Vétiver Fauve

I received my bottle of Vetiver Fauve today. I immediately opened it like a little child on Christmas morning! Let me preface this by saying that I have always had a love/hate relationship with vetiver. I gravitate toward the more mainstream, likeable and easy to wear vetivers like Creed's Original Vetiver, the Tom Ford Vetivers and even Guerlain's new Vetiver Parfum. I have not taken to the more rooty, earthy vetivers like Lalique's Encre Noire line or even Guerlain's OG Vetiver. Vetiver Fauve is fantastic. It is unique and different than any vetiver fragrance I have ever smelled. Words that come to mind are green, light, airy, tart, fresh, smooth, sophisticated and clean. I imagine that it is difficult to make a truly unisex vetiver fragrance that does not at least lean masculine, but Delphine Jelk has come extremely close. The fig and pineapple are vivid and realistic from the opening through the late mid. They really help smooth out the vetiver and make it a delight to wear. On me this fragrance vacillates with sharp and tart vetiver, but vetiver that remains clean and fresh, interwoven with a mature, refreshing sweetness of fig and pineapple. It is really lovely how it shifts back and forth. It also reminds me of a thirst-quenching drink, perfect for a scorching hot day. Not particularly sweet, but certainly not bitter ... and very refreshing. At its heart, this is a true Guerlain vetiver fragrance, but it is so nicely and smoothly adjusted to a more wearable scent for anyone. So if you are a person who wishes that they had a vetiver fragrance in their collection, but you have found most or all vetiver offerings to be too masculine, earthy, rooty and/or bitter for you ... try this. I think you will like it. I LOVE it, and as I said, I do not naturally gravitate toward vetiver dominant fragrances. A few comparisons for Vetiver Fauve come to mind. Although Roja's Vetiver Pour Homme Parfum is definitively more bold, spicy, deeper and masculine leaning, Vetiver Fauve possesses that same regal, classy sophistication that I admire in Roja's Vetiver Pour Homme Parfum. In one word, Vetiver Fauve is ELEGANT. Louis Vuitton’s galbanum, ginger and sandalwood fragrance LV Lovers does not share any listed notes with Vetiver Fauve, but they do share an innate “greenness”. I really like LV Lovers and I would consider wearing Vetiver Fauve in many of the same situations that I would wear LV Lovers. Another more direct comparison would be layering Guerlain's Vetiver OG and Jean Paul Gaultier's Paradise Garden. Vetiver Fauve is certainly more luxurious, but if you can imagine smoothing out and enriching Guerlain Vetiver with the fresh, green and fruity Paradise Garden, you would approximate Vetiver Fauve. Think of Vetiver Fauve as a far less sweet and less synthetic Paradise Garden for a more mature, sophisticated and well-heeled audience. Vetiver Fauve's longevity is above average. In my first wearing which began about 12 hours ago, I got about 7 hours before projection turned to a skin scent which lasted an additional 5 hours. Sillage is moderate according to my wife. And another important feature of Vetiver Fauve ... my wife loves it on me lol. If you knew her, you would understand what an achievement that is. I have an embarrassingly massive fragrance collection, and I can literally count on my two hands the number of fragrances my wife enjoys - and I think this is the first fragrance in the history of my fragrance journey that she likes that she did not pick out and purchase for me. Ms. Jelk, you should be extremely proud of this monumental feat. And I am very curious to see and hear what traditional vetiver enthusiasts feel about this. I think that most will like it. But regardless of what vetiver purists think, this is going to sell well. 9/10 and a Fragrantica score of 4.5 from me. Bravo, Ms.Jelk.

