Le Vetiver

This is a nice vetiver for sure! I got this as part of my vetiver-exploration a while back and I am not regretting it. Le Vetiver opens in an explosion of citrusy vetiver with a warm spicy touch. I get vetiver, citrus, mint and green notes. The vetiver is very strong right from the start and the accord could be described as very aggressive, or harsh even. I personally like the opening but it's not something I'd want to wear as a scent, some people might take offense. Once the dry-down starts, so does the magic. This gem transforms from a harsh and pungent vetiver to something a lot more (generally) agreeable and sweet. A spicy, or peppery even, and green vetiver accord with hints of mint hits next. I get some labdanum and more sweetness together with musky soapiness. But it must be said that the blend is very subtle and the fragrance is an accomplished accord rather than a number of notes. The blend is tight, reigning in the individual notes, even the strong ones, and creating a very nice harmony. The soapiness is really clean and nice but not in a powdery gung-ho-barbershop way, rather a well groomed and manly, spicy, and woody way. When I first smelled this I immediately knew I had smelled it before, but not where. I guess someone my parents socialized with wore it in the 70/80's. It is not a modern or commercial smell in any way but neither an old smell (though it does have a quaint Old Spice quality). I'd say classic or just settle for timeless masculine. Delivery in terms of bottle was very nice as stated below. The only thing I was disappointed with was the cap of the atomizer/sprayer, very loose and wobbly which makes for the occasional squirt instead of spray.

I love Oud, Musk and Patchouli. I kind of also like the Vetiver note if it is well blended to produce certain types of fragrances, in particular dark fragrances. "Le Vetiver de Carven" is a bright, almost fresh, old school Vetiver fragrance. I should not like it, but I LOVE IT. The opening is bitter fresh, a bit flowerly, not zesty, and gives you a feeling of cleanliness. The fragrance then evolves with boozy pepperish patchouli notes, surrounded with an omnipresent Vetiver. The dry down is very pleasant. You still get the omnipresent Vetiver but in a more balsamic and musky environment. Nice performance with 2 hours projection, more than an arm lenght sillage in its peak, and a longevity of 8+ hours. Let us see what the maths tell us about this EDT: Scent opening: 8.0 (my judgement) Scent dry down: 8.0 (my judgement) Longevity: 8.0 (average for the existing notes) Sillage: 8.0 (same as longevity) Uniqueness: 7.5 (ther are more than a couple similar fragrances, although not as fresh as this one) Wearability: 8.5 (Summer, Autumn, Spring, Night and Day) Versatility: 7.5 (yes to socializing, events, restaurants, and office type of situations) Quality: 8.5 (my judgement) Presentation: 6.0 (simple and very old school bottle, not tacky; good sprayer) Price: 10.0 (100 ml for $13.99 + VAT) Overall rating for this fragrance: 8.00/10.00 Do I recomend it? Absolutely, in particular to Vetiver scent fans which is not my case.

As others have mentioned, Le Vetiver is just a really fine soapy-fresh vetiver fragrance that I find perfect for the office or professional settings. It's backed with a perfect amount of citrus and minty aromatic tones, and is more of a grassy vetiver with some mild earthy tones. So Le Vetiver is likely to please both the vetiver lovers and vetiver haters out there, so well-done! I stumbled across Le Vetiver in the Spring 2016 and couldn't resit buying a bottle: 1) because I was big fan of Carven Homme, 2) big fan of vetiver scents and 3) it was something like $22 per 100ml so not much to lose. It's a steal at twice the price IMO. So now the confusion...I have Carven Vetiver (original, but post 1997 formulation), Carven Le Vetiver (smells much more like the original 1957 formulation that I've smelled), and now Carven Vetiver (2014 re-launch) that smells quite similar to Le Vetiver so I can only assume this fragrance has been discontinued, but I am not certain. Regardless, if you enjoy these kinds of aromatic-fresh vetiver scents then pickup a bottle of Le Vetiver if you find it on the cheap. Otherwise, Carven Vetiver (2014) will do just fine because it is very, very similar IMO. Carven Le Vetiver is the scent of a Gentleman.

Bought recently,and didn't know quite what to expect. I'm a great fan of the predecessor to this, and have read many reviews regretting those formulations.I've never experienced the original 'vintage' scent so can only compare it to the 'modern' equivalents. This is very much a parfum in the initial opening, richly citric and with that underlying strength which differentiates it from weaker Eaus, colognes etc. I'm not skilled at recognising combinations of notes and accords, but do get mint and gin along with orange. The citrus opening fades (a little too quickly for my liking-I would have preferred it to hang around a bit longer) and dries down to a smooth and subtle vetiver/labdanum base. I find it settles as 'green'.My skin usually holds scent well and a good spray of this lasted for several hours on me. Beautiful box, typical Carven combination of white and green, which given Carven's habit of changing their boxes/bottles with unecessary frequency, will probably be very collectable in 10 yrs time. It's not a young scent, very grown up and assured. A success I think.

