Carven Vetiver

This, in my opinion, is the vetiver of vetivers that are to be found among commercial fragrances. I have to agree that I didn't know much about vetiver until I got to smell this the first time. I had a certain belief regarding vetiver, thinking it was in fact what I could smell in most woody scents out there – that key ingredient that made it all work. Well I was wrong as in clearly having smelled it numerous times before. The dry, smoky, earthy, and for a newby almost repulsively intense smell, which is vetiver – and I know that because I bought a bottle of essential vetiver root oil – was never really there in any of the other perfumes. Surely, it is there in Tom Fords GV EDT, which I own, and a wonderful scent in its own, but not enough to actually be able to say that it is a vetiver dominant scent (sage and citrus are very strong in that one). Carven's version from 2014, which I also own and very gladly wear now, however, is. In fact you will not find another as authentic vetiver scent as this in your shopping mall that is not Guerlain or another older creation. Carven has succeeded in creating a fragrance that mixes nostalgia with timelessness, the bottle design included. It is fragrance that unites with me when I wear it, it is inoffensive, natural smelling, it is sharp but subtle, dirty but clean, simply right on the spot, with a beautiful balance between the strong initial vibe and the mellow dry down. This is a classic, and what's so good about it, is that it will never be over consumed, thus remain a special scent, a treasure among the others. Update (2017-10-07): having owned this bottle for two years now, I have become even more familiar with the note structure. Still a beautiful scent, I shall make a better attempt to describe the development of it. To my nose the scent goes through two distinct phases. It starts off with the mixture of an unmistakable, sharp lemongrass and a soft right-after-the-rain lavender (grapefruit is likely there, but acting behind the curtains). After a short while, the vetiver, the host of the party, makes it entrance and dominates, probably transported by a geranium note (with which I am not very acquainted in isolation, although more knowledgeable reviewers have said that the geranium is very much present). I also detect an aged wood, like old wooden bathroom cupboards, most likely the cedar presenting itself. The vetiver is smooth and earthy, wonderfully accompanied by that mature cedar. Absolutely amazing. During the end, the scent overall becomes warmer, more rounded, borderline resinous, while remaining true to the core. The longevity is moderate (three sprays to 4-6 hours depending on environment) and sillage close to skin except for the opening which is pretty loud, albeit never pungent. One could always wish for a stronger base, oakmoss coming to mind as a clear candidate, but most of us know how rare that is with newly launched (or re-launched) fragrances. Nevertheless, there are other offerings that satisfy the criteria of both lasting long and absorbing attention. Ultimately, vetiver centric fragrances in general do not tend to belong to the "powerhouses". This is more a cozy, comforting, very personal, scent which, as I said in my original review, is well-suited for most occasions, year round. As my first 50 ml bottle is beginning to come to its end, I am planning for the next one – this time I'll go for the 100 ml.

henri345que - thank you for a wonderful review. I love this Carven Vetiver, and it seems I have the same bottle as you said you have, and I find the perfume to be exactly as you say. It's lovely, and although I have never had the good fortune of smelling the original Carven Vetiver, and feel sure it would have been as you have described, I am completely happy with the one I have. I think it's marvellous. So fresh and citrusy, with such gorgeous lavender, and the pièce-de-resistence, the divine vetiver. Vetiver is one of my FAVOURITE notes in perfumes. I adore it, and it's perfect in this gorgeous gem. It lasts and lasts, my husband loves and wears it too (but, says he loves it on me more! and so do I!), and I am always complimented wherever I happen to be when I wear it. It's divine. It is wonderful. It is elegant, refined and classy. Superb.

An update (or if you prefer, a reboot) of the original Vetiver by Carven. These two however at not the same fragrance. This one is an uplifting/ fresh take on vetiver colored by lemongrass. Introduced by citruses at the start, the vetiver note predominates with its green-ness and iodine-like color. The base is rounded by cedar/ sandalwood/ and benzoin. This is a beautiful scent for early spring thru late fall. Of moderate sillage and projection, so spray somewhat liberally. As most have already noted, this is similar to the Guerlain version sans the tobacco note. It leans masculine, though women can pull this off. In like manner that Chanel's Sycomore can be worn by men. A good introduction to vetiver that is elegant and easily wearable. Recommended!