The new Vetiver Fauve is something truly special. It’s a bold, modern, on trend fragrance that manages to stay true to the Guerlain aesthetic without feeling trendy in all the worst ways trendy fragrances tend to veer. This isn’t your crowd-pleasing, easy going fragrance, made for the masses. Vetiver Fauve is crafted for the true fragrance lover—the kind of person who doesn’t just wear a scent but likes to experiences them. What makes it shine? The beautifully natural smelling fig and pineapple. Yes, it nods to the tropical trend, but not in the sticky sweet, sugary way we’ve come to expect. These fruits aren’t desserts...they’re Thank you, Delphine Jelk, for skipping the syrup and letting these notes breathe. The fig and pineapple are juicy yet restrained and elevated, even. Unlike the playful, almost candyish peach in Pêche Mirage, the fruit in Vetiver Fauve feels as if it were freshly plucked from nature and served on top of a silver tray. And the vetiver? It’s beautiful. Deep, rich, and just a bit shadowy. It doesn’t sparkle—it smolders. The tonka and cypriol ground it beautifully, adding a dark, earthy warmth that keeps the scent interesting and mysterious. This isn’t a breezy, happy go lucky vetiver. It’s sensual, grown up, and quietly powerful. The tonka lends a caramelized almond richness to the drydown that’s addictive. Performance is solid on me and gets to 6 hours on my skin, with the first few hours radiating enough for me to enjoy it throughout the day. And while the last Guerlain release leaned “pretty,” this one leans “handsome” in the best possible way. To me, Vetiver Fauve is a brilliant creation—one of the finest vetiver fragrances available for anyone who wants to smell interesting, grounded, and magnetic. It’s elegant, earthy, and alive with character. If you love vetiver, green fragrances, or dark perfumes, you need to smell this on skin. On my PAGE scale (Poor – Average – Good – Exceptional), this gets a firm E for Exceptional. A titan of its genre—worthy of a spot beside legends like Lalique Encre Noire, Roja Vetiver, Guerlain’s original Vetiver Parfum, and Vetiver Extraordinaire by Frédéric Malle. I’m curious to see how it’s received—often, the most interesting fragrances get overlooked—but if you’re someone who appreciates olfactory art, Vetiver Fauve is worth your time, your skin, and possibly a permanent place in your collection. SIMPLY PUT SCENTS- Youtube

I have to say I am pleasantly surprised. Guerlain is my number one but respectfully, some of Jelk's creations specifically for the L'art & Matiere collection, can be a miss for me most times. However, Vetiver Fauve imo is beautifully done and it's actually well balanced throughout. All the notes intermingle and literally transport you somewhere that is lush with greenery, humid with wafts of softly ripened fruit in the air. There's an element of maturity with this fragrance but it has a vibe straight out of a tropical jungle. Not your typical tropical scent. I really get the pineapple but again not in a synthetic overdone way mixed with the fig adding some uniqueness in the top even a little creaminess or some density to the texture of the fragrance. Then the greeness from the Vetiver, not too sharp not too green, just right. The tonka bean really shines through in the base too which I love. Again, very well rounded and smooth. Performance already is pretty intense as well. On card and on skin it's gorgeous but best of course on skin. Dark Green, Brown with Gold streaks. 💚💛 My impression so far. P.s This would drive me crazy on a mans skin 🤌🏽😮💨 Very unisex but leans more masculine which I really love even for myself in this line.

I got a sample with an official Guerlain purchase. It's interesting how different people smell such different things with this fragrance. For example, I don't get pickle, but my sister immediately said it smelled like pickles at first sniff...maybe it's the vetiver being detected...or maybe the ciprinol...I kind of understand where she is coming from but I think pickle-smellers lack the open pallette to be able to appreciate this...sorry. I think this is extremely beautiful and is SUCH a safe blind buy. It smells green, soft, clean, dewy/rain... and the play between the sweet fruits and the vetiver (which tends to lean grassy, sharp, spicy, earthy is really quite stunning). The vetiver is softened by the pineapple and fig...it smells fruity, without being overtly pineapple or fig. I'd say first impression is a dewy jungle leaves sweet fruity green with something with a little bite lurking in the background..it's so damn good. I can't decide for sure, but I think it leans more feminine.

Guerlain Vetiver Fauve is a photo realistic clean, wet grass and soil after the rain combined with subtle hints of citrus fruit peels and leaves. It wasnt love at first smell for sure. It made me keep smelling the scent strip for days, out of intrigue and trying to figure out why I find this scent appealing. I finally realized that it reminded me of my youth growing up in a tropical country that had alot of greenery and rain. Correction: it didnt remind me, it transported me there! For some reason, it smells like jungle/rainforest outdoorsy yet also made me feel like in a boardroom meeting in a fancy building at the same time. Its definitely not for everyone and I recommend trying first. In my opinion, its for the 30+ year old crowd due to its mature, elegant and realistic natural notes. Its not attention grabbing, but attractive enough because of the very unique and classy way of making a green, earthy non-sweet scent weirdly satisfying and nostalgic.

