Vetiver Racinettes

This is a delightful garland for anyone who loves vetiver. It has five varieties of vetiver, and I think you can smell them all as the scent evolves in wear. At first the ruh khus, wild-harvested Indian vetiver, dominates, bolstered by the pepper, coffee, and licquorice notes of the tarragon. Next comes the slightly yeasty but delicious, almost meaty, Indonesian vetiver sharpened with pepper and ginger, then the Madagascar, woody and a little flowery with a touch of the lime, then the green, clean Haitian, and a final fade-down to what I think must be the Sri Lankan, dry, woody, sandalwoody, together with the spikenard and mitti. Mitti is such an absurdly poetic ingredient that it is hard to believe that it smells as it does and should: the attar is made by infusing blocks of dried lake-bed clay in sandalwood and captures the scent of wet earth after a drought. Vetiver Racinettes is a journey upwards through a rainforest from the spicy humous around tree roots, upwards through the canopy to rain falling in a hot night. Glorious, romantic, and cool.

322 This is a gorgeous vetiver scent with a strong balance from kafir lime leaves. I don’t get spice notes, so they seem well blended. The kafir lime leaves enhance the lemongrass-like scent from the vetiver in the best way and makes it less musty, less dry grassy, less earthy. It’s like vetiver roots smashed with a load of fresh green kafir lime leaves(very special lime leaves). Then a bit of stinky valerian-like spikenard and musty coffee come through in the opening, but this goes away quickly and you’re left with the best intense classic nostalgic vetiver note thanks to kafir lime leaves. This is more beautiful than any straight forward vetiver scent. Kafir lime leaf does wonders (nod: Hello Delicious-LARO). 9/10-long lasting kafir lime leaf enhanced vetiver without the mustiness, earthiness, dry grassiness. It’s fresh and rooty brown(thick resinous almost) at the same time.

I have read a lot about vetiver in general, and Vetiver Racinettes in particular, on Ayala's Smellyblog so when I couldn't wait to try Song of Songs any longer this sample was a natural addition to my order. Mosesdleon has written a fantastic review, so accurate to my own experience in fact that any further discussion of the notes would be redundant coming from someone still on thier vetiver training wheels :) I also wish I loved it as much as s/he does but to my nose it is more interesting than wearable. I find it very masculine in flavour from all those biting spices and the drydown has a kind of campherous odour which I have smelt in other perfumes such as YSL Elle but have never been able to pin down to a particular note before. If Fracas is THE reference for tuberose, then I think equally Vetitver Racinettes could be THE reference for the many faces of vetiver.

Shortlived yes, but the swillage for 2 hours was not bad. As i adore vetiver i had to test it and is quite intersting. it starts almost oriental with a healthy dose of cardamom, going on dry and brightly peppery, with vetiver roots still attached on soil. Intriguing.

This is more or less what the name implies, tiny vetiver roots. It’s a green, earthy, vegetable scent, vetiver with a hint of celery or lovage. It’s extremely subtle, no more than a near-threshold skin scent, so subtle, in fact, that if you apply it after showering with lightly scented soap, which is what I did, the faint residue from the soap will overpower it. I suppose this explains the diminutive form in the name. It lasts no more than an hour until vanishing into thin air like the wraith that it is. For the price, I would like a lot more oomph and better longevity. As I’ve observed elsewhere, it IS possible to make strong, long-lasting natural perfumes, so the fact that this is all-natural is not an explanation for its weakness.

Great scent. Get mainly a great rooty-vetiver with warm blend of winter spice of nutmeg, cardamom and bit coffee. Around edges smell hint fresh ginger, lime and pepper. Common notes yet unique presentation, wish this is more than sample for sure.