This fragrance by Carven is for the guy who wants something a little different thrown into the mix. I tried pour homme by Carven first and hated how it smelled like the typical, locker room bleu de Chanel. It was generic and for the masses. I was pleasantly surprised when I tried vetiver. It really is a unique smelling vetiver. I really get the citrus in the beginning and this really earthy vetiver that is just fantastic. The drydown is nice and woody with an underlying warmth. It's very unique. The bottle also deserves two thumbs up for individuality. Lasts a good 3-4 hours on my skin, longer on clothes. Could have a bit better sillage, but I think anyone looking for something new to wear would certainly enjoy this.

Unlike any other vetiver fragrance I have smelled, it's distinctive modern, dry, and versatile. Usually I find Vetivers either old fashioned or too sweet, but not this one. I get the opening blast of lemongrass which is amazing, followed by vetiver, benzoin and sandalwood. I'm not familiar with aromatic tart geranium, but if it's in the mix, perhaps that's the part I find distinctive. Very, very cool, masculine, nice bottle design, an excellent pick-me-up and a comforting dry down. It's a good one for work, due to not being overpowering, but I get about six hours from it. I also enjoy wearing it in the evening as a casual and relaxing scent. If you like something a bit different, give it a go.

this... this is a hidden great gem with fair price. hits my nose with pleasant fragrance smell. successful blind buy

Update: I bought it today, on a Christmas discount at shopping mal. Tested on: everyday use. On clothes, and on skin. Want to kill for the bottle. Great design. Looks good standing on my closet. Top: bitter, herbal, burnt rubber. Comparable to my Jacomo de Jacomo bitterness. Middle: lemon grass. Cologne like smell. It's comparable to my Fragonard Confidentiel. Base: Woody, wood furniture, airy wood, there are something that smell ozonic which makes this wood scent very light. When I dive my nose into, I smell incense like. It's a pity, the incense doesn't project. I only perceived clean smell at a distance. Comparable to Indian Sandalwood by Evelyn & Crabtree. Hint of wax, candle, crayon like smell. I love the bitterness at the opening. Sadly the dry down is too clean for my taste. It's losing the rawness. Longevity: weak. Sillage only in the 1st hour. Spreading at arm length distance. After 2 hours it sits close to the skin. After 4 hours barely left on your skin. On clothes more or less the same. Whenever my hearts call for bitter perfume Vetiver would be in rotation with my trusty Jacomo de Jacomo.

This appears to have been launched as a 'new' fragrance in the UK despite the fact that I was positive I'd tried both this and the pour homme before. Anyway, this is an interesting vetiver blending the expected citrus top notes with a slightly green, earthy vetiver. The difference here is that the citrus gives way quickly and focuses on a more unusual marriage of benzoin, which lends a different dimension from the typical vetiver scent. (if there is such a thing?) The base is joined by other dry woods and a definite cedar note. It still has enough of those 'typical' qualities however for a vetiver fan to really enjoy it. I found that after than fresh clean opening and first couple of hours the scent turned darker, very sour and woody. Oddly I found this quite appealing and either an extra layer in the composition or just a bad interaction with my skin...one or the other? Lasting power was an acceptable 4-6 hours, sitting quite low on the skin. Worth checking out and creates a bit more interest than some vetiver out there...a wild card perhaps?

A nice modern take on vetiver. More casual, modern and I think better than Guerlain's classic because the lemongrass is such an inspired and refreshing addition. The bottle is to die for - so elegant and classy. This is one of those to be used exclusively for personal satisfaction as it's definitely not one to be used in a night club setting, although I could see it working well on the golf course. My main problem with it is that performance (longevity and projection) is only modest at the very best. I also agree that it's a bit of an acquired taste as it does smell like a bug spray at the beginning and so it's a like rather than a love from me. However I have to admit that I still find it strangely appealing.

