Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
07/20/2013
Drseid
819 Reviews
Drseid
Helpful Review
7
Flechier Does Fresh...
Rykiel Homme Grey opens with a very fresh smelling slightly bitter lemon-like yuzu citrus and crisp green apple tandem with faint hints of anise and rosewood from the heart with a leafy green orange undertone. As the fragrance enters the early heart phase it turns relatively sweet derived from tonka bean in the base as the rosewood takes the fore as star with cinnamon-like nutmeg spice and soft floral support. As the development reaches the late dry-down the rosewood remains in a somewhat subdued state as mild cedarwood adds an additional woody element to the mix with clean musk for balance as the woods gently fade. Projection is above average, as is longevity at 9-11 hours on skin.
I was initially drawn to the relatively obscure Rykiel Homme Grey due to the master nose behind the composition, Edouard Flechier (Havana, Une Rose, Poison, etc.). As soon as I sprayed on Grey I immediately recognized Flechier's fingerprints on the composition and things were off to a good start. Grey is far from challenging or groundbreaking, but it does have a lot going on early with Flechier utilizing a large pallet of notes and accords. It is fresh throughout, but features some less widely used ingredients like yuzu and rosewood, the latter driving a large part of the composition's development. As Grey turned relatively sweet from the tonka bean early, I worried it might go too far but luckily the sweetness was well-balanced by the rosewood, light florals and nutmeg spice. Later-on as the development continued I either got used to the sweetness or it faded as time passed because it did not stand out after the first hour of the development on skin. The bottom line is Rykiel Homme Grey is nothing groundbreaking and won't be remembered as one of Flechier's long list of masterpieces, but it offers an exceptional value at its approximate $35 a 125ml bottle price tag and smells very good, earning a well-deserved 3.5 stars out of 5 rating. Grey merits an easy recommendation to folks seeking a superior fresh everyday fragrance, relatively low price or no.
I was initially drawn to the relatively obscure Rykiel Homme Grey due to the master nose behind the composition, Edouard Flechier (Havana, Une Rose, Poison, etc.). As soon as I sprayed on Grey I immediately recognized Flechier's fingerprints on the composition and things were off to a good start. Grey is far from challenging or groundbreaking, but it does have a lot going on early with Flechier utilizing a large pallet of notes and accords. It is fresh throughout, but features some less widely used ingredients like yuzu and rosewood, the latter driving a large part of the composition's development. As Grey turned relatively sweet from the tonka bean early, I worried it might go too far but luckily the sweetness was well-balanced by the rosewood, light florals and nutmeg spice. Later-on as the development continued I either got used to the sweetness or it faded as time passed because it did not stand out after the first hour of the development on skin. The bottom line is Rykiel Homme Grey is nothing groundbreaking and won't be remembered as one of Flechier's long list of masterpieces, but it offers an exceptional value at its approximate $35 a 125ml bottle price tag and smells very good, earning a well-deserved 3.5 stars out of 5 rating. Grey merits an easy recommendation to folks seeking a superior fresh everyday fragrance, relatively low price or no.
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