If you enjoy the dark, macabre, and maybe even Noir, this is all that and more.