Since nobody has mentioned it before, I just wanted to say that Carven Vetiver has a very distinct lemongrass note (I could feel it clearly before I had a look at the notes), which in itself makes it unique as there are only few colognes that have it. If you like the smell of vetiver and lemongrass, you will probably like Carven Vetiver. As for performance, longevity is moderate (around 6 hours, but I was not shy with the trigger) and sillage is soft (sits close to skin). The smell is quite linear and does not develop much. I wouldn’t recommend a blind-buy, unless you like lemongrass, and vetiver, obviously.

Smells good, fresh and green. Could be a casual Friday scent (like today). Doesn't last long though on me. Maybe 2 hours at the most and that's with 4 generous sprays.

What a corrupt politician that ppl love smells like

Carven Vetiver is an interesting take on using vetiver. The first hour or so reminds me of Encre Noir and Encre Noir Sport before it really becomes itself, if that makes sense. I get about eight hours out of this, the first two as a moderate projector and then the rest as a skin scent. I think it's suitable for any time of year although I would generally incline towards the colder weather for this one. The opening launches a mixture of vetiver, lemongrass, bergamot and grapefruit at you. About ten minutes later the orange , lavender and geranium come into the mix. Another five minutes later and the cedar becomes apparent along the benzoin. The benzoin gives off an incense effect rather than a resinous one (which is how benzoin usually manifests itself on my skin. The vetiver seems to move from earthy through to a green effect during the lifetime of the scent. One hour in and the benzoin is stronger in the mix. About two and a half hours in the grapefruit and bergamot have gone and the orange has really faded. The perfume has ceased to be a projector by this stage and gone to a skin scent. Six hours in and the perfume has calmed down and become a green one with no incense/benzoin. By eight hours it's all gone. Carven Vetiver isn't bad at all but it doesn't really fire my imagination. If you're looking for a vetiver scent then I'd choose Monotheme's Bourbon Vetiver over this. If you're a vetiver junky it's certainly worth having a bottle. If you like vetiver, lemongrass and incense then this is tailor made for you. It takes the note in a different way from vetiver classics like Guerlain's Vetiver or the vetiver in the much fresher Guerlain Homme L'eau Boisee. It's currently easily available at reasonable prices so there are worse ways to experiment with a blind buy.

Got only sprayed with this once on one wrist during a visit at a store because the vendor thouhght this was "exactly what you must be looking for". I was already wearing a rather incompatible scent, but hadn't sprayed my wrists. Bear this in mind for the rest of this review. Tested on a dry and hot summer day. Perhaps I grew up in a house with fancy cleaning agents, but the first half an hour of wearing this scent, I feel you smell like a walking windex commercial. It has this typical lemony scent that many window cleaners and disinfectants have. Beyond that very strong and distinct smell, which I personally found to be rather unpleasant, I couldn't really detect much complexity in this scent at this point. After about an hour, these dominant citrus aromas were entirely gone, and left behind a rather pleasant smell. I could detect lavender and woody notes, but do not feel confident enough in my assessment to go beyond these descriptors. I feel there is an interesting perfume hiding somewhere in that bottle if you are ready to make it trough that frankly rather ridicolous initial phase of pure citrus, but then again there are lots of scents which go in that same direction and deliver accurately from the first moment you apply them. I personally wouldn't recommend buying this, unless you can get your hands on a sample and wear it for 3-4 days to see if you really like all the aspects of this scent. I feel that its performance is not consistent enough to recommend it for one particular situation, and it doesn't really have anything truly unique going for it

Tried this one twice now.. Not for me.. I have many vetiver scents as its one of my favorite notes...Guerlain Vetiver Extreme and Tom Ford Grey are the top 2 in my opinion.. ..This one to me is just awful..smells like the vetiver root just pulled out of the ground with mud still on it....But hey try it maybe its for you.. It does settle down A bit after 20 minutes and become more wearable... Pass...I just can't get past the opening.

Talking about the 2008 version, which doesn’t seem to appear on Fragrantica. A straightforward vetiver — similar to everything else in this category. Just a regular vetiver; a lesser Guerlain, or something along those lines.

