Les Parfums Mythiques - Vetyver

The Les Parfums Mythiques - Vetyver by Givenchy bottling is a fantastic and exemplary scent that pays homage to the original creation, Eau de Vetyver in 1959 by Hubert de Givenchy. I have and know the original bottle - pristine & stored away (it is divine!) My review for that is on its own page - where it belongs. For wear, I bought this with a lot of hope after discussing it with people who have wonderful noses and a deep passion for vetiver, as do I. I've actually had this in my collection for a while, but held off writing a review, yet I adore it...so, it was only a matter of time. I have pointed several people to it as a truly exceptional vetiver that stays in the classic realm - yet is gorgeous & timeless. In the modern world of reformulation and with Givenchy's line of Les Parfums Mythiques having some bottles fall way short of their original juice (Xeryus, for example)...one must be selective and judge each bottle on its own merit. Vetyver shows incredibly well - elegant, refined and with the classic four-note composition. The splash of bergamot on top is wonderful - not too loud, but crisp and inviting. No bitters, just a nice squeeze of juice that refreshes with nice vibrant, sharp vetiver showing immediately upon application (not dark or brooding - this is beautiful, rich, and very green vetiver!) With the bergamot, it is slightly "wet" and very fresh - even a touch "rooty". Please note, this is a true vetiver composition - which will show as the dominant note throughout (from the moment it leaves the atomizer and hits your skin), vetiver is the absolute focal point. It is simply accented by the three other notes in the top, heart and base - but done so well. The coriander is a very key note in the heart, adding a nice earthy and wonderful spice to the composition. The vetiver gets a little drier at this point as the bergamot fades away and the famous "nutty" vibe begins to emerge. Still a radiant green, but slowly drying on your skin...the vetiver dusted by the coriander allows you to smell the earthiness of the root. The "nutty" vibe is different from other famous bottles and I will refrain from comparison. I will say, that this is simply amazing! I, personally, love the use of coriander here and understand the historical context back to the original bottling. Very warming on the skin...it also starts to wear a bit closer - but still very good projection for a "classic" vetiver composition. A little body heat, and this radiates wonderfully - but not too loud. The is a refined composition that exemplifies, not amplifies, the vetiver and the accompaning notes to offer you three different accords. It is about balance and displaying the glorious root from its opening of radiant freshness (with bergamot) to accentuating its earthiness (with coriander) in the heart and finally its woodiness with the final note in the composition, sandalwood. Late in the heart, the coriander slowly begins to fade - the vetiver root now has the dry, slightly crunchy nutty accord. One can breathe deep and it smells like the vetiver has been laid under the hot sun to dry out the root. The rich earthiness of the root shines through, slightly accented and assisted by the deft use of the dusty coriander spice. The sandalwood enters quietly and shows us the amazing depth of the vetiver in this bottle. It is very warm and woody at this point with a hint of earthiness (which is the vetiver itself, not the coriander - that has since faded). It is distinct and very gentlemanly. The sandalwood is smooth and has a light creamy texture. This never stops projecting wonderful, rich vetiver - but what you smell in the dry down is the woody vibe that still maintains the "nutty" texture that was established before. It is so brilliant! Although the sandalwood is not loud, it blends wonderfully with the vetiver - letting it breathe on your skin for hours with a nice subtle, smooth texture with a warm, radiant glow. Some have described this as linear - but I believe it is a perfect display of balance and symmetry. This is an olfactory metaphor for the life of the plant and its glorious root - pulled out of the ground and rinsed off, lied out in the sun to dry out in a bushel and then the root separated from the plant - becoming a semi-hardened 'wood' full of precious essential oil. The vetiver in this bottle is of very high quality. The use of bergamot, coriander and sandalwood is done to perfection - letting the vetiver root shine and offering nice touches & nuances of flavor. It has confidence, poise, beauty and perfect harmony. There is never a moment during the wearing that anything feels unnatural or out-of-place...all the accords and subtleties merge into one another. It is, if I may...a classic string quartet with a virtuoso violinist supported by a 2nd wonderful violinist to offer nice bright accents (bergamot), a mid-range viola that allows the harmony & sound to fill out and offers great ambiance (coriander) and finally, a cellist (sandalwood) who delivers the warm undertones and offers fantastic foundation. Most importantly, all follow the awe-inspiring lead player - who shines above all in the spotlight, and whose name is on the marquis... "Vetyver". Near perfection. Outstanding. A truly wonderful, modern bottling of a timeless classic. Bravo!

