Coeur de Vetiver Sacre

Update: I have had this a while now, and realizing it's one of my most favorite fragrances. It has everything, great vetiver, fruits, incense, woods, greenness, balsamic richness. This is an updated opening paragraph. Getting to know this one better. It evolves alot. This is niche perfume artistry. I just bought a backup bottle. This is a great Springtime scent. It has a lot of similarities to my fav Timbuktu, the warm, green, exotic grassy notes, papyrus and others, then the earthy rooty Vetiver strikes a balanced accord with the slightly sweet Apricot, dates, and light citruses. The Chinese Osmanthus blossom gives it an interesting, slightly medecinal piquant note. Very wearable, enjoyable fragrance. The opening you get a warm, sweet, cozy, woody, balsamic with the nice dried fruit/ date note, that is nicely balanced with a bit of peppery spice, and the woody Vetiver heart. It reminds me of Lutens, how Sheldrake, their perfumer, likes to compose sweet fruity fragrances. The nice, sweet, dried fruit opening gets quieter, and the fragrance changes to have some very nice, unique, interesting notes, along with the Vetiver. A quality niche fragrance, my second favorite from Le Artisan after " Timbuktu", but this may be closer to a masterpiece ! I'm picking up a beautiful, natural, green grassy note, I can see this is going to be complex and full of nice surprises. Many quality notes, masterfully blended into several beautiful accords. I don't like sweet fragrances, but this is not to sweet, and the sweetness seems to be there to balance the sharper notes such as pepper and musc, well done. This reminds me of a favorite "Lutens" frag, Daim Blond; the apricot, Amber, spices, but leather is at the heart vs Vetiver; Vetiver Sacre is a more complex and outstanding composition. Perfumery art ! Note: I'v seen a few reviews where people pick up leather, I agree. The sillage is not to soft, it's in between moderate and soft. PS: A nice surprise is that the fragrance is more green than expected. It has some nice, natural grassy note. And there are several varieties of Vetiver, the smoky rooty kind, as as in Encre Noire, or the greener milder type, which you have with Vetiver Sacre, Haitian Vetiver perhaps. The frag has some smokiness which comes from the Incense and not the Vetiver I believe. I think this is underated, if it had a more catchy name, like Dzing or dzong, it may get more praise. This is outstanding, into my top 5, and even better than "Timbuktu". Thanks to Max Forti review on YouTube," The good, bad, and ugly" of Le'Artesan fragrances, where he had Vetiver Sacre as his #2 L'Artisan fragrance after "Tea for Two". Update: I'm increasing the rating from 9.25-, 10/10. This is phenomenal, rich balsams, green grassy notes, exotic floral nuances, apricot, dates, pepper, spices, and Vetiver, beautifully blended, delicious ! My # 1 L'Artisan fragrance. Rating: 10/10 God bless. John 3:16

This one has taken me some time to come to terms with. I've had samples of CdVS for a couple of years, but always found the fruitiness, particularly the date note in the opening a little off putting. But I guess as my nose has matured over the years, I can now appreciate this more as the remarkable work it truly is. To that end of course, I have owned a bottle for some time now and delight in it regularly! But my advice? Don't set yourself up for disappointment by hoping this will scratch your every vetiver itch. The vetiver note is gorgeous of course, smoky and quite ethereal, but it's not really the main protagonist. Like many others here, I'd have to point to the tea accord as the main player, along with a subtle and mystical incense supported by labdanum. The addition of begamot leads my mind to the smell of an expensive Earl Grey tea in fact. The orange note may also lead to this end, orange and begamot are of course a little different, but not so different that one can't still make the association. It feels outdoorsy, but not in a rugged way, more in a contemplative sense. Mystical, a little timeless and very complex for my experience of L'Artisan scents. The thing that really turned me around on this fragrance is more the artistry of its structure. This doesn't work from the basis of your classic pyramidical design to me. It's more like a genuine symphony of stunningly blended accords that are all available to your nose at once and more or less, all throughout the life of the scent (which is quite good for an EDT, around 6hrs on my skin). You might think I'm suggesting it's linear by describing it this way, but I don't think that does it justice. The magic is in the way you can use your mind to summon up any of the accords at any one time. Want to smell incense, labdanum, smoke? Imagine it as you smell and there it is. Want to smell dates, apricots, pepper and spices? Let your thoughts take you there. Want to smell the lovely, earthy, smoky vetiver? Let your mind guide your nose and you will find it! A striking piece of work by Karine Vinchon Spehner and one which truly rewards perseverance and contemplation. It may border more on an "olfactive art work" than a wearable scent for some, but I don't count myself amongst that number. I wear it often now and am usually delighted by the interest it receives.

