Vetiver

The best opening (ex-aequo with Hermes Bel-Ami Vetiver) over 30+ vetivers-centered fragrances that I had the chance to smell. Smoky, earthy, a dark grey sensation. The opening reminded me of Encre Noire's opening, but this one is definitely a step higher in terms of quality, less rough, but still very sharp. Shortly after, a roasted nutty note appears, trying to round the vetiver, but the vetiver resists and refuses to leave the stage, signing the start of a dance, or should I say: a duel. This is the vetiver fragrance that stays the closest to pure vetiver oil, that I've smelt until now. Etro's vetiver&nut duo shares strong similarities with Givenchy Vetyver, with the latter being slightly more polite, and Etro's being slightly wilder. Unlike Givenchy's there's no (or very little) citrus in this one. The drydown is similar to Guerlain Vetiver, with a noticeable tobacco note. Unfortunately, I have to confirm what has been stated in previous comments, in that Etro Vetiver also shares similarities with Givenchy's in terms of low performance. That makes it miss the masterpiece title: too bad because - like for Zegna Haitian Vetiver - I can clearly feel that Etro's plays in the niche league, but given their higher price point compared to other vetivers (Guerlain, Lalique, Givenchy, Carven...), performance issues are hardly forgivable. While Givenchy's low projection is a good point for wearing it at work, the smokiness of Etro's makes it quite earthy and dirty, and thus - imo - is not office safe. (That said, if you're used to wear Encre Noire at work, you should also feel comfortable with Etro) Despite that, I'm in love with this beautiful blend, and I suggest to well hydrate the skin before spraying (unscented aftershave, or Etro Vetiver aftershave), or simply re-spray 5 min after the first application. Would I recommend it? Given the price, yes, but only to vetiver nerds like myself. Otherwise, there are great very similar options out there for half or a third of the price. For colder Spring and Fall days, 30+. Edit: if I have to compare the evolution of this one with other fragrances, I would say: Top: Lalique Encre Noire a' l'Extreme Heart: Givenchy Vetyver Base: Guerlain Vetiver Late drydown: ELdO Fat Electrician If I had to compare to just one? Givenchy Vetyver.

When first I inhaled this scent, I connected with it in a primitive fashion. This is the scent of the Romans of the Old Republic, before the Empire's pomp and debauchery. It spoke to me across the eons of time immemorial. Wearing it amongst the subhuman Trogdalytes of London's Underground system I could smell my own feral aroma...how Roman...how Romantic.. but wait! Was it perhaps too much hay? Too pungent? Too acrid, dry and unforgiving? Suddenly a panic gripped me - had I in fact paid £89 for 100mls of a cologne that was reminiscent of hay and saw dust saturated with rat's urine in countless cages of pink eyed rodents in some University laboratory? My worst fears were allayed when I arrived at work and in a bloody minded determination to overcome my fear of rats pee pheromone cologne, I sprayed two bursts to my jugular...and then.. from across the arid waste of our open plan office, my female colleague exclaimed "that smells absolutely amazing!" Roma Invicta... Yesssss...This was the scent of a Roman who spends his summers campaigning in the legion to return home and tend to his horses, his familia, his land. A time when men were men, albeit in rustic tunics. Towering cedar, dry and rugged, its needles sweating oil in the hot Roman sun. A breeze rises from the Mediterranean, the warm wind dragging its fingers through the wild bushes of clary sage and across the fields. Deep damp Italian earth, leathery tobacco, cloying and close to the skin. Vetiver like the very roots of the land, a grassy pungency that fills the nostrils like oxen under the yoke, straw and hay broken and bleeding into the clods of herbaceous soil, the most manly reek of the land. A land of horses, hay, clay and sage, cedar trees and a warm salty breeze. Not a land of rodents breeding in pitch black, cold urine soaked warrens. Ahhhh time to book another Roman Holiday...

