Question:
A vetiver scent should have bite. Edge. Snark. Sharp. Grass, sap, roots, nature. Guerlain, Goutal, R&G, Creed's 1948 version, L'Artisan, Fragonard even, Patyka Fougère, and Malle.
Vetiver should smell like grass that has blades that might cut you if you fall on them wrong, like roots that are hard to get out of the soil and knarly with caked ugly dirt when you finally get them out. They should smell like those roots rubbed hard on sharp cheese grater plates too, or something like that. Old school harsh vetiver that in turn grates a little on the inside of your nose-buds.
Seems like the trend in vetiver releases is a dull vetiver. Guerlain's Vetiver Extreme, Lanvin Vetyver, and Creed's Original Vetiver. They're all that damn, clean, no drips left on your glasses in the dishwasher vetiver. Nothing harsh. No fun.
Both smell clean--Guerlain's Vetiver is harsh and fresh clean smelling, and the new releases are the essence of clean, no sweating, and well laundered clothing, but they have no harsh. I don't like the string of new ones and it's time to wonder if there's a trend in vetivers, and, dagnammit, another trend that shows the decline of the entire Western civilization all over again.
--Chris

Answer:
It also depends on what particular kind of vetiver is used in the composition.

Indonesian vetiver is earthy, smoky and a bit woody.

Indian vetiver is the indonesian vetiver on steroids - its the most earthy of them all.

Sri Lankan vetiver is almost entirely woody .. no earthiness to be found here, it smells the least vetiver like.

Haitian vetiver smells clean, green, slightly citrusy, with subtle shades of the typical earthy aroma. Its the most pleasing to smell by itself.

As you mention, not all vetiver fragrances are created equal or smell the same. From what I know, Lanvin Vetiver and Original Vetiver use the haitian vetiver extract instead of the more earthy indian/indonesian variety - they intend to provide a refreshing interpretation of this classic note, and to me they largely succeed. Some even find Original Vetiver to be too "earthy"! When I am in the mood for some raw vetiver goodness, I simply grab a fragrance with a more earthy rendition of vetiver.

Different vetiver ingredients, different blends ... theres a vetiver for everyone out there!

Answer:
If you want *raw* powerful vetiver, try Lorenzo Villoresi's. It's elemental.
I was testing Le Labo's vetiver over the weekend and it has the most insane longevity. Two sprays on the chest went about 30 hours. (Le Labos' is a mannerly vetiver, like Guerlain's)

Answer:
Hi Chris,
I have to agree with you on Lanvin and Creed's efforts.
Azzaro's was a bit washed out too, but at least it had plenty of projection power.
The only recent bitey one's I've come across are,
Villoresi's - which has both bite and great lasting power,
Etro's - which is as raw as it gets, but is only good for 3 or 4 hours, and
Roccobarocco's - which is sort of between the previous two (but which someone said was dicontinued).
Sad to see Creed playing it safe with their vetiver.
Renato

Answer:
Interesting comments.
Back when I started this whole scent thing, I bought Vetiver Tonka by Hermes (Hermessence series) and I thought I knew what vetiver smelled like (VT falls into the 'vetriver-light' category). VT is a great warm comfort scent that I love, but its strength is NOT its vetiver.
Fast forward to Basenotes - everyone raving about Guerlain Vetiver, Creed Vetiver, etc...So, two weeks ago wandeing around Sephora (smellin the new stuff) I spotted Guerlain Vetiver at the bottom of the mens fragrance rack and decided to sniff what all the fuss was about. WOW - smoky, charred & burnt leaves and that thing that happens with certain scents where the notes literally are hovering on top of your skin, almost in middair. That night I tested around 5 scents (including Fleur de Male, the orange blossom nuclear warhead) and Guerlain was what lastest the longest (no lie).
Vetiver Tonka = Ambient lounge music
Guerlain Vetiver = Punk Rock


Answer:
I like many of them:

Carlo Corinto Vetyver - Incredible fragrance and the vetiver I wear most.
Vetiver Extraordinaire - Probably the best vetiver ever made
Guerlain - vintage, and new (hard not to like it to some extent)
Mazzolari's
Santa Maria Novella's (closest to vetiver essential oil)
Villoresi's
Floris's
L'Artisan's
Comme des Garcons Vettiveru
MPG's Racine

But it's MPG's Route du Vetiver that has always said the most and also been consistently satisfying.

