Thank you, Michael, for your content. Its style, and its depth and breadth are refreshingly genuine, and erudite without being pedantic. You have helped me rediscover so much about fragrance.
Sir Lanier is back! Lovely to see you again! Many perfumers talk about how much of an influence this perfume was on them and their career. It is a classic. Joke of the day: Why do the French eat snails? Because they don't like fast food 🤭 Greetings from Ireland ☘️
Wow what an amazing intro, such beautiful photographs! My first exposure to grey flannel was the early 80s just 13 years old, everyone everywhere was wearing this and I had to have it. I still love it’s uniqueness, intense aroma, very sophisticated preppy perfume, classic. Two sprays are enough. Mr. Geoffrey Beene I’m certain would have been an interesting person to meet, from medicine to fashion design, wow! Thanks for such a wonderful video!
What a sophisticated and cultured introduction, Lanier - bravo! I lived in the City for 6 years and your photographic impressions in sync with the fabulous music title capture the essence of how I experienced NYC and its good life. Thank you for something beautifully positive during these dreary times ....
Ah this is wonderful Lanier! Your reviews are a delight to watch. I am so very glad to have found your channel. Never tried Grey Flannel, shall have to have a search for it! 😊
I have this fragrance and am always waiting for the right moment to enjoy it. Thanks for the encouragement. Always such a pleasure to watch your videos. Thank you Lanier. Have a beautiful Spring! 🥰💖👃🙏
Cheers Sergio! Did you know that I went to summer school in Guadalajara on summer many years ago? I lived with a local family and studied Mexican History, Archeology, and Mexican Art History. I loved your city and hope to return one day.
So happy to see a new review- thank you! Enjoyed the recent California travel videos. I must have tested Grey Flannel a half dozen times in dept stores over the years but I've never bought it. You make it sound so appealing. I am a big fan of Bowling Green- when I learned it was discontinued I laid in a supply of 3 extra bottles.
The fragrance that got me in this crazy love affair..... My prized possession is a 1/2 litter bottle from Bergdorf Goodman from most likely 1975 and although the years have dimmed the opening a little it is still absolutely glorious!!... Grey Flannel in vintage formulation has...imo,.. the best musky green dry down of any fragrance...ever! Thank you soooo much for your thoughts, knowledge, and awesome review Lanier! A treasure trove of insight as usual!!! 💚💚💚
I hate this scent but you are the epitome of class and elegance. You remind me of the caliber of erudite polished older gentleman who used to frequent the Metropolitan museum of art in the 90s when I worked there...sad to see NYC has become a toilet bowl but you my fine sir are a welcomed reminder of the grace and elegance of Manhattan in times past..
How very kind thank you so much. I love the Metropolitan Museum of art but have only visited once. I did a video here it is. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wDLXRmAAAkM.htmlsi=dn10S21c6fANyUmk
Your reviews are always delightful. I own Bowling Green but haven't smelled Grey Flannel yet. Love your tank watch. Thank you for such a a lovely and sophisticated review.
As a 40 year old fashion loving mom who considers herself quite avant-garde when it comes to fashion and fragrance I have to say that I adore Grey Flannel. I spray liberally before bed and I’m transported in time…back to my native east coast. It’s pure comfort to me. I see it as a masterpiece. I so enjoyed your review and historical prologue. Your knowledge is so refreshing.
As with you, Grey Flannel was one of my first, possibly first cologne I purchased myself. I was young (17 or 18) little money, and this was always on a sale table or very inexpensive at the perfume outlet store. I fell in love with it! Still wear it today. Thank you for reviewing. Also, any interesting story behind the portrait on the wall?
I just got my bottle of it the first time i smelled it was 1989 1990 in job corp I was going to a dance and my roommate was like try this I was like wow at the time I was 18 19 20 years old now I’m in my 50s and smells just like back in job corp days👍🥰😍
Thank you for another great review! I do not, generally, bother testing what are noted as "men's fragrances" (I am a woman) but my father, who only wore his own mix, (which was heavily sandalwood and who knows what else), would continually try new fragrances. This was not one he liked, if I remember correctly, nor did my husband. After hearing your review, I might want to give it my own sniff! Glad to have you doing reviews again!
as a waitress in a high-end restaurant in the Seattle area, could always pick out the grey flannel smell over all other cologne's, it is so distinct, I married and bought it for my husband, he has passed and i will occasionally spray it in my room, memories.
i love your motto. i love it . subbed. "wear what you love not like they say you should like" . well im saying it . i dont wanna smell like cotton candy and sickly sweet which is what they say too often for my taste. i just got a bottle today and it smells just as good as i remember it . also it works beautifully as a contrast to some current releases.