I just got a vintage version of gold cap. And was thinking to buy the newest version with silver cap, but anyway, I am going to enjoy the experience without spending extra money just to keep the vintage collection.......such a nice opening and inmadiate vetiver raw oil scent. Oh my goodness it is going to beat down my other favorite Vetiver fragrances. But it seems that it is a EdC version, the longevity will stay where it should be. My favorite ones might still be Sultan Vetiver (Nishane), Vetiver Royal Bourbon (Oriza L. Legrand) and Fat Electrician (ELDO). The Clary Sage opens wonderfully with Artemisia green note, acompanied by Bergamot and Petitgrain. That's nice. And there's huge amount of Vetiver supported by Tobacco leaves and Amber accord. And finally, it becomes musky, just like the musky Vetiver from Parfum d'empire (Bourbon Vetiver), which opens with a lot of musk scent from the beginning to the end and is not my style It seems to lineal to me all the time. This one, Etro Vetiver brings me a great lovely journey. That's so nice. Won't spray anymore until I get the new version with silver cap just to keep this vintage version with gold cap forever ^^. Surprising discovery!!! The sillage is very low and longevity is like Fat Electrician they are both weak projecting perfumes which can be for self enjoyment and for intimate partner. If I want to buy more, would wait for more discount to purchase it because the retail price dose not match it's performance, says it's name already EdC (vintage)/EdT (new one) If one wants projection: Sultan Vetiver, Hemingway (Masque Milano), Hiram green Vetiver and Vetiver Royal Bourbon will serve much better.

Last month I was visiting Italy and came upon a selection of Etro fragrances at a little shop. I sniffed several, but Vetiver was easily my favorite. At the time, though I loved the scent, I thought I could live without something that essentially smelled like single-note vetiver. I considered the fact that I had other scents with strong vetiver notes, and I left it on the shelf. But it's been haunting my dreams ever since, and I am giving serious consideration to hunting some down. Vetiver by Etro is simply a perfect vetiver. It is exceptionally earthy. Not too clean, yet not dank. Not overly smoky, nor grassy. The supporting notes are just there to enhance the vetiver, playing off of the natural nuances of the note. Cypress is the most detectable of those. It is a very earthy, woody, dry scent, and even, as others have said, stark. No frills, no padding, nothing to try to make it more accessible to those who aren't in love with vetiver. Very masculine. When I smelled this, I felt that it smelled precisely like vetiver was meant to smell, just stripped of all the baggage that often accompanies it in perfume. And that's probably the biggest reason it didn't come home with me that day. It was so natural, so effortless that I mistook it for "simple." I expected all vetivers to live up to this standard. Yet when I got back to my collection, none of them quite did. None of them satisfy that craving for this pure, dry, earthy, and wholly unpretentious vetiver.

This seems to have all the best bits of vetiver as I've experienced in other vetivers, all present together, in just the right amounts. Maybe this is what plain old vetiver smells like, without being overly adorned with either lemons, tobacco, cypress, hazelnuts or coriander - yet little pieces of all of them. I get some of the damp rootiness of Encre Noire, but slightly reining in the dark, damp inkyness and piney-cypress; some of the bright opening of Guerlain or even Tom Ford, but without anywhere near close to the citrus of either, or as much of the musty carnation/tobacco of Guerlain; and some of the nuttiness that is highlighted in Hermessence Vetiver Tonka. It feels linear but complex. As others have said, it's most similar to Givenchy's but isn't as dry and 'austere' (I quote someone else -possibly Luca Turin). It certainly doesn't have the coriander note to deviate over into curry territory (which scared the heck out of me when I blind bought the Givenchy). I'm sure it would work in most of Spring and Autumn quite easily; I wore the Etro on a wet spring day. In short, this is great. I must buy another sample, just to make sure it's worth buying and replacing Guerlain and Tom Ford. Edit: I may check the longevity most of all.

There are so many fragrance variants on the vetiver note, one can get disoriented in exploring it. There are easy going (Chopard Noble Vetiver, Etro Shaal Nur) and challenging ones (Jovoy Paris Private Label, Annick Goutal Vetiver), then the rest that fall somewhere in between. Sometimes the vetiver is prominent and strong, other times it is surrounded by a particular group of supporting notes that can even compete for attention. Etro Vetiver is unmistakably vetiver, far from sweet and rather salty. Colin Maillard pretty much summed it up for me. I sampled Annick Goutal's vetiver and found it too challenging. Interesting in of itself, but hard to wear. Etro Vetiver starts out similarly, but then softens with a wonderful salty and earthy accord that is almost marine like. Etro's staying power falls a little shorter than I'd like, but given the composition I'm just happy to have it. There have been a few different bottling variants, the most notable going from gold cap to silver cap. I have no idea if there was a reformulation--I hope not! Fragrance: 9.1, Longevity: 7, Value: 8.9