Do not be fooled by the low price of this masterpiece ! As opposed to most other vetivers, which are a little brash and stingy, Carven's is smooth, almost creamy, with just hint of sweetness. Opening with citrus/orange and a minty gin note, going through a lovely heart of geranium, vetiver and labdanum while the drydown with its patchouli gives off a great woody and slightly soapy base. If you're a fan of Guerlain's Vetiver, but would like a lighter, sweeter and more casual version this is an excellent alternative. Some people say that this is discontinued, if so you should grab this one ASAP 'cause you'll have a hard time finding a scent that is more perfect for office settings or for a casual spring day.

I really enjoy the longevity and the fact that the scent is not invading. You register it just occasionally like to remind you that it is still on. The same about when you move. It is like lightly registered, and then comes a compliment. Unassuming, yet there. On that note, one has to spray quite a lot to achieve this, because if you put just few sprays, it will go disappear quickly. Then there is the scent. Yes, there is vetiver, but unlike other vetivers, this one is strongly blended, and well-blended. Musk is prominent and so is the blend of spices and flowers. Vetiver is kind of in between. A good solution to a scent that I can wear during a day and don't need to think whether it will work or not.

Not a typical vetiver fragrance that are usually herbal, very green and little rough on the edges. Le Vetiver is extremely smooth, little creamy with some woods and touch of musk. Leans masculine but I'm sure some will call it unisex. Longevity is decent at 3 to 5 hours which is what I usually get on my skin with EDT's except for a few powerhouses. Best of all, it's totally unique from anything else in my 200+ fragrance collection. I blind bought it and was a bit worried it was going to be similar to a Fragrance I already have but luckily that wasn't the case. Ideal for rainy spring or summer days. It's not my favorite but I enjoy it a lot and make sure I wear it 2 to 3 times a year.

I really love this scent but when I found out it was discontinued I got a sample of the newer Carven Vetiver, but I found the two scents to be very different. The Le Vetiver has a much heavier woody undertone and the new Vetiver is very faint and airy. Le Vetiver even reminds me of Encre Noir a l’extreme, but like a more cheerful summer version of that. I was able to find 1.6 oz of this for $35, which was a great deal.

I'm testing both Carven LV and the 16D01 batch of Aventus simultaneously, and after four hours CLV is holding it's own in regards to projection and longevity. Someone opined that CLV is a poor man's Fredric Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire - and I can almost see that - but CLV is by no means a slouch. Good quality juice with good performance, imho.

This is my favorite vetiver fragrance, period! All of the Carvens are wonderful and unique, but this is the very best of the lot. Stands toe to toe with the great Givenchy Vetyver. A very masculine woody scent that lasts long enough, and never shouts. Great stuff! Thumbs up!!!

I didn't know what to think of this at first, I've never experienced Vetiver before. I liked it, then I didn't like it. Now the more I wear it the more I love this beautiful creation! It's one of my favorite fragrances now. Absolutely beautiful scent. 9/10.

A very bold and sensual take on Vetiver. Very sexy, very ballsy creation by Carven. This one will be missed. They should bring this one back.

So... I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here, but wanted to give my 2 cents. In the opening, you'll get a nice blast of gin. Much better than the usual blast of neutral alcohol, but no need to speak for hours about it since it vanishes within the first minutes after spraying. It then leaves the place to a harsh synthetic lemon, that I formally dislike! Slowly, it transform into a decent mandarine orange. The problem is that I wasnt looking for a lemon-mandarin fragrance... As Rousseau said: "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet." It is the case here. Indeed after 30min, the mandarin-orange leaves place to the geranium, patchouli and a citrusy green vetiver in the background (vaguely reminds me of Mugler Cologne). This is when this fragrance starts shining: the drydown! The geranium and the patchouli become subtle, the citrus note disappears and leaves place to Mr powerful bitter-earthy vetiver (worth the wait!) supported by a flower-ish background (what people qualify of creamy/soapy): heaven on planet Earth! (drydown is very similar to Guerlain's vetiver) Some people qualify this scent of "mature" due to the geranium-patchouli middle notes, but they diasappears after an hour, and anyways I like it, but I agree that this is a not a frag for teens. Performance is below average for an EDP in my opinion (low projection, be ready to shoot 10-15 sprays!) but given the low price point, that s not an issue ($15/20 for 50ml). One really bad point though: the sprayer sucks, and broke the first time I took the cap off, confirming what others said. Aside of that, I will say that I love this blind buy (focusing on the drydown, the opening is average at best). Not for vetiver beginners though. Overall Carven Le Vetiver is a complex juice, that has several facets. Probably not my favorite, but for sure one of the most unique. Spring, daytime, 30+

