Vetiver

I'm a big fan of vetiver fragrances and have been eyeing this one for the past year or two, but I didn't plan on picking-up a bottle until this coming Spring. However, one of the mall fragrances stores was going-out-of-business so I picked-up a 100ml bottle because it was actually a few bucks less than the discount sites. I knew that I would like this fragrance based on the notes pyramid, but I loved it from first spray: vetiver, lemony-citrus, myrrh and all sorts of well-blended aromatic, herbal, woody and mossy accords. To me, the guy driving the Guerlain Vetiver truck ran into the guy delivering Monsieur de Givenchy. I detect some lighter reminders of that terrific Guerlain Vetiver along with some really nice citrus, herbal and aromatic tones. It's really a nice gentleman's vetiver scent perfect for the office of in relaxed casual settings. Although it has been cold outdoors, its performance seems moderate; lasts 5-hours on my skin and the scent bubble doesn't get out-of-control. I'll update my review, if needed, when I wear this fragrance over the Spring and Summer months. Finally, I find Carven Vetiver to be a solid citrus-aromatic-herbal type vetiver scent, which Guerlain Vetiver fans should appreciate, and folks who find GV to be a bit too grassy may actually like this one. It's worth taking a sniff. Update: my review was for the 2008 version since I haven't been able to find one with the wooden cap. I've had an opportunity to wear this fragrance during the Spring-Summer months and I'm getting 5-6 hours of longevity and the scent still remains pretty close to my skin. Moreover, I picked-up a bottle of Carven Le Vetiver (which is supposed to be more closely aligned with the 1957 release) and I like that even more. All-in-all, Carven Vetiver and Le Vetiver are excellent Spring-Summer scents for the gentleman.

THIS is the vetiver for which I have been searching for nearly thirty years! I am so happy to have finally found it. I am really fond of vetiver and have a number of different EO vials and maybe six or seven different vetiver frags which I've picked up over the years, all in the hopes of rediscovering this one. I was waiting tables while a college student, and one night the owner of a local men's boutique came in with his wife for dinner. While standing near him to take his order I surprised myself by directly asking him what the fragrance was he was wearing. It was wonderful -- sophisticated and heady, and it matched his elegant attire to a T. If I closed my eyes and tried to visualize what I was smelling, I pictured those swirling and swaying curves and lines in Art Nouveau lettering and design. In my search for this fragrance over the years I have found a few that came close to it in how I experienced it that first time (the most notable being Creed's Vetiver -- the older one, not Original Vetiver, which I also have). I am over the moon to have discovered this after all of these years. It's so simple, and so wonderful in its simplicity. Yes, please.

Nice floral/resin rendition of vetiver, really fresh and ambery. This perfume seems to go through several distinct phases. First it's a fresh spritzy citrus, like you cut a lemon and squeezed it, then a sort of balled up resinous vegital smell appears which quickly unfolds into an herbal ambery floral vetiver. The vetiver is at it's strongest at this point and shines through the middle of the perfume when florals start coming up, then later the sweetish amber becomes more dominant and a spicy sandalwood comes through and continues along nicely with the sweet amber. Nice for the summer and warm weather, it is very fresh, not spicy or smokey. This one is resiny, sandalwoody, and some floral tang. Actually it can be a little smokey, since it is vetiver. It is excellent for the summer, and in the evening too. Overall a very fresh nice vetiver, not spicy and rough like the Guerlain, but I also like the Guerlain, it has a tobacco scent in it, and more focused on green green green and spice. This one is smoother, ambery, and very complex with florals and soft spicy woods and resin. I think I might like this carven vetiver better.

I really like this complex vetiver fragrance. For me it is a crisp lemon, quickly followed by an unfolding resinous scent, after a bit it transitions into a floral aspect, and finally turns into a sandalwoody ambery base. It is a very fresh one to wear in the summer, since it does not become heavy. at the same time, it is not a spicy fragrance. but it is a bit spicy fragrance. it also has a bitterness. it can get a bit smoky on occassion from the vetiver. for me the vetiver is in there in the mid predominently it is smellt, but all around in this fragrance there are various other nice contrasting and complimenting aspects. I actually found a tester, 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: cedarwood, vetiver, styrax, amber, musk

I actually have all 3 versions - the vintage bottle with the green swirl "C" cap; the rectangular bottle with the wooden cap; and the newest version that comes in the white box, with a nearly square, very heavy clear bottle with a clear plastic cap. I love them all, but my favorite is actually the newest version, which has a fantastic, slightly sharp, fresh citrus opening, which settles rather quickly into a faintly leathery vetiver dry down. After the first 10 minutes or so, it's a very close-to-the-skin scent, which I don't mind a bit, and it's certainly one of my favorites. It's not very expensive, either. (I especially love it right after a shower - it feels so light and clean.) I don't think you'd go wrong with any version of this very classic scent. Fantastic.