VAR

I love vetiver. Therefore I am surely going to at least very much like Lasheras’s vetiver, VAR, right? Yes, of course. Although this notion of tranquility, soothing, peacefulness, calmness - those words used in the brand description - is not an effect I’m pulling. This isn’t the first time my wearing experience is misaligned with Mallo’s description of a perfume, but far be it from ever resulting in a less than very pleasant experience anyway - at least so far. So, though I cannot confirm nor refute if the creative mandate was delivered upon, since I cannot smell it in the slightest, what I smell is an exercise in creating one of the most dimensional, harmonic, and evocative vetiver accords I have ever smelled. Every major house has a vetiver perfume, so why not Mallo. Let us be glad Lasheras decided to jump on another mainstream bandwagon, and give it his own unique spin of minimalist presentations with extraordinary amounts of detail. Before you go thinking I am speaking in oxymorons, let me explain. You can create a beautiful perfume by jamming it full of a lot different materials to create one big idea - the non-minimalist/maximalist approach. Or one can be minimalist - small ideas with a small amount of materials executed very well. Then there is Lasheras, a rarity that manages a combination of the two. Like what he did with the simple fougere as a basis for ARC and ARA, VAR is a minimalist vetiver, yet so much close attention has been paid to this single, solitary accord you could believe it was an idea of enormity and complexity. The vetiver in VAR briefly starts off with a sweet galbanum and hay grass-like note quietly smiling in foreground and almost unnoticeable. It is beautifully round and smooth, and just a touch sweet. The classic notes of vetiver are already playing upwards with gusto and bright energy. Sharp, salty, green aromatics, sour earth, and woody. Immediately upon application you can tell this vetiver is going to have a rare and massive breadth of dimension compared to the vast majority of vetiver perfumes. VAR comes across as far closer to a petrichor scent than SOD does, even though that was more SOD’s mandate than VAR’s. Pushing my perception of this is an almost floral quality presenting like narcissus. The sharp green note needed for narcissus is definitely here, and to complete the picture there is a bright yet earthy honey note as well. Research would later inform me that Aragon pine, and Spanish pine in general, usually has a warmer and more balsamic character compared to its terpene-forward kin. It’s gorgeous, and the honeyed, earthy, floral, balsamic woodiness continues to come forward in the dry down without losing touch with its vetiver soul. Sandalwood helps establish a natural link to the woody vetiver material(s), while a tiny touch of oud gives a resinous depth. Only at the final skin scent many hours later do I lose the vetiver and find the woods remaining. Not tranquil. Not soothing. Not meditative. Not peaceful. Not calm. I feel like I’m smelling vetiver for the first time, giddy, gleeful, my own personal adventure into terra incognita. This is what vetiver is supposed to smell like?! The bright greens and yellows, the sharp and salty aromatics, and the verdant and young woods want to enliven me with their unrestrained energy. I am perfectly happy to let them do so.

This one took me a while to wrap my head around. At first smell, it immediately evoked a combination of talc and barbercide, making it the most evocative barbershop smell I've come across barring something like Clubman. In that sense it's like the vetiver sibling of ARC, which also felt extremely gentlemanly/barbershop to me, to the point that both feel a touch too mature for where I'm at and how I dress. The vetiver then sort of cycled between almost papyrus touches, rooty ruh khus, and powdery facets, along with the prominent sandalwood and slight oud and woods. I was hoping for more of a forest vibe and was expecting the woods to be more prominent, but after I let go of the associations and expectations I found myself craving this one often. A couple sprays on a hoodie ended up following me on a 2.5 week trip and I was immediately comforted every time I put it on. To that end this has crazy sillage and longevity, a puzzle for an all-natural perfume and a best in class example of a vetiver fragrance.

Today, I wore this to the foothills of Mt Hood, but I did not apply it until after we got to our destination. The setting put VAR into an entirely different context, instantly making any traditional gender associations simply moot. The cold air, with the sharp snow, sparkling river water, and various evergreens, perfectly emulated the singular experience that is VAR. Inhale deep.