A soapy, clean "gentlemans" vetiver, unlike the darker modernism of something like Encre Noir. I must admit that overall, I am not a huge vetiver fan. There is nothing particularly offensive about the note, but to me it was always a really weak "green" note: diffuse, hazy, powdery. In the face of stronger green aromatics like cypress, pine, basil, tarragon, and the like, vetiver pales in comparison. However, it does have a classic, almost barbershop feel and this is why it is considered a fresh note. Le Vetiver does start off with a huge citrus blast, along with a very tart, astringent feel from the powerhouse geranium note. Once these settle into the rest of the fragrance, we have something immediately familiar; the classic gentlemans fougere. Here it is tweaked to the bitter green side, courtesy of geranium and wormwood. The vetiver is fully present as well, as the diffuse green under the sharper green of those two notes. I cant personally pick out anything as specific as labdanum, musk, sandalwood, and patchouli, so they are all the way down, tightly blended into the hazy base. As the fragrance dies down, it gradually becomes softer, rounder, and more diffuse. The tartness remains, but the hazier facets of the base elements emerge. Longevity is good, 8-10 hours with four sprays. Projection is moderate. Overall, this isn't a modern masterpiece or a game changer, but it is a great choice for an office fragrance, a year round workhorse, or even a signature. It's cheap, performs well, and avoids the common detergent tropes of modern "fresh" men's perfumes. At $20 for a 100ml EDP, you really cant go wrong with this if you are at all a vetiver, green, or fresh fragrances fan.

Quite the interesting vetiver! A bit of confusion with the product...this review is for Le Vetiver (white bottle, gray lettering) and NOT Carven Vetiver, which is a green bottle affair. As a fan of Guerlain Vetiver, everything with the word 'vetiver' is compared to the Guerlain classic. Le Vetiver scores high! The vetiver note (to me a bitter-green refreshing note) is obvious in Le Vetiver. The big difference is Le Vetiver has a creamy/soapy vibe to it..quite delightful and relaxing. Longevity is about 3 hours on my skin (I have fragrance-eating skin so 3 hours is a blessing). Dries down beautifully and becomes a delightful skin scent. Wonderful during Spring, day or evening, although not a formal scent. Couldn't imagine wearing this any other time. One strange downside...although having nothing to do with the fragrance....the spray mechanism is horrible. It broke off attempting to remove the cover of the bottle...never fit back into place properly. Attention Carven...fix it! Thumbs up on this one!

If fragrance had color, Carven le Vetiver would be a brilliant emerald green. In fact, this is just about the greenest thing I’ve ever smelled. Green vetiver, absinthe, mint, patchouli... it almost smells astringent, sharp, even medicinal. These top notes are persistent and last a while, but the whole time, one gets a sense that there is something else lurking beneath all this foliage, patiently biding its time until it can reveal itself. Finally, a clean, somewhat retro-style fragrance settles in, masculine, clean, and quite bracing. This smells closer to an old school shaving product, hair creme, or after shave than a cologne. It’s such an interesting, even compelling fragrance. I want to keep smelling it when I wear it, even if just because it is so different than anything else I own. Manly old school stuff!

Thank you to Gent Scents for recommending this one. I am not a vetiver junkie by any means although Encre Noire is one of my favorites, but I really like this one. The vetiver in this fragrance is much greener than EN and this, with the combination of the other notes, does give it an old world vibe. Some may take this vibe and read it as "mature" or "old man", but I'll stick to "old world"/"old school". retro not senior. as an eau de Parfum, I expected longer longevity. I stop smelling it after a couple of hours. Weirdly, I will get random whiffs for some time later. A good buy

Vetiver, to me, is an earth-like odour that connects with nature and particularly the woody and watery areas, which is why it's a fitting and a personal choice for nearly every situation for me. This one is nicely balanced mixture of fruits and vegetables in which vetiver settles with playing the main character while leaving room for other notes. It's fresh and flowery; I can pick orange peeling, lavender, patchouli, some minor spices and musk. Perhaps not the best Vetiver ever, but for what you pay for the choice is easy. Thumbs up to Carven.

Just trying a sample of this now and am surprised to find that this vetiver is green, yes but also soapy clean and creamy on me (perhaps the sandalwood?) - it would seem by the reviews that I am alone in this but whatever, it is lovely and soft on me and unless the friend who gifted me the sample requires it back, I will be using it all up wearing it to work tomorrow (and no, I am not a man but this works very nicely on me!).

Boozy, green and soapy fresh. So good. I think it is masculine, maybe a little old school, and fantastic. But as others have said, the sprayer is terrible. The top of my sprayer came off the first time I opened the bottle and it takes a lot to get it going. I’m thinking of decanting it. If you like vetiver I think this one is a must try.