Nice to see you back reviewing fragrances again. There was a shortly lived resurgence on Basenotes where I learned about the different formulations - Cochran, Sanofi, and EA and its association with Jeffrey Dame. Glad to hear the new stuff smells good but me being a vintage enthusiast I’d like to try the Cochran version.
Great to hear from you Lanier. A review of my second ever purchased fragrance also. I bought this back in 1979 and I still have a bottle from the late 80's. I have loved this for a long time and I agree with you the current version is still very good. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Be well my friend.
What a beautiful fragrance grey flannel is... I have an older vintage bottle so I have never smelled the new stuff but boy to me it is one of the best examples of a proper violet leaf note... there are 3 violet leaf heavy fragrances that I adore one is grey flannel the other is Fahrenheit & finally there is a fragrance for men that came out a few years back from Amouage that came out right before Christopher Chong left as creative director called Portrayal Man that is one of the best examples in modern perfumery of that violet leaf note executed to perfection. BTW of the three fragrances you first bought Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme is my favorite of the bunch 🍻
Thank you for your opinion on this fragrance. I’ve been wearing it for fifty years and have never stopped loving it. Sometimes at night I rub in on my hands and beard because it lulls me to sleep. I identified the vetivert, neroli, cedar and a few other notes in it tonight. I recently started to create fragrances again and decided to try a version of this one in the near future. I’ve amassed many essential oils in the last two decades…from four ounce bottles to liters. Many from wholesalers in the USA but others (like Anbergris) from Thailand and India. They never cease to amaze me! Have a beautiful summer!
Doesn’t work on my skin. I emptied the entire splash bottle in the woods behind my house and It smells wonderful back there! Go figure. EDIT: I decided to buy another bottle. I’ve been wearing it daily for the last two days - just one spray on the hair of each forearm. The weather here on Long Island NY has been hot and humid with periods of light rain. After the opening (which I’m getting used to now) I’m getting a beautiful almost white musk kind of fragrance floating around me for most of the day. Today I’m wearing it to the country club for lunch and a round of golf and I think it will be perfect. Thanks Lanier!
I like your review! I'm surprised you don't smell anise in it! It was the second note I smelled. Then I looked at the ingredients and anise alcohol is on the list.
I put GB Grey Flannel on this morning and it just made my day great from the start. I should not let this beautiful fragrance linger in my collection and wear it so infrequently. It is incredible. I started looking for reviews after wearing it for a while. Most young reviewers on RU-vid just don’t get this fragrance. I started wearing this in high school in 1975. I’m glad I found one of the few reviewers that appreciates this classic fragrance.
Nice to have you back! Somehow the current version is less potent & rich! Great review👌 may I say this I prefer Tony Bennett's version of the good life! Thanks again for your lovely Review🙏 how about a new cocktail🥂 😉 ciao
I remember my older brother always had a bottle of this and Fahrenheit on his bookcase. I always recall my mother @ odds with him when he wore it. Always will resonate with me although I find Eau de Narcisse Bleu by Hermès works better with my skins chemistry. Whenever I wear Hermes I’m instantly transported back to those aforementioned memories. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Lanier.
Great review. I so regret not appreciating this fragrance in my youth.. In my mid twenties I thought it was too sharp and harsh. I did not like it at all. That was just the opening and at the time I did not appreciate dry down in fragrance. Now that I understand fragrance much better in my early fifties I can say that while the opening is still a little harsh, after 15 minutes to dry down it is very nice. It is not a freshie fragrance, it is not a clubbing fragrance, it is a nice casual fragrance that is clean. The vibe is very similar to paco Robanne. Just a nice go to casual and clean fragrance.