A triumph of a fragrance that is criminally under marketed. If you skip the rest of this review that’s a fairly good summation. I started on my vetiver journey innocuously enough with Bal d’Afrique, a fragrance that has the #1 note vote of vetiver on this website that I would not really describe as a vetiver fragrance at all. I then went to everyone’s starting point of Guerlain’s offer and stopped there for quite awhile. There just aren’t that many vetiver forward fragrances readily on hand to someone who’s just sort of searching through their journey in this hobby, compounded with the fact that there are other notes that pull in someone grasping for something new much more readily than vetiver. Fast forward a few years and I went on a tear. I rediscovered the old bottles of Encre Noir/Extreme/Sport I had laying around, Chanel Sycomore, Motif Olfactif Vetu de Vert, and the ever present Tom Ford Grey Vetiver. Fantastic fragrances, but each seemed to stray on either the too dark/earthy for all day every day wear or just a bit too light. Enter Givenchy’s Vetyver. A fragrance comically difficult to have heard of or even find on Givenchy’s own website. It’s considered part of the Les Mythiques line but if you navigate through their drill down menu to the Les Mythiques section it is not listed whether you go through men’s or women’s frags. It is also not listed if you click on view all. It does however show up if you open the search function and type the actual name of the fragrance in. This is listed nowhere else on the internet, discounter or no, as far as I can tell. So what we have here appears to be a fragrance that Givenchy does not actively want to sell you. Why is that? This fragrance falls somewhere between Grey Vetiver and Guerlain’s Vetiver for me. It does open with a very bright citrus note that makes you think you’re in for something familiar, but the undertone that comes through in a few minutes is much darker and earthier than the initial blast implies. This eventually develops into a dry down that is quite creamy with hints of vanilla to my nose and this is where Vetyver sets itself apart from the TF which is much drier throughout. On the other hand Vetyver is quite a bit lighter feeling than the Guerlain, something that makes it very suited towards office wear where heavy vetiver might be more of something that challenges the noses of your less hobby inclined coworkers. Projection is moderate as you’d expect and longevity is in the 6-8 hour range depending on how much you’re willing to agree your semi creamy smelling skin isn’t naturally how it is. Both ok for what you want this to do. My one gripe is reading that this used to be had regularly for under $40 where the price tag now is $96 and your only real option of getting it is through Givenchy themselves. That being said if you like vetiver, this is an excellent pick up as it sits in quite a Goldilocks zone for the more light/approachable offerings out there - more people should be wearing this or at least exposed to it. The fact that it is almost nowhere to be found (even clicking through Givenchy’s own website!) means this currently is more of a hidden gem that only those really looking for it will end up finding. Hopefully you’re one of those people.

a very nice vetiver for people who love vetiver, preferably straight up, and dry. one could say this smells like carpet cleaner, or bug spray, like comments about other vetivers like Guerlain for example, but I believe true vetiver lovers like the scent of vetiver, and i like the scent, plus I have laid on a carpet many times before, and so perhaps have an affinity for it. This vetiver is a very dry straight up vetiver, somewhat thick, with minor nuances of a citrusy touch (but not more that just a touch, not juicy for example), and a touch of twangy herb and a touch of warmth as time goes on, and perhaps even a light touch of woody sweetness hours in. This scent has a quite fantastic rich and dusty dry opening. It some ways, the scent has a slight similarity to the dry patchouli and herbal parts in Givenchy Gentleman, particularly as it reaches the mid, but I am not sure if there is patchouli in this, it is likely just the dry and slightly smokey vetiver, and the cilantro (coriander leaves), but you can tell a bit of the Givenchy herbal dna. In the late stage a slight touch of sweetened woodiness is detected. Great scent and great vetiver scent for people who love vetiver. This vetiver is perhaps the dryest of the trifecta, atleast in the earlier phases, by trifecta i mean the Carven, Guerlain and Givenchy, since they all came out in the late 50's early 60's. This one is dryer than the Guerlain, at least in the open and in the mid, though the Guerlain does dry out a lot in it's late stage, like a dry sheet of 94 brightness copy paper, and dryer than the Carven, though that one can also get dry later on but also has an amber scent in it in the base. The Givenchy is very dry (and wonderful) in the earlier stages, but mellows in the base and becomes sandalwood. This scent is not as complex or a bouquet of notes as the other two, but that does not mean this scent isn't intruiging, rich, and just wonderful smelling. It's more of a purist sort of vetiver in a way, but does have a few complex nuances, and that mix of vetiver is just so good.. And there are probably other complexities and notes under the surface, blending and complimenting the 3 vetivers in it's make up. Anyways, this scent is fantastic. I quite like this scent. I also, like all three of these classic vetivers. Givenchy lists the following on its website. 3 varieties of vetiver, with bergamot and coriander head: bergamot, vetiver heart: coriander leaves, vetiver base: sandalwood, vetiver