Captures the jungle vibe but is not a soliflore or reference scent for for vetiver — and does not dethrone the original composed by JP Guerlain, which can be considered a reference. This has pineapple, fig dosed high, vetiver dosed pretty high, cypriol dosed moderate,and tonka dosed very low — just there to round of the sharp edges. But it does not round them all off. There's some sharp edges and bitters here that may jar young noses. I think it's awesome but expensive. However, I would love a reasonably priced 1ounce or 10ml mini bottle. If you look for the nuances of the vetiver you can find them, but the other notes can easily distract and blunt it's different facets, which I think in tandem with sharp and bitter facets I mentioned earlier is why it is controversial. Performance is strong while not smelling chemical. ----------------------------------------------------- Scent 85/100 Perfomance 80/100

Filter out the bitching about price, and there are only a few legit opinions on here. It's expensive, yes, no shit. That has nothing to do with how it smells. The lart and matiere is the most ridiculously rated frag line on this site. Theyre almost all awesome. Update: this stuff is amazing. Figgy pineapple sharp vetiver, clean green watery notes and beautiful musk. 11 hours on skin for me. Likely going to be a top 5 in my L and M collection, and I have alot. VF is fresher, and greener jungly than you think it is. Its also sharper vetiver than you'd think. Opening is unisex, drydown heads masculine. It doesnt smell like anything else I have smelled, unless you think razor sharp vetiver makes all vetiver scents the same. I like peche mirage fine, I love neroli plein sud, but this one is potentially the best of the fresh releases. 10 for me.

Me, personally, i kinda love this. Its kind-of unusual, very green woody smell, it starts off very green and juicy, not dry at all as you would expect from a vetiver perfume, and as it dries down it gets a bit milky and soft and i genuinely love that, I suppose its from the fig note. Many wont like this at all, saying it smells like grass or hay, but I myself love it. Also it lasts a very long time on my skin, even more than Angelique noire surprisingly, or nishane ani. Angelique noire was at least noticeable on my skin after a few hours but nishane ani was gone in not even an hour. Its most probably my skin’s fault, but this, and neroli plein sud, work amazingly on me You should really test it for yourself and come to your own conclusions, as i’ve seen mostly hate on this perfume unfortunately. Test it and make your own conclusions!

I really like Vetiver Fauve especially for Spring and Summer. It’s green, grassy yet the pineapple and fig adds a fruity element. It oscillates from clean to more earthy. It’s pretty niche for sure. There’s a hint of sweetness you’d expect from Guerlain. It definitely lasts on the skin and has a sophistication to it. I am surprised but not surprised by the lower reviews for this—I honestly saw the same for Pêche Mirage (one of Guerlain’s other newer entries). I am starting to sense that the overall fragrance community is losing their sense of smell and refinement with becoming more and more accustomed to beast mode perfumes (think Quentin Bisch). Guerlain is not about this style of perfumery—you need to take the time to wear the perfume on the skin and see how it evolves. Another company I honestly think is facing this bias is MFK.

This perfume is such a departure from the others in this line, or any I have come across. This is polarizing. This is niche. I was shocked. Smells like unripe, green mangoes, humid but green fig, and a delightfully mentholated cypriol mimicking some facets of vetiver. The subtle tonka mellows and anchors it beautifully, along with the vetiver, which I do detect. However, this is a fruit perfume, first. Green fruit! It is so different and weird, I’ve not smelled anything like it. (Maybe the top of Mugler Aura, in the sense that it is humid and green, but no vanilla or white flowers.) It’s so wild, I had to get a 1.6ml. I can see the Guerlain community arm wrestling over whether this is great or terrible. Not a safe blind buy.