Lovely review Mr S.and indeed a lovely fragrance, Ido enjoy it on occasions but do concede it’s not as well loved by the masses. Too bad for the masses their loss ,peasants lol 😂 I of course am kidding, but seriously I see Bowling Green is indeed discontinued and on looking online can attest to it being hard to source and expensive here in Europe. Lucky for me I have an almost full bottle to treasure thanks for the wonderful review god bless and keep well 🙏🥂
Hey Lanier, I'm watching your review today because yesterday I had one of those moments when what I call an "olfactory allucination" comes over you and for no reasons at all you think you're smelling a perfum that maybe hadn't pulled out of your cabinet for months. Maybe the fact that I had been wearing Fahrenheit (a violet based perfume) the day before triggered this fantasy. Of course I had to take my bottle of Grey Flannel and spray it on. I've always loved it because of its elegance and bacause it reminds me of the way my grand parents' bathroom smelled. This might put someone off and let them think that if you can detect the dna of a fragrance, or elements of it, in hygiene products this must be an ordinary, boring and unsophisticated fragrance. I believe that if a formulation makes it into soap bottles it does for a reason. I was the same when I first smelled Nr.5: "mmh this smells familiar...". Anyway, yesterday for the first time I noticed how complex this fragrance is and how comforting and rounded it becomes over time. In the dry down I had inpressions of Frederic Male's L'Eau D'Hyver and Heeley's L'Amandier, and even thought that Helena and Heeley might have taken cues from Grey Flannel for their creations. Now that you have mentioned almond in the notes, I think that is where I noticed the similarities with L'Amandiere. I think I'll be wearing it more often now that I have discovered its treasures. Thanks for your videos. Hugs from Italy
Good evening Lanier. I was wondering if you'd ever tried Guerlain's Jardins de Bagatelle before? I just got a 1984 bottle and it's amazing. It smells like Jasmine Fresh honey comb Gardenia Neroli Amalfi lemon Clean aldehydes Tuberose Violet Sweet pale lavender Rose Magnolia Orchid Ylang ylang Muguet Daffodil Orris powder Jasmine Tuberose Semi dirty musk Atlas cedar Vetiver Sandlewood Patchouli
I wore Grey Flannel in the 70s, in my teens, and I recently started wearing it again. I love the fragrance and the bottle, despite what some reviewers say. If you put this in a Tom Ford bottle, people would pay hundreds for a bottle of it. It to me is as good as Tom Ford, which is 20 to 30 times the price of GF. Truth is truth.
Maybe I'm getting older (just turned 39), but after getting a whiff of Polo Green earlier this year, I was gripped. I've since been building my collection of vintage masculine fragrances. Bought GF a few months ago. Having never smelled it, I ordered the biggest bottle available. For that price why not. When it arrived, I thought it smelled pretty good. But I smelled it again tonight (11/24/23)..wow! It's beautiful! My 13yo niece gave me a hug and said, "You smell good! My mom also chimed in, saying it smelled so good! My niece (who's never smelled this before tonight) commented again saying quote "It smells like memories." I can tell she's going to be one classy lady:) I'm glad I got this one!
Edit: Maybe a better idea is asking for a note-themed discussion of the fragrances you know so well, picking out the earthy notes and images as they string through the fragrance. Thank you for this, Lanier. I have a request: could you please create a video about your experiences with earthy fragrances? Perhaps they are not exactly your style, but surely you must have been exposed to them over your storied history with scents and have something great to say about them. So often they are just one or two note wonders evoking “forest floor,” “fir trees,” and recently lots of smoke, etc. I’m thinking of earthy ambrosias that evoke more than just one elemental note, but communicate a sense of place, along with a sense of being. For example, a coastal forest that captures loamy soil, windswept treetops and sea spray on bark, forest floor, and saline mist evaporating on exposed rock face. All that, while also communicating a certain style, time period and emotive or lifestyle qualities. Thank you.
Sadly in popular culture tastes have changed toward blue freshies and sweet fragrances ... fortunately fragrances like Grey Flannel are still around to provide us with the variety to still smell 'old school' sophisticated and unique when we desire. I also recall wearing Geoffrey Beene shirts from Macy's.
Hi from Australia I have a friend who sells me vintage samples do you know much about these nitchevo paris and tocade Rochas and L'AIR du TEMPS Nina ricci and JE REVIENS WORTH and mitsouko Guerlain
I blind bought this off Amazon this week, I'm 25. I love galbanum fragrances in general and I wasn't surprised people gave negative reviews as anything overtly green isn't popular nowadays. I find it incredibly herbaceous, especially with the minty facet of geranium. I think it somehow manages to not be a boring barbershop type of scent and it doesn't smell like anything else to date.
