Racine Carrée

I have learned that I enjoy smelling like carrots and celery. Why, you may ask? I suppose what it does is fire certain happy neurons in my head and may be a source of comfort for me the same way as, say, sweet dessert smells may do the same for someone else. The vegetal, the rooty, the herbal all seem to reflect my fondness for gardens and plants in general. I have often thought that if reincarnation were true, in my past life I lived off the earth. It may also explain my penchant for overalls as a teenager in the 90s—sure, they were "in" for a hot minute, especially with one of the straps unhooked. My favorite pair was green Cross Colours, worn with a Phillies Blunts t-shirt underneath, but I digress... I am drawn to both carrot seed or celery seed, or just plain carrot or celery in any notes pyramid. I do think one of the reasons I adore Caron Yatagan is its distinct celery overtone. So, when I learned of Lebreton's Racine Carée (√) I just had to give it a whirl. There is a chilled, crunchy, wet sensation of our noble veggies from the very start. The truth about both carrot and celery is that they are both highly aromatic and were prized for this in the past, being anything but pedestrian, once having been regarded as culinary centerpieces. I do highly recommend reading more on the history of their use. In Racine Carée, they are honored as worthy of a perfume centerpiece. What is ingenious is how Lebreton carries their impression after the natural materials have evaporated, by anchoring with orris, vetiver, and cypriol. Some may find it a bit too directly vegetal and cold for their taste, but I think it's a sheer delight and especially festive to wear during late summer's harvest. Chef's kiss!

Why on earth (or under earth, rather) would I want to smell like celery, you ask? The answer is: because of this very aptly named perfume, which is surprisingly delightful. It’s roots, roots, roots, with a big side of celery. Opens with the same strong, earthy orris as L’Eau Merzhin, but that dissipates much faster here, giving way to a duet between carrot and celery. The carrot is not at all sweet, it smells like freshly pulled from the ground, with the greens still attached. The celery smells extremely realistic, like biting into a crunchy stalk. For 20 minutes or so, I get carrot and celery alternating in dominance, every now and then a hint of licorice root. The celery wins out eventually, and only at that point does the beautiful vetiver start shining through. Green and earthy, not smoky. There are still hints of celery at this point, and a spicy note I can’t quite place. These are all cold notes individually, evoking damp February soil, but somehow the composition as a whole has a cozy, lived-in feeling to it, that makes it much more wearable than I expected. Lebreton has a real knack for turning an innovative artistic concept into a well-rounded, perfume with a classic feel. Impressive.

Surprisingly highly bitter, dark suede green, at first sniff I had the feeling that it was almost smooth leather with a quick onset of harsh earthy herbs. The celery dry scratchy theme is recognizable, carrot is possible, although I can't specifically find it. Chamomile is a beautiful idea and addition, at least if I perceive it as seamlessly blended. Licorice, iris and clary sage highlighted by a harder introduction, you won't find a gram of unnecessary sugar, ending with vetiver...simply great. This is how it should be done. More for male, here even tougher women will have something to do to make the fragrance theirs and not the other way around. Nice, original piece, thank you, just please stretch the sillage with something - the beginning is really good, the longevity is not bad but the intensity quickly falls to intimate, but don't worry, it's not skin only, a tiny lingering note will keep a bubble of interesting aura around you. Not violent at all, yet capable of being a signature scent.

The best from this brand, a fragrance that is cerebral and contemplative and calming. Crisp without being fresh, vegetal without being green. Subverts expectations at every turn. Vetiver can be tricky for me because it's usually too fresh and citrusy and masculine. I also don't like the smoky and woody aspects of vetiver, again too severe for me even though I like smoke generally. This goes full in on the vegetal and rooty aspects of vetiver with a slight woody drydown. Could have been a gimmick, with the perfumer limiting himself to only roots for ingredients, but it turned out beautifully. The celery is absolutely crunchy, you can feel it breaking in half in front of you. Every other note adds depth and nuance.

A vegetal, earthy, rooty vetiver. It's got that aromatic feel of traditional vetiver, but also plays up the clay-like feel of vetiver with surrounding vegetal notes. I smelled a very rooty iris and then the celery and carrot notes also totally make sense to me. I also get the sage - it's aromatic and earthy, with a nice spice to it. Again, don't know that I'd wear, but I appreciate the artistry. For me,the chamomile is soemthing I smell in hindsight. I was unable to detect it, but seeing it as a note, and then re-smelling it's like ah yea of course.

I cannot stop smelling this. It's pretty consistent in the opening and dry down but it has such a beautiful blend that it stays interesting. The carrot and clary sage stand out for me above all else but it's well blended and nothing overwhelms. Unfortunately the scent doesn't last very long - pretty much gone in a couple hours

A resinous opening built on sun-bleached, skeletal woods; dry enough to pull you in like a vortex. Very quickly, it moves into the rooty character its name suggests. Not the stalk of celery, but its leafy tops: the ones that smell so sharp and spicy you hesitate to put them in pot. That dry, spicy greenness, paired with a carrot-seed vibe reminiscent of SL Iris Silver Mist, forms the backbone of this perfume. Occasionally, I catch a hint of cypriol. I’m not usually a fan of this note (it always suggests something sweet-green-squishy to me) but here it stays in the background. There’s also an anise-like accent and an iris that absolutely refuses to stay in the shadows. Sugar level? Almost nonexistent; perfect. Its resinous quality faintly reminds me of Bowmakers, but only just. In the end, what remains? Spicy celery leaf, sun-bleached wood dust, and something like powdered resin. A fascinating scent from a fascinating house; strangely magnetic. Tag(s): vegetal, herbal, dry, resinous, celery

