Gris Charnel bdk Parfums 2019 Eau de Parfum

This is the perfume of my life, it's so creative, bold, sensual.
The sandalwood combined with the smoky vetiver is everything, the cardamom is well blended and it's very musky.

Gris charnel for the day, the extrait for the night, which is more leathery and smoky. Both are nice but I have a little preference for the OG version.

Congrat BDK for another gem

I LOVE IT !

I started out with a decant of the extrait. Very nice, but just a bit too much cardamom (that pains me to say, because when it comes to food I’m a sucker for cardamom). While the cardamom is still dominant here, it allows the black tea and fig to really shine. It also sits closer to the skin but still projects well. It’s a creamy, spicy, comforting fragrance that I feel is suitable for all but the warmest days.

I had very high hopes for this fragrance, but it was just a little too heavy on the masculine side for me. I'm not able to pick out all the individual notes like some noses but I think it is the sandalwood that is giving me such a masculine vibe. It's by no means an unpleasant fragrance but I'd rather smell it on my husband vs myself.

I'm actually pretty sad I don't like this scent at all. My skin chemistry causes it to smell like some kind of cheap dark liquor. It's so beloved I've given it a few chances and each time ended up scrubbing it off. I am excited to see how it smells on my husband and to see if it smells better on him!

Gris Charnel is a milky, fuzzy sandalwood scent with hints of smoke, refreshing tea and juicy fig. Iris and tonka give it a powdery base, but none of them take of the fragrance. Sandalwood remains the star. All the other notes dance around it to give it little hints of freshness and darkness that come out from time to time.

The "Gris" part of the name makes sense, it evokes a dark grey, matte, velvety fabric. The "Charnel" part, not so much, I don't get anything carnal here. This is a warm, but clean unisex "your skin but better" scent that could work for almost any occasion. Very balanced and well-blended.
I like this a tiny tad better than bdk's other sandalwood, Sable de Nuit, but it still remains firmly in the "like, not love" category. It's a nice fragrance and grew on me while testing, but I don't really get the hype.

Some say this is similar to Versace Crystal Noir, but I'd say they're cousins at best. Gris Charnel is smoother, drier, less sweet and not as opulent, and has a prominent smokiness instead of the coconut and pepper of Crystal Noir.