Awful minty bitterness. Yuck, very weak.

this is one of the incredible vetivers. it is very springtime-y and fresh and green, and very complex smelling. I count maybe 4 distinct phases - first a blast of fresh squeezed citrus, quickly leading to a resiny soft spicy scent with vetiver, then a floral scent comes in, and finally a sandalwoody ambery base in the end. the vetiver is complimented with all these facets. the vetiver is earthy grassy and a touch smokey at times. a wonderful vetiver. I of course also love the grassy green more straight forward citrus vetiver nutmeg and tobacco Guerlain too. This Carven vetiver is less spicy, has more faceted complexity, and a bit more easier to wear in warmer summer temps than the thicker more spicy Guerlain. This Carven is a bit more "youthful" because of its floral elements, but still has an old school bitterness. Anyways, it's fabulous. I just want to try the Givenchy vetiver next, but it's hard to locate, and more expensive than the others. I have the previous clear glass bottle of this Carven vetiver, but I think they are all the same fragrance. I actually found a tester, of the glass bottle i have, and printed on the sticker on the bottle it lists: top notes: bergamot, lemon, lemongrass Guatemala mid notes: nutmeg, lavender, lily of the valley base notes: violet, cedarwood, vetiver, styrax, amber, musk interestingly, on their website for this new bottle, they say it is the original unchanged formula, and list as ingredients: top: bergamot + grapefruit lemon + lemongrass mid: geranium + lavender + nutmeg, orange blossom, base: cedar + sandalwood + benzoin, and vetiver. so maybe it has all of these. so then its top: bergamot, lemon, lemongrass, grapefruit mid: lavender, geranium, lilly of the valley, orange blossom, nutmeg base: violet, cedar, sandalwood, styrax, benzoin, amber, musk, vetiver the vetiver being the dominant scent. like i said, its a resiny, citrusy, floral, spicy woody, green grassy vetiver scent. excellent.

I'll be straight to the point with this one: the vetiver note reminds me A LOT of the one used in Gucci Guilty Absolute: that oily,almost gasoline-wise, earthy and austere 'green' wood is the main player in both fragrances. Of course in GGA it's sorrounded by leather and pathcouli among others, which make it most of a (strictly) winter scent. Here the Carven took more of a fresher side but still presenting an unapologetic character, extremely dry and not friendly at all: doesn't scream 'playfulness' the least. When being in that mood I'd prefer to go with Encre Noir (had it) or NR for Him for eg., two vastly superior scents IMHO. ----------------------------------------------------------- Voy a ir directo al grano con esta: la nota de vetiver me recuerda MUCHO la que se usa en Gucci Guilty Absolute: esa madera "verde" aceitosa, casi oliendo a gasolina, terrosa y austera es la protagonista de ambas fragancias . Por supuesto, en GGA está rodeado de cuero y pathcouli entre otros, que lo convierten en un aroma de invierno (casi estrictamente). Aquí, el Carven tomó un lado más fresco pero aún presentando un carácter sin arrepentimientos, extremadamente seco y nada amigable: no grita 'ludismo' en lo más mínimo. Cuando estoy en ese estado de ánimo, prefiero ir con Encre Noir (lo tenía) o NR for Him, por ejemplo, dos fragancias inmensamente superiores en mi humilde opinión.

Blind buy. I love Tom Ford Grey Vetiver so wanted another vetiver fragrance. This one is really nice and a little bit more masculine than TFGV. However the longevity of this lovely fragrance is absolutely diabolical. It's virtually gone in about half an hour. I don't care how nice something smells, I don't expect to have to keep spraying it all day or have a bath in it. It also has the worst spray nozzle I've ever encountered. It sprays a jet rather than a mist and it leaks like a burst pipe. Such a shame as it could have been a nice fragrance. It was pointless to go into more detail about the notes etc as they start disappearing almost as soon as they are sprayed. And yes I do have the genuine article. I won't be buying another and at the rate of flow and longevity I expect it to be gone in a few weeks. Edit: If they could sort out the longevity of this it would be a classic. I adore the smell of this. Fresh, clean and sophisticated and everything a Vetiver should be but sadly it disappears so quickly. Such a shame.

