Phlur Greylocke-Fragrance Review

 

Some fragrances should come with a warning label. In Greylocke's case, a caution to wait 30 minutes after applying before sharing an enclosed space would be appropriate. This isn't a  fragrance you want to apply in a small confine like a bathroom. Monster silage? Oh yeah, but give it 30 minutes, and the beast settles down into something much more soothing.

I've only visited Mount Greylock in the winter. I'm not a fearful person, generally but I have healthy respect/fear of bears. You will not get me in bear-infested forests in summer. Oh I know, you can carry bear spray, keep your food far from the campsite, etc. etc. but know what? Bears. Now as the climate is changing who knows if bears even hibernate as they used to, but in years past it was a safe bet that you wouldn't be encountering ursine assholes on the trails around Greylock in January. You could get snowed-in, but that's winter camping for you. 

Greylock by Phlur does an excellent job evoking a cold morning at Mount Greylock State Park. As already noted, the initial blast (and Greylocke is very much a "one spray" fragrance ) is straight-on pine. Not household cleaner pine, nor freshly sawed wood pine, but the needles, warming in the winter sunshine. We have a stand of pine trees near our house that catch the afternoon sun, and walking beneath them (as they overhang the sidewalk in places) is an olfactory experience. Depending on the season I can be dodging dripping sap, or kicking along through fallen pinecones. Warm, late winter days you can hear the cones cracking open if you stop to listen. The ground beneath the trees is perpetually blanketed in fallen needles that go from dry and brittle to damp and rotting depending on the season. Greylocke is strong, but it isn't, "Oh, you've just mopped the floors." 

The listed notes at Fragrantica for Greylocke are somewhat unhelpful, and as it appears to be discontinued there isn't a description on the company website. Pine and Apple Tree doesn't really tell you much. I've been in my share of apple orchards, but I don't associate anything with it except wet grass, as I always seem to go apple picking in the early morning. If there's an orchard smell, outside of what I'd think of as, "General Purpose Autumnal", being fallen leaves, hay, moulding cornstalks, I don't get it. What I do get from Greylocke, aside from the pine is vetiver, and lots of it. As a note, vetiver has always smelled, "cold" to my nose, where others find the freshness of spring green. Perhaps I've been conditioned by generations perfumers to believe the only note of spring is Lily of the Valley, and as a result can't get my seasonal nose to cooperate with anything else. When I think, "What's a good fragrance to wear with heavy woolens?" I think something with vetiver. Sometimes lavender. Often both. The pine/vetiver action in Greylocke would be a good addition to the wardrobe. 

There's something else going on with Greylocke that isn't floral, but evokes florals? I know I sound like an asshole saying that-but stay with me for a minute. It almost smells like they created a new flower. I get a similar sensation when I eat ruby chocolate-it tastes like fruit, but not fruit you've encountered. If you haven't tried ruby chocolate-do it. You won't be sorry. Back to the floral/not a floral in Greylocke, your guess is as good as mine, but it feels soft, a little powdery, but a million miles away from an iris or any of the traditionally powdery flowers. It is really lovely, I wonder if they've been able to expand on that with any of the other fragrances. 

Lastly, I smell tea. Not an herbal tea, or a green tea, or even good black tea. Just, tea. Cheap, orange pekoe like they use in low-end, store-brand tea you used to get in restaurants across America in the 70s. Tea that would disappoint me now, and would have likely been brewed with just tepid water, but would have been acceptable in mid-70s, mid-America because you were probably suffering a sore throat anyway and just wanted something warm you could dump honey into. Why else would you be drinking tea when there was Nescafe? Anyway, it is there, in Greylocke, too weak to even summon tannins, but enough to make you want to brush your teeth. 

I could be my skin, but Greylocke doesn't last more than a few hours. It is better on clothing, but despite the strong start, it is barely there after a few hours. As I don't enjoy the initial 30 minutes of Greylocke, it does keep me from wanting to re-apply. How I wish Greylock came with a fast-forward button. 

Looking around the internet, you can find a full bottle of Greylocke for about 90 bucks. Not horribly expensive, but with such terrible longevity, I hardly think it is worth the investment. If you can buy a second hand bottle, or get samples (which are plentiful and easy to find online) it might be a better route. 

Greylocke has such potential, but for a fragrance that only really shines for about an hour, I'm disappointed. That floral note though...if they sold that as a soliflore, I'd buy it in bulk.