Quite literally my favorite Vetiver and I collect vetivers. VAR is a gorgeous green yet light fragrance with a gently added vanilla note. Warm and refreshing at the same time. The best ruh khus ever!! This is gorgeous, “unisex”, completely wearable yet unique and intriguing. It’s no surprise it sells out so fast.

Barbershop-style powdery with a tang of dried spit. Cozy as all get out. Feels like a boreal forest under a thick layer of snow, except that snow is made of sandalwood dust. I’m in love.

Very confused upon first sniff... and all subsequent for that matter. The Fragrantica notes and main accords are extremely misleading. Even the brand itself markets this as a woody aromatic. VAR is a powdery barbershop-type fougere. Shaving cream, talc powder, and the memory of pine aftershave. Not what I was expecting at all. The abundance of rare and expensive naturals hike up the price, which becomes unjustifiable for the perceived result.

Upon couple of wears i can say its very clean scent. By clean i mean its fresh, but not blue type of fresh. I can describe it as creamy, slightly mineral/green type of fresh, it have this kind of “Nivea” cream type of clean smell which can be observed as fresh smell, it have very gentle earthy grassy undertones from vetiver with hint of spice. The main core is vetiver, which is clean, with sandalwood its also creamy and on my skin i can feel it as little bit somehow as warm with musky/powdery touch. The warm feeling from it reminds me my mothers warm touch, she always touched me with her creamed hands on my face. It reminds me this situation, warm gentle touch, with little bit of clean “skin muskiness” in cold forest area, despite the fact i will not say this perfume have a musky profile or reminds directly a forest. Its very well rounded perfume, its clean, but natural type of clean with some sediments, not that polished sterille type of clean as you can observe in mainstream perfumes. Maybe im little bit confused, cause i also tested CHI which have this kind of realistic warm skin accord, i perceive it somehow simillar to it, but where CHI is warm ambery and more feminine, VAR is green and earthy and more masculine. How is ARC and ARA counterparts for me, its same for CHI and VAR, they are somehow storytelling simillar ideas, but from different or from opposite perspectives. Simillar concept of combining various natural vetivers in to the composition was made by Fueguia-Muskara Vetiveria, where muskara v. stays only in similar clear vetiver area, VAR provides also another layers of profile, powdery, creamy and slightly spicy and more deepness. And almost forgott mention the beautiful color of the juice, very nice green valuable elixir! Mallo and Rajesh bring me again enthusiasm for the fragrance industry. Final update: this perfume reminds a lot our current winter, cold, foggy. Due to this it will be more ideal for summer temperatures than a winter fragrance.

VAR is already sold out. It sold out within hours of launch on both Mallo and Luckyscent. So, this review isn't meant to rub it in. VAR contains a beautiful forest within - from the color to the aroma, nothing is short of pure magic. It smells green, like literally green, with some sweetness and a powdery accord that completes the fragrance (it's like getting dressed for Halloween and one small mole on the cheek does the trick). The vetiver here would make you fall in love with the accord itself and when sandalwood pops in - it becomes therapeutic, delightful, and one-of-a-kind. The performance is beyond excellent; I've been wearing it for over 8 hours now.

VAR is one of the freshest, mountain air fragrances I have experienced. You breath the trees, the mist, the soil, the steady crystal water running over the river stones. For one, I am not much of a vetiver fan but VAR is very enjoyable. The fragrance opens fresh, aromatic and with the slightest animalic element. It also gives modern refined gentlemen, whilst still encapsulating the natural landscape that inspired it. Another winner from the power collab.

VAR is a striking vetiver fragrance, raw and uncompromising. The opening bursts with smoky, resinous vetiver that feels earthy and primal. Leathery undertones and subtle sweetness weave through, keeping the intensity balanced. As it dries down, the vetiver deepens into a meditative, almost spiritual aura. A bold creation for those who embrace perfume as art rather than ornament.