Answer:
Quote: Originally Posted by DustB A vetiver scent should have bite. Edge. Snark. Sharp. Grass, sap, roots, nature. Guerlain, Goutal, R&G, Creed's 1948 version, L'Artisan, Fragonard even, Patyka Fougère, and Malle.
Vetiver should smell like grass that has blades that might cut you if you fall on them wrong, like roots that are hard to get out of the soil and knarly with caked ugly dirt when you finally get them out. They should smell like those roots rubbed hard on sharp cheese grater plates too, or something like that. Old school harsh vetiver that in turn grates a little on the inside of your nose-buds.
Seems like the trend in vetiver releases is a dull vetiver. Guerlain's Vetiver Extreme, Lanvin Vetyver, and Creed's Original Vetiver. They're all that damn, clean, no drips left on your glasses in the dishwasher vetiver. Nothing harsh. No fun.
Both smell clean--Guerlain's Vetiver is harsh and fresh clean smelling, and the new releases are the essence of clean, no sweating, and well laundered clothing, but they have no harsh. I don't like the string of new ones and it's time to wonder if there's a trend in vetivers, and, dagnammit, another trend that shows the decline of the entire Western civilization all over again.
--Chris Excellent, provocative post Chris. What follows is a review of Lanvin Vetyver; it is also my position on vetiver fragrances and, hence, a reponse to your prompt in the above post:
When we discover Guerlain's Vetiver, or L’Artisan's Vetiver, or Mazzolari Vetiver, etc., to take but a few examples, our first thought is “Ah ha! The potentially perfect vetiver fragrance”, and then, of course, most of the time we’re disappointed because another vetiver fragrance doesn’t smell exactly like the pure vetiver we imagine it should smell like or even like the vetiver note we like in one particular vetiver fragrance over another. If all of these houses wanted their vetiver fragrances to smell like pure vetiver oil, they could easily achieve this effect. They would simply find a supplier, standardize the vetiver oil product, very easy to do in the case of vetiver, and then rename their product Guerlain’s Pure and True Vetiver Oil, or L’Artisan’s Pure and True Vetiver Oil, or Mazzolari’s Pure and True Vetiver Oil, but even then, not all these vetivers would all smell the same, because it would depend on how the vetiver was standardized and what elements of its scent profile a company chose to emphasize over the other, telluric over fresh, grassy over rooty, etc. But they don’t all smell the same because fragrance houses are not in the business of producing and bottling essential oils. They’re fragrance houses, and as such vetiver, frequently functions as a idea, a concept, a possibility, a starting point for the art of creating perfumes/colognes, which are after all blends and, because, again, as we know, perfumery is not simply the distillation, mixing, and bottling of essential oils. If one doesn’t grasp this concept, one will be perennially disappointed at the next release of yet another vetiver fragrance because none of them will smell like its imagined ideal essential oil namesake or even like your favorite vetiver fragrance. Some vetiver namesake releases will have a more tangential relationship to the essential oil, which is the inspiration or the base behind the fragrance, and some will have a more direct relationship, but, all in all, they will not be carbon copies of natural essential oils or of the one particular vetiver blend you’re used to in some other fragrance house's vetiver invention.