2007’s redressing of Eau de Vetyver de Givenchy (1959) is a wondrous ode that mercifully captures the lush essence of the brilliant original at every notch of its vetiver accord and very much an appraisal of past glory fluidly flowing through revived veins, or least now through a frosted bottled... Its delectable charm unfolds with the crispy spirit of bergamot whetting a vetiver thirst with its naturally cool tarty swill before entering a heart seasoned with coriander, pepping an earthy spicy vapour into a slightly sharp, herbaceous green flavour, before an illustrious base pairing delivers a nutty, leathery facet to the balance with a creamy heft from a delightfully buttery sandalwood, possibly butt-ended by a bare cedar edge, that leaves this composition perfectly rounded and free. This minimalist accord with its triple decks of vetiver supported with three perfect hints is absolutely feverish in its suavity and simply soigné. Here we have a full bottomed celebration of vetiver in a classical template of floating elegance, one that is cheeky clean with its Haitian/Bourbon variant loosely held in a velvety barbershop guise; subjectively speaking, one of the best of its kind. Certainly, the longevity and projection is on par to modern standards yet far more satisfying than any other selection from Givenchy’s Les Parfum Mythiques series. That said, this frosted version is all that remains of this beauty and faithfully restores its lore for another generation. More than a penchant; Vetyver de Givenchy/Vetyver is for those who enjoy timeless tradition with their seamless blends; regardless of whether one leans a sentimentalist, modernist or a futurist; collectively this is for the enthusiast... In fact, a big hail to Eau de Vetyver de Givenchy (1959), Guerlain Vetiver (1959) and Carven Vétiver (1957) since all three have a common yet distinct thread sewn between; all three were at the forefront of a male regiment change, all three fashioned vetiver as a newer cosmopolitan drift and all three remarkably tailor made for a fine gentleman’s wardrobe... Ain’t tradition grand!

I have the reissue with the dark brown box with the green label, long frosted bottle with the brown and green label. Givenchy vetyver is a straight forward, minimalistic, dark, refined vetiver scent. Absolutely gourgeous, it's quite linear but so well made in its elegant semplicity. More on the earthy-dark side of the vetiver compared to tom ford vetiver and guerlain vetiver. In my opinion the one from Givenchy is on same level and maybe better, and it also can beat my favorite vetiver based fragrance which is creed original vetiver in terms of quality and performance. For 30 and up, in every occasion, better in spring and summer. If you like the vetiver smell and find the same version i have u cant go wrong, the version with grey-silver box is a bit lighter. A true vetiver masterpiece! La versione che ho è quella con la scatola marrone scuro e l'etichetta con la scritta verde, bottiglia lunga e opaca con l'etichetta marrone e la scritta verde. Questa versione è un po' migliore di quella con la scatola grigio argentata. Comunque, questo è un fantastico profumo al vetiver, lineare, elegante, terroso e minimalista. Raffinato e dritto al punto, un edt per uomini maturi e decisi. Scent-9 Longevity - 7 Sillage-7 Versatility-8 Uniqueness-7,5 Presentation-7,5 Compliment factor-8 Black up bottle? Yes My vote-9 In one word- minimalistic Alternative - guerlain vetiver, tom ford vetiver, creed original vetiver, caron vetiver, malizia uomo vetiver..