Awesome vetiver scent, if I were to describe using examples its somewhere in between Santal 33, Grey Vetiver, and Phyloskos with a squeeze of pineapple on top. Lush and extremely green, you have to appreciate green frags to enjoy this. Great performance and projection. Good for most situations and climates. Due to its unique nature I would suggest trying it before you commit to the bottle. Overall i think its a very unique offering for a vetiver frag and if you are a fan of any of the above frags I listed def get your nose on this. Absolutely underrated and overhated release from Guerlain. Also want to add this confirmed does pull complements, don't be afraid to wear this one

Clean green soapy sweet lightly fruity, amazing vetiver with a tonka sweet touch. The vetiver is clean and green but has bite. This is incredible if you like soapy clean sweet vetiver green frags. Doesnt really smell like anything else. Maybe a hint of herbes troublantes and creed original vetiver combo, but totally its own dna. The green notes are watery. Pineapple is there but this is not a tropical frag. One of the best vetiver notes I've smelled. Really really good. Leans masculine but uni. UPDATE: This smells like a very high quality, less corny take on JPG Le Beau paradise garden. In the best possible way imaginable. 10 hours minimum on skin. Love it.

I got a sample of this and wasn't too excited. Sprayed it on some paper just to see. An hour later came back into my office and the entire room was enveloped in this divine green warm scent. I'll admit the paper got a decent size spray but the scent lingered for two days. I'm torn because it's not a scent I think I want to wear and I haven't actually tried it on my skin yet (which has a habit of ruining lots of scents for me) but I want my LIFE to smell like this 24/7. Shame it's so ridiculously expensive...can't pay that kind of money for a delicious room spray!

Green fig leaf, sweet fig fruit, smoky and earthy vetiver, a touch of powderiness from the tonka, a tiny burst of bright pineapple in the opening. I think this is wonderful. I've worn Santal 33 for years and while this might give a bit of the same vibe, they do not smell alike. Santal 33 has an overdose of sandalwood and a leatheriness that Vetiver Fauve lacks. I would not recommend a blind buy at the price of this but if you're a fan of leafy green fig notes, then this is definitely one for you to test out.

It's a classy, uplifting, very high quality fragrance. Is it exciting? Maybe not in the conventional way. But with many 'exciting' fragrances, I often get sick of them at some point. This has a depth and quality to it that means I can't see myself becoming sick of it. I think this would be a great option for the spring/summer. Megamare and Neroli Plein Sud have two of my three slots nailed down for those seasons, the third slot is up for grabs between Vetiver Fauve and Meo Fusciuni's Isola.

This fragrance caught me off guard in the best way. It’s herbal, spicy, and aromatic, yet somehow feels warm and comforting at the same time. There’s a complexity here that’s hard to describe, something that feels both classic and modern. It isn’t the sharp kind of vetiver; it’s more rounded and a little ambered, almost glowing. The blend is so seamless that it feels alive on skin—like it keeps shifting between woods, herbs, and soft heat. Unique, addictive, and honestly delicious.

I just bought a bottle of Angélique Noire and they gave me a few vials of Vétiver Fauve. When I first tried it on paper, it smelled amazing (the best vetiver note I’ve ever smelled). It feels fresh yet creamy, luxurious but still soft and elegant. And the longevity? Surprisingly good. Then I looked up the notes on Fragrantica, and surprisingly, people rated this perfume 3.72, that genuinely shocked me. There’s no way this deserves anything below a 4.3

Guys, this is SO niche. I love Guerlain, and this is astoundingly niche. Green mangoes and green fig forward that lasts the entire wear. It really feels like you’re in a jungle. I smelled vetiver the entire time, but behind the fruit. This is so unique I couldn’t think of a place to wear it! (Probably because I’m not a fruit gal.) I still want it, though. This is a major departure, and I am here for it! (Also, this is beast mode performance!)

Honestly it smells like drinking fruity pineapple juice in the middle of the jungle. Dominant green notes with a bit ambiguous fruitiness and a hint of vetiver in the background. Honestly the name could be a bit misleading because this is not a vetiver heavy fragrance by any means. Soft, airy, and a green fragrance without any citrus overtone. 8.5/10 for me. Could sometimes smells like a bug on the leaf tho.

Stellar release! Beautiful fig, fresh, green, not too sweet, perfectly unisex. In the base a vetiver that I recognise as vetiver even more so than in Vetiver Parfum, giving it a solid base, reminding me of the Encre Noire vetiver. I prefer this a lot over the unisex Nerolia Vetiver and probably this will be my first purchase in the L’Art & La Matiere collection. Perfect for summer!