Here I was, prepared to love the rehashed version of Carven Pour Homme, but this re-rendering of the old version of their Vetiver caught my enduring atttention. Somehow this scent smells classic, but there are modern touches that make this scent relevant to present day perfume. It opens fresh and green, almost in a citrus aquatic way, followed by a combination of vetiver lavender and a clean floral note, like lilies. Woody tones pair with the vetiver at the base. This scent is bright and fresh in the beginning, but it quiets down awfully quickly. I'm wondering if there is a lot of natural raw materials in this scent. Makes me respect the scent even more. I also bought and own Le Vetiver EdP. Screechy citrus and aromatics that tone down to a beautiful combination of vetiver, sandalwood, labdanum and musk to give it sensual warmth. Carven hasn't made much mens scents, but what I have smelled, they're awfully good and they go by the beat of their own refined tempo.

This is a very rooty vetiver... It is completely different to anything I either own or have owned. Its not spicy like guerlain, not citrusy like Ford, not clean like Creed... than being said, its an amazing fragrance. It reminds me of my old town's barbershop. Go figure. Only draw back is that it does not last long. Update: A testament to the power of fragrance to enhance your mood. We are heading for another suffocating summer in South Florida. This juice will make you feel clean, fresh, sophisticated but in a very relaxed way. Whereas Guerlain's vetiver make you feel sophisticated and dressed up, Carven's makes you feel relaxed, at ease, with comfort clothes on a weekend. Smell great my friends.

I like this very much, for the money, it's a very nice fragrance. The opening is very good, it's clean and fresh, a very bright citrus. Once that settles, the Vetiver comes through strongly, it is excellent. On my skin this one becomes very earthy, almost muddy vetiver, it's so good. I think this one would be great for spring, particularly those fresh, damp spring mornings, sillage was a bit soft after about half an hour, longevity was just over three hours. If I'm honest, I would say the Guerlain Vetiver is the better fragrance, definitely in terms of performance, but this one isn't far off.

Hate to say this, because I am huge fan of Carven scents. I've worn their Vetiver in all its different bottles over the years ( apart from the original).I find this, just plain unpleasant. Screeching on application and it retains that quality right through to the drydown which is really unusual for this house. In this aspect it reminds me of Malone's Basil & Mandarin thing, very wearing, like an attention seeking person at a party. The light wood top bottle, the grey wood top, & the green tinged glass bottle were all wonderful. I got a sample, but won't be buying a bottle.

To my nose, it's basically Guerlain Vetiver without the tobacco....decent vetiver product. If you own Guerlain, Tom Ford, or Creed vetivers, no need for this one....Update: Carven utilizes the absolute worst spray mechanisms in the industry! After 2 weeks the sprayer failed exactly as it did with a bottle of LeVetiver I owned in the recent past.

If you have enough patience and curiosity, you can find in this bottle the most sophisticated vetiver ever made. The opening is a bit harsh and dated like you're opening a pharmacy box. Typical cliché of the old professors perfume. After one hour: happiness litteraly comes... Luxurious soap from an aristocratic era. So gorgeous and cozy.

I was really excited to try this as I love vetiver and I really liked Carven’s Le Vetiver. This one died on me. I can barely smell it and what I did smell was too high-key for me. The Le Vetiver is a more robust experience. Shame because I also love the bottle design and I have Carven’s Eau Intense, so I wanted to get this one to match.

Gorgeous. Not many men's fragrances I will wear but this is one of them. Once I get past the admittedly rather sharp opening, it dries down to a very calming initially citrus-based thereafter creamy vetiver. An intelligent fragrance that is both mood lifting and understated.

I like it but it does smell like raid roach spray then it turns into something amazing mostly for a older gentleman.

Every 3 or 4 years they decide to change the bottle. Do they also change the formula ? Nobody knows.

It doesnt last long but when you think its gone it mysteriously appears.

Smells greener than The One before. I like it.

Stale soy sauce...that's all. 😝