A few months ago I acquired a sample of CdVS and thought of it as “not bad” and “nothing special”. Boy, was I mistaken. I consider CdVS to be a vetiver and tea composition, but it’s mostly all about vetiver. Some reviewers have pointed out that CdVS has vetiver in it, but not as a central component. I disagree: CdVS is a vetiver-centered composition with other notes supporting and accentuating the multiple facets of vetiver. The opening has a fruit juice quality to it--mostly apple and apricot. The fruit juice immediately settles down and morphs into dried fruits; the dried fruits play up the (gasp) fruity side of vetiver and it is difficult to separate the vetiver from the fruit. The same is true for the black tea note; tannic earthiness and pepper blend effortlessly with the vetiver. There is also a beautiful smokiness permeating not only the vetiver, but also the tea and the fruit. Perhaps this seems unremarkable, but the 3D vetiver is supported by a quiet, yet persistent woody oriental base with woody notes, tonka, and musk. It's almost as though two compositions are layered together and it makes me think of bread supporting meat to make a sandwich. We could eat the bread or the meat alone, but why would we want to do that? Castoreum appears later as the condiment that ties the oriental part to the smoky vetiver/tea. The animalic component also serves to render the composition “wearable” without feeling overdone or vulgar. Sometimes the whole composition smells like leathery tobacco and sometimes it feels “green”, but definitely not in a crushed leaves or fresh cut grass sort of way. I like to think of CdVS is as a “spiritual” retreat for vetiver, but not in a religious or hippy sense. In this case, vetiver packs a bag, travels to the mountains, stays in a log cabin (with a wood fire and maybe some incense), drinks tea, and eats simple dried food. Projection is average, but I prefer scents that stay close to the body. Longevity was a shock: I got at least 12 hours out of CdVS. This is definitely the longest lasting LAP fragrance I’ve ever tried. This composition is truly excellent and I consider it to be elegant and underrated. On the other hand, if you are not into vetiver and tea, then CdVS might not be for you. 4.5/5

I am shocked by the beauty this fragrance contains every time I wear it. You step boldly into a world of mesmerizing magic - your nose is greeted by a revilatizing smoked tea and osmanthus, a lush violet and rose, an earthy cedar, guaiac and vetiver, and a mouth-watering date and green banana all touched by a quiet pepper and cumin lurking somewhere in the subconscious. This is a fully realized world where one could easily get lost in - I slipped between the real world thick with cedar and oak and wild roses, irises and berries - and the imagined world of Vetiver Sacre with its lush, smoky greenery of vetiver and tea and the eminating warmth of spiced dates and resinous amber. I was at home in the wild - the intermittent rain, the thick fog, the chill in the air, the splash of waterfalls, and the serenity of silence. Every step I took felt like I was getting closer to where I belong. Many hours later, my adventure concluded with the drive back to civilization, amazing smoked meats and tea, and my now quiet companion, Vetiver Sacre. Not much changes after the first couple of hours as this fume remains true to itself - the end of its grand adventure is marked with a gentle white musk and a touch of woody & smoky vetiver. Why must all good things come to an end? Why do we all toil endlessly to achieve peace when it already exists moments away? Ah, it is no time to wonder as I have work to do. I hope you all have found the answers to these questions - if not, let us find them together. Day 50 - Wild at heart Listening to: Radiohead - Daydreaming

This is a gorgeous, meditative, relaxing yet seductive, mysterious and dark vetiver scent. I am having a particularly horrid week and I drenched myself in this scent for two days in a row. I am instantly transported to a place of calm, a serene temple in some fantastical land where the weather is mild and the people are genuinely kind. A whiff of this and I am grounded. I am happy. Vetiver is so special - I used to dab the oil on myself whenever I needed to relax. It doesn't project very well, thus sillage can always be an issue unless you're blending it with something powerful. But I like it this way, I don't need to be smothered in loud patchouli everyday. Sometimes I just need to step back and be at peace. I am beyond myself as to WHY this fragrance is no longer in production. It is one of l'artisan's gems that many don't seem to want to touch. The vetiver here reminds me of fat electrician by ELdO but calmer. There is a distinct smokiness that reminds me of another l'artisan offering: tea for two. It's that black tea, caravan vibe but much creamier and greener. There is a lot going on here even though it feels very subdued. Woods, smoke, cream, fruits, musk, spices. Blended masterfully and radiating like a slice of heaven off my skin. It's crazy people perceive different things in this fragrance- tar soap, leather, rubber, temples, mystics, tea, forests and so on and so on. What do I perceive? Definitely something mystical, something occult, temple offerings YES, rituals... magic. 10/10