GROSSMITH
King’s Salute
2023
PERFUMER
Matthieu Meneuvrier
bergamot
black pepper
blackcurrant
elemodor (orange, elemi)
cardamom
iris
lavender
lavandin
thyme
amber
cashmeran
musk
oakmoss
‘King’s Salute Eau de Parfum, a celebration of His Majesty the King’s passion for plants and gardening while renewing Grossmith’s historic connections to lavender. Thyme and lavender are found in abundance at His Majesty’s Highgrove garden and this wonderful blend is an ode to these loved scents.’ – Grossmith
King’s Salute sees quite a strong departure from the Grossmith fragrances that I’ve tried so far. I’ve only reviewed a couple, but they were all very classy, mostly powdery, floral and/or sweet. More on the vintage-Guerlain-esque side. King’s Salute however, opens more modern, and more harsh if I may say so.
A strong green, stemmy, floral with a herbal tone. My experience with this doesn’t really line up with the notes in the opening (later it does). Lavender is touted to be the main theme according to the brand’s pitch, and it’s clearly there; it’s just not the type of lavender scent that I’m used to. This is much greener and high pitched. It feels like a lavender fragrance, but the smell didn’t register for me.
What this reminded me of in the first hour is the citrussy, floral, green and aquatic nature of scents like Clive Christian Crab Apple Blossom. For a moment places me on a seaside or beach side (not quite in the water), with very sharp, astringent florals and grassy facets.
After a while however, those facets get a bit darker and it moves in a strong oakmoss direction with the peppery spicy tinges throughout. Leaning traditionally masculine far and smelling familiar. I do like this drydown a lot more than the opening. It goes to smelling more retro again (not vintage Mitsouko mossy retro, but 90’s barbershop cologne mossy retro). While this typical mossy base isn’t my usual style, it’s really well done here. Not unlike, but arguably nicer than the drydown of Roja Parfums Apex.
Overall, a nice fragrance, but not up to par with how much I liked Diamond Jubilee Bouquet, Phul-Nana & Hasu-No-Hana.