Have just bought also the newest version (Eau de Toilette, with silver cap, lighter juice). And I compared it with the the old version (Eau de Cologne, with golden cap, darker juice). They are very similar but still exist differences. I detect much more tabaco and amber note in the old version and more fresh notes like all the opening notes and cypress/cedar. Maybe due to the reformation or, another theory is that the old one losses the fresh notes, which manifest/let out much more base notes with aging. Since they are EdT/EdC, they become skin scent after 2 hours. There are wonderful opening and a lot of natural vetiver, it smells Vetiver of quality. That all.

This is undoubtedly a vetiver-oriented scent, and quality at that. It bears more than just the clean but earthy, fresh, masculine accord(s) we might expect -- maybe that's why they market it as unisex. There's an effervescence about it, a heady gin booziness. I get licorice in its opening and a little in its drydown too. Although its price is a little higher, and its performance is a little lower, than I'd like this is a nice, sophisticated, slightly more-complex-than-simple, non-overbearing "Grade A" vetiver scent that is still above average on every level.

This is the first niche fragrance I purchased when I arrived in Paris 5 years ago. I didn't know anything about Etro, I was just passing by their boutique (they were really nice) and saw they had a perfume collection. I completely fell in love with Vetiver, and today it is still my absolute favourite vetiver perfume! This vetiver is so raw, very close to the actual root, and quite peppery and spicy. Unfortunately on my skin it doesn't last long and the scent quickly loses its sharpness and earthiness, but I bet on a man this would smell divine.

If what you like about vetiver is the rooty, smoky aspect, you will love this one. That part of the vetiver is up front and center. In most other vetiver offerings I've tried, the rootiness and smokiness that I enjoy so much tend to be subtle and nuanced. Not so here. This is an earthy, masculine fragrance. It's a nice departure from the typical soapy, green vetivers out there.

A beautifully dark roasted rich vetiver. It's a full and singular blend. There's a hint of bitter tannins, wood tar. Cedar gives it a slight sweetness. I don't detect any of the other notes. To me it's a comforting and calming scent. It stays close to the skin.

Outstanding vetiver. Very profound, dense, tantalizing and somewhat enigmatic like a fabulous, mythical wood. Good in summer on sweating skin. Also it is fine in breezy days. Definitely masculine.

Nice. Herbal. It smells exactly like garden angelica leaves and crushed green seeds (Angelica archangelica) + peanuts note (in the beginning).

It's like a tropical greenhouse. Fresh green plants, citrus, bergamot, wet earth. Lovely lovely smell.

I nearly got rid of this one a few times when I was pruning the collection. I'm not as experienced with dirty vetivers as with clean ones, so the Etro is a bit of a challenge. Right from the start, this vetiver is mustier and nuttier than others, a bit like the Floris. The top notes are extremely alcoholic, sharp and dirty, and give me a sense of freshly bruised leaves and stems...not necessarily of vetiver itself, but just the general smashed foliage of childhood, playing in the bushes. Here, the sweet barkyness almost reminds me of Burberry London, aided by the heavy dose of cinnamon dirt. Like Polo Modern Reserve, it seems to have started out as a summer scent for the first few minutes, and drifted toward being a winter scent, with earthy, spicy, moist wood. Thankfully, it's _way_ more natural than any of the He Wood series, and the sour cigarette component which bothers me in the base of the Floris doesn't last much past the opening of the Etro. The best comparison I can think of is another summer/winter overlapper: l'Occitane's sweet, woody vetiver; Etro is the dirty side and l'Occitane is the clean side of the same coin.

On my skin this vetiver smells almost entirely of licorice. I like licorice, but I don't want to smell like it.

I picked up a sample of this based on the glowing reviews here. I love vetiver. On me, this smells like a Little Debbie Nutty Bar that's been scorched and dropped on the ground.