Algebraist. Thanks for letting me know your experience with Grey Flannel. By the way I forgot to mention that it one the Fifi Award when it launched. The Oscar for the fragrance world. Cheers.
Hi Lanier, do you still live near Olympia? If so, it would be neat to know I now live in the same area as you--I just moved to Olympia with my wife and niece. (I haven't watched much of the video yet, so I'm sorry if your video already answered my question.) I look forward to watching this video, as I'm always happy to see you've posted a new one.
I enjoy Grey Flannel. It works well on me, but I wonder if it might just be incompatible with a lot of people's "body chemistry," and/or perhaps some people are over-spraying it, not misting it from a sufficient distance (it tends to be tested on the wrist, whereas I find it best on the chest), applying it on top of another scent that hasn't fully worn off, or not spraying it on recently cleaned skin. It also seems out of place with casual clothes or in warm, dry weather.
I’m sure there are many who’s chemistry fights with Grey Flannel Seth. You and I are lucky that it works for us. By the way I checked out your channel. I’m so impressed with you skill with the violin. Masterful fiddling I say! I studied violin in grade school…. There is quite a story there to tell. Lol. Cheers neighbor!
@@laniersmith1798 Thanks, Lanier! I also have two other channels: MrSethJM which has a couple videos of my fiddling from my college days, and Seth's Select Vinyl and Cassettes where I archive some of my record & tape collection (mainly classical, semi-classical, fiddling, and a little jazz).
@@laniersmith1798 By the way, and I think I've said it before: I really enjoy the music and scenery (or artistic or museum-like visuals) in your video intros--those alone put your videos on a higher level than others. But then the review itself is great as well.
@@FiddlingCPA I love music as you probably noticed from my long winded credits. Almost Al genres. I want to share with you one of my favorite pieces by Alex North… just violins and violas… purely beautiful, ultimately heartbreaking ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RvPHFXAVbM4.html
Hey Lanier. I smelled Grey Flannel for the first time last week. Sprayed on card. Unfortunately it doesn't do it for me. I didn't wear it or smell it through the drydown, but the opening smelled like soiled baby diapers. Not my thing. But I would like to get your opinion on Floris Elite. I say that everytime. One day you will try it.
@@alerojas2952 Little pretensous aren't you. There is nothing wrong with saying Grey Flannel smells like soiled baby diapers. And since you had an issue another person's honest, inoffensive opinion the first time, maybe I can help you toughen your skin a little. Let me state once again: Grey Flannel smells like soiled baby diapers. To me. Most of us understand that fragrance appreciation is highly subjective. Not objective. Sorry you don't understand that. No one should be offended because a fragrance you like doesn't appeal to someone else. There are fragrances I love that other people hate. No problem. Lanier wasn't offended. Not liking a frag he likes, and saying it, is good robust, HONEST discussion. It says nothing about my opinion of Lanier's general taste, character, or anything else. To not be honest is simply sycophantic, which would not do any discussion forum any good. P.S. and unless you are over 60 years old, you are the "lad" in this exchange. Take care.
for me it's a star turn performance and it lasts so my skin up to 8 to 10 hours. (Longer is I moisturize fist and then spray on to the freshly moisturized skin.)
Great thanks for the response and review. I just got my 8 Fl Oz bottle. Always wanted a long lasting perfume for everyday use that would go easy on my wallet. I think I am not gonna find anything cheaper than this.
I can honestly say, I own this scent.. I’d never wear it.. smells like a perfect scent for the geriatric community on church day or a used car salesmen. . it is very dated and very green. It’s a scent to wear with a suit and not to offend anyone.
This shit smells like like a pair of my grandfather's drawers😂😂😂😂😂 IF ever there was an "Old Man smell"...THIS ONE would take the award....WTF This concoction smells like a fuckin 100 year old recliner chair...even after three years I tried it again and decided it wasn't wine cooler storage worthy... WTF Smells like an old used empty soap dispenser at the local Exxon gas station bathroom ....really! Use it as a defensive weapon if you run out of mace. This shit will protect you against bears, carjackers and muggers.