This is fun! Quite a challenge for both nostrils and brain. Takes you on a little ride through the lower parts of a kitchengarden. Diggin for carrots, the smell of earth and the weed. Then suddenly there is some magic happening. Om my skin it transforms to this green, earthy and aromatic scent that reminds me of the original Miss Dior. Anyhow the way I remember it from my childhood and I had a vintage some years ago. For me this is a refreshing and clever homage to the grand style of perfumerie. Merci M. Lebreton!

Wow, that sure is a root! Iris at its most blinding-white and carrotty. The same kind of ice-cold chalky-rooty super-iris in Serge Lutens’ infamous Iris Silver Mist. Plus a dry vegetal-herbal note that could be “chamomile meets celery.” Racine Carree (French for “square root”) stays basically white and rooty all day, with a little bit of a darker twiggy crackle of smoky vetiver beneath and a “perfumey” aura that’s reminiscent of botanical gin. This is a perfume that is very much itself. Pure, intense, ascetic, maybe not everyone’s cup of tea, but a perfect wintry evocation of concentrated rootiness.

I do not sense earthiness, nor carrot or sage or chamomile. What I do get up front is loads of freshly cut celery and a powdery aspect from the iris. Within a few minutes, a more powerful and heavier herbal note emerges, it is not vetiver but perhaps the cypriol oil.

This was a very successful blind buy for me. Went on a search to find an accurate carrot note and stumbled on Tropicália by Granado. I'm not disappointed per se, but it's hella weak for the price I paid. Opens very alcohol-like before drying down to an immediate skin scent. Racine Carrée doesn't have that problem so let's talk about it. The carrot and celery notes dance with each other but you can detect both very clearly and tell them apart. Ultimately the celery wins but the carrot can keep up. Both vegetables smell rustic here, like they were recently pulled from the earth. Although they are top notes you still get carrot/celery on the dry down. I love this aspect of Racine Carrée because I purchased the fragrance particularly for these two notes so I'm happy you can smell them all the way through til the end. Let's be clear, it's still perfumey. It's a vegetal scent, yes, but there's other accords that round everything out. People acting like the whole damn thing is just carrots n celery are exaggerating big time. It's a perfume people..... not freshly cut vegetables 🙄 this is very wearable still. I would not want to smell like literal celery or carrots, okay? This is as close as you can get while still maintaining that perfume quality. Not everyone will love it and you won't see this in department stores but it's so beautifully niche and unique. Unisex but leaning masculine with slightly above moderate longevity and decent to moderate sillage. Not a beast mode scent.

I consider this the scent to highlight of my excursion into bizarre artistic niche, rivaling Papillon with regards to pure uniqueness. This is definitely different to what I expected, but now in hindsight realize that it is clearly what this scent would smell like. So the idea here is 'roots only' regarding the main notes, so the result is well obviously 'rooty' and vegetal in an unrelenting way, but also much smokier than I had expected in the typical nargarmotha fashion, an earthy gritty smokiness akin to the smell of Pu'er tea. I definitely pick up carrots seeds and chamomile in the opening, not much licorice on my skin unfortunately which is what I was hoping for. A nice smooth clay-like vetiver in the base, not overtly green or grassy, but quite dense, arguably my favorite facet. Frankly I dislike how vegetal this scent is, i find it extremely difficult to wear because of that stark contrast between ionone-y carrot iris combo and the gritty dark nagarmotha, think earthy charred gooey carrots with a sprinkle of chamomile, not something you would expect to smell on someone. I do appreciate the quality of raw materials and artistry of conceiving this strange creation, but it feels completely out of my comfort zone. If for whatever reason you are going for a passionate horticulturist meets vegan bbq vibe there is no scent that trumps this one.

A rooty vetiver and iris perfume that begins with a distinctly carroty iris, chilled and wet like springtime. I only get slight hints of celery in this opening accord, a facet of the vetiver that is to come. It moves along to Act II within a half hour that ends with a tangy vetiver and clary sage chartreuse vibe. Dries down an hour or two later to a pleasant skin scent that still balances vivid chartreuse with a piney, woody base. This kind of thing is easy to wear, smells refreshing and natural. And there isn’t a hint of any of those overused, overpowering amber bombs here. 4 out of 5.

This had me bust out laughing as soon as I sprayed it. It literally is just carrots and celery. There might be a time and place for this but not today. I had to wash it off. I don’t hate it bc I can’t hate something that nailed what it was going for and gives no fucks about it. Yeah wish I spent my money on a sample I’d like more but at least I had fun. This has its audience out there and I want it to find them Update it’s kinda lovely.... Hmmm

This is a weird one, folks. The woody notes plus veggies reminds me of my childhood pet guinea pig, chilling on some wood chips, munching on a stalk of celery. The iris here is iris root, oily and powdery. Nothing here says perfume, but I respect the oddness.

This is a pretty good place to start if you enjoy celery in perfume. It's detectable all throughout, at least to my nose. The only one I found wearable out of the entire collection.