My wife gave me her prized vintage gold cap(!) bottle to try, and it's disgusting. The first few herbal notes are quickly gone, and then it smells like you tried to fry something in unrefined seed oil, the one you should only put in your salad dressing. Maybe that's what people call a deep roasted flavor, but I prefer my vetivers herbal/woody.

This is a great vetiver. It has a wonderfully burnt yet wet quality that makes this seem not so much like a fragrance to be worn in autumn, but a fragrance that smells of autumn. It smells like dried, fallen tree leaves that have been rained on, plus burnt cedar logs that have been doused by the same rain. Etro’s Vetiver has a very strong opening. The vetiver has the scent of real dried vetiver roots, and gives me that feeling of smelling soil in an small, enclosed space. It makes me take shallow breaths as if the scent is dry like cold winter air and will chap my mucous membranes if I inhale too quickly. It’s very visceral in this regard. This is a stark vetiver. Not a fresh vetiver by a long shot. No citrus, no marine notes. The woody, rooty vetiver is perfectly matched by a combination of saccharine licorice root and dry, dry woody cedar. These two elements actually mimic an aspect of vetiver and reinforce the principal vetiver note. Vetiver overload! I love it! Over time it becomes more wood than root, and the cedar dominates the drydown.

With a remarkable opening that is tart, bright, green and grassy, Etro Vetiver is one of the most joyful and well-rounded vetivers I've encountered. The wet earth/humus is there, but it is balanced with so many other facets of vetiver than make it such a captivating note: It also showcases its verdant, wild nature, and the nutty, woodier shades. The opening has this bergamot and petitgrain that enhances the citric, sharper aspect, while clary sage fleshes out its aromatic nature. I agree with Wolfe Tone: this does truly evoke a tropical greenhouse. A humidity, a loamy feel, leaves and roots, sun and dew from condensation. Further in its development, the bright, wet quality evaporates somewhat, becoming somewhat woodier and drier, and finally the smokier characteristic of vetiver is accompanied by a dry tobacco leaf in the base. Etro Vetiver doesn't scream and beg for attention; it is more a come hither vetiver, and I do think those kinds are the most sensual and compelling, really augmenting one's own skin.

"Etro's Ground" **** All Etro perfumes I tried so far were distinguished. Messe de Minuit is the better patchouli I have; Palais Jamais is timeless and exquisite; and finally Vetiver. What to say more? Reviewers below said it all already, so I'll just add that if there is a vetiver that fixes me to the ground, this is it. Absolutely perfect. Etro, 20 years ago, created several masterpieces. I know 3 at least.

An excellent vetiver of many faces - anisic, coniferous, smoky, deeply earthy. And then there's a weird, and yet addictive, caramelized sweetness that brings this multidimensional vetiver to a happy end. I am not a huge fan of vetivers, but this one is right there with Encre Noire and Givenchy's as the best vetivers i have. ****(*)

Another great vetiver to add to the huge list of great vetivers. If you like it smoky, woody, earthy, kinda rough and solidly crafted, go ahead! Good work! The bonimial smoky + licorice makes of Etro's Vetiver on of the best alteratives to the always harder to find vintage MPG's Route Du Vetiver. Rating: 8/10

Vetiver (ETRO) is one of the best vetiver scent, I think so. This is a very fresh vetiver, without any trace of citrus, deeply woody and intense. It is long lasting on my husband`s skin - always present and never harsh. I see it as better suited for a man.

this one is the earthy vetiver, it's exactly like the Turtle Vetiver Back by Les Nez. very rooti. but be aware the top note smells awfully like urine, but when it calms it brings the earthy vetiver which few people call it dirty vetiver.

The cognac overtones are overpowering in my opinion. I love Etro’s quality but I find this smells better on fine furniture than on people. I prefer Guerlain’s less alcoholic take on Vetiver

Notes from a group smell session: felt-tip marker, waxy paper bag, a paper bag with no food in it and it's sunny outside, incense, leather, earth.

Etro Vetiver is the best "earthy" and authentic vetiver than the others. Despite everything,I always love Guerlain Vetiver!

I am not a big fan of vetiver, but this vetiver is lovely..... not sharp and offensive . Love it !