And so we arrive at the defensible concept behind Lanvin Vetyver. Certainly it is a fragrance one has to apply liberally. I know there are many people who feel they shouldn't have to do such a thing, but that's just the nature of the juice. It’s a simple formula made up of only 14 different ingredients, 10 of which are raw; even the alcohol is natural. In some ways, I would imagine its constitution is very close to niche fragrances, and I dare say that if it were released by say L’Artisan Parfumeur more people would be willing to give it a fairer hearing/wearing than it gets. In the case of Lanvin Vetyver, I think the perfumer has chosen, in this instance, I think purposefully, to make it an understated scent with ingredients that don't project much. Yes, that’s a legitimate concept behind fragrance creation. If one doesn't have a preference for such fragrances, that doesn’t automatically disqualify them for others. Heavy spraying will bring out the reticent vetiver note significantly but only in the basenote accord, but I don't consider this a negative because I have always accepted that with this one the vetiver will always be in the background and integrated with the other elements of the fragrance. It’s absurd to claim there’s no vetiver in this one; it’s there all right, but it is very purposefully blended with the other elements so as not to be prominent. It's not supposed to be prominent, despite it’s name. It is important to remember that vetiver is considered an almost universal blender when it comes to fragrances. Even in Vétiver Extraordinaire, which has one of the highest proportions of vetiver found in any fragrance, I believe, vetiver still only forms 25% of the perfume formula. If one stays attuned to the reticent quality of the vetiver in Lanvin Vetyver and one carries the fragrance around with one all day, a benefit of liberal application, at certain times one will catch intimations of the vetiver note that are very satisfying and really quite beautiful, but, of course, in a very understated and blended way. This is the notion, as I see it, of the vetiver in Lanvin Vetyver. For me, it's a valid notion, and it's worth the liberal spraying and the price of a bottle, which is very reasonable. Whether the fragrance is justified in being called Lanvin Vetyver is another question. It does set up false expectations and potential disappointment for those who like their vetiver strong and edgy.
Finally--and using an extended metaphor for illustration--there are some of us who prefer the substantial flavors of say Indian cuisine, the flavors of a rich vindaloo curry say, for example, and there are some of us who prefer the subtlety of Japanese food, which hardly ever strays away from the ethos that understatement is the basis of much intensity, if one, of course, is predisposed to finer and finer discriminations as the Japanese certainly are. Then there are some of us who prefer the middle way of Asian flavors, say as developed in Vietnamese cuisine or certain dishes in Thai cuisine or ever in authentic Chinese cuisine. Then there are some of us that like all variations, subtle and not so subtle. I don't see that it's any different with vetiver fragrances. I would urge a little caution when someone is denigrating other vetivers because of one’s preference for one modulation of a vetiver fragrance over another. One might just be showing their particular preference, which is all well and fine but that does mean the world of enjoyment for others stops there. Oh, BTW, Lanvin Vetyver makes for a great office scent or for when you're sitting in close proximity to other people and don't what to overwhelm them with your fragrance. It's one of my "committee meeting" fragrances. This is a practical justification of why fragrances like Lanvin Vetyver exist, but, I like to think, not the only one.

scentemental



Answer:
What do all of you think of L'Occitane's Vetyver? I'm not very experienced in Vetivers, but my newbite assensement was that although it was loud and strong, and I really loved the overwhelmingly predominant note, it felt like it was really missing something, like more notes! If I had my own bottle I'd be fooling around with layering it. In general I tend to feel that way about many Occitane scents: Very pleasant, but too simple, easy to tire of, not something to discover different aspects of with time.

I noticed it got great reviews on this site, and thus I'm wondering how it compares to the others you're discussing?

Answer:
I see with the boards upgrade there's a feature called "add to favorites" that appears in each post. After reading scentemental's post above this one I now know what it's for.
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Guy could be Basenotes answer to Chandler Burr which would mean very many parrellel universes have folded in on themselves but there was a 10 x 10 to the 28th power — chance of this happening anyway so let me say Bravo.
good review.
And thank you Chris for pointing to some Vetivers I need to sample soon.

Answer:
I peeked at this post this morning and it inspired me to wear my Vetiver Extraordinaire today.
Let me tell you, VE says something: MAN!!
oh and I believe it is saying something else... CLASS!!