Vétiver

Don’t know why, but both of my bottles, that I bought from the same retail store in 6 months period, smell differently! One bottle gives very strong vetiver notes right from the start, then it softens to something citrusy and almost salivating. In other words it completely matches the note pyramid and people’s votes. The other bottle gives only a small fraction of vetiver and a huge wave of iris and amber with a hint of citruses on the background. Was I scammed? Did I purchase a bottle of “immature” fragrance or the opposite, the second bottle is too old? I will never find it out, but both versions are much valued by me.

I should start by mentioning first that I did choose to get a fb of this one. Now that we got this out of the way I have a couple of more things to say: I love “solifleur” concepts. I love solifleurs done right - like when you search for the perfect rose and you find it and it smells just like rose indeed, but one that has gathered every sunray, every drop of dew, every gentle gust, every warm touch by each surrounding rose, all the secrets of its habitat and the changes of the night ... layers upon layers a solifleur perfume can reveal the very beauty it ought to represent. Here, I can smell the nice vetiver, in a sad sad puddle of chemical mess. It’s a failed modernization attempt of the typical vetiver freshie classics, with ... you’ll never guess .... molecules. The vetiver, however, is so nice that, believe it or not, I am still considering testing it until the cheap “enhancers” either stop bothering me or I just give up trying. If we could just reverse the mixing process, get back the good stuff out of the cheap sauce, and then redo the recipe, the beautiful Haitian and Java vetivers won’t be ruined anymore. Only if we could ... but sadly, we can’t ... When oh when is this trendy madness finally going to make a turn - the degrading of quality ingredients by “enriching” them with disgusting blends of nail polish removers and whatever other cheap mess is mass-produced for profit to be reinvested in more of the same, rather than perfumery based not on artistry and quality and pursuit of ideals. We are financing with positive responses production based on cost cutting on our expense; aggressive habituation of the consumer to cheap quick sensations and entirely profit oriented; not to mention the reckless long-term devastation of the whole tradition and businesses involved in the high-grade organic materials production and processing ... all the tradition, skills and experience replaced by ... pastiche. Enough with my silly useless rant - so ... to the conclusion: Molinard is a traditional house. With Vetiver, not only they managed to stifle its detectable potential into a relatively unexciting scent profile, but they did it with cheap tricks and to the detriment of good materials, which could have taken part in a better formula. If chemical mess was to be excluded from the formula, besides better, it’d be cheaper too ... I believe. Now I have to manually ignore that chemical mess in order to appreciate what should have been the star here - the vetiver. It still is, but, in its very present, but muffled and muddled glory... Forgive my ramble - but being so excited about this scent added to my disappointment, because it’s not a bad scent per se. It’s actually a great scent, but ruined ... And that’s confusing as hell :) I hope you have better luck. It’s a nice everyday scent, worth trying for anyone, who hasn’t been yet fed up with molecules overuse of all “numbers” (iso super e, super cedar , etc...) or like in my case - to layer other fragrances, which can use the early qualities of vetiver + some added sheer effect.

Got this as a tester and it reminds me of Jo Malone’s Darjeeling Tea even though the notes are nothing alike according to Fragrantica. The scent is not the same but it feels like JM’s DT darker cousin. Pleasant if uneventful, unisex, might be nice for formal occasions and casual ones alike. Green, earthy. Spa-like, as in: relaxing and meditative, to my nose a very natural scent (but I am a newbie when it comes to vetiver). I don’t smell much of the blood orange or grapefruit that’s listed. Could also be great for layering when one wants a bit more Oomph! but all in all a decent fragrance for all seasons. EDIT: keep coming back to this, something in there is so beautifully earthy and yet rounded, have since smelled a bunch of really pricey vetiver fragrances and this one remains my favourite. Caved and ordered a full bottle.

Classic manly vetiver: dry, earthy and little green. It has nice citrusy accord as well as a softer woody base (I thought it’s sandalwood, but probably it’s just iris that gives a bit of softness). It’s nice and fresh and very let’s say polite. Good for office! Follow me on IG: scent.guide

Strong dry vetiver. A little bit of richness and little sweet from the amber. Makes me think of a hay ride on a breezy fall day. Perfect fall fragrance.

I love Molinard... I love vetiver note... But this Vétiver Molinard is too much. Too much strong. Too much masculine. High quality, but some way old fashion. I cannot smell any other note than vetiver. It is a pass for me.

Your appreciation for this will depend on how you appreciate vetiver - a raw, earthy, dirty vetiver. Smells natural and "brown". It's not entirely uninote - there's enough stuff happening for this to be a perfume - but for me personally, it's still a bit too one-sided to love. Notes according to Molinard: Bitter orange, Grapefruit, Pink pepper Lavander, Violet, Amber (pictured as ambergris) Java & Haïti Vetiver, Tabacco, Oakmoss

Strong vetiver, I actually almost scent only that note. If you want to smell like basic men fragrance just go for it. It's really smell like that guy who think he is special, above every one, while he is absolutely not. Perfect perfume for a bad manager or CEO

My inital inpressions from a sample are positive. You definitely get Vetiver. This is a sour and smoky experience which draws heavily on the note of Haitian vetiver and is quite simple in it's composition. True to it's name. In the opening you can definitely pick out blood orange and grapefruit. It's immediately followed by a earthy and smoky vetiver note. They must have used a quality Haitian vetiver oil as it smells exactly like the real thing that I possess a small quantity of. The iris and floral notes start to appear as the fragrance settles and what you are left with is a nice and simple earthy yet tart, floral vetiver fragrance. I can't comment on performance yet but I can tell it won't be a strong performer - more of an intimate scent for the wearer. If I had to compare this to any other vetiver fragrance, I would say it smells most similar to Encre Noire Sport. It's a dark, earthy vetiver which is amped up with citruses and a few floral notes. They both share notes across the pyramid, notably grapefruit in the top , lavender at the heart and of course Haitian Vetiver at the base. This fragrance however, seems to be a higher quality for sure- the citruses and the vetiver smell more authentic than EN Sport. Early days but so far I give it a solid 7/10. After another full wearing I still get the same. Only I've come to find it has terrible performance. Pretty much a skin scent from the get go. No sillage or lasting power whatsoever. A real shame as the lavender / violet leaf combo mixed with vetiver really impressed me. Knocking it down to 5/10.

To me, this is a quite dry, almost a little bit dusty vetiver smell. It’s slightly woody and reminds me a little bit of pencil shavings. It has an ever so slight floral smell in the background. I can’t speak to its longevity, but unfortunately, the fragrance goes straight to being a skin scent on me. I don’t dislike it but I will most likely stick to Terre d’Hermes Parfum as my go-to vetiver fragrance in the future. That being said, I think this might be good to use as layering to add additional depth to other fragrances. A freshie perhaps?

Very weak fragrance. Very discret and skin scent. Nothing interesting and unique... only I spent my money for... nothing. Dissapointet!

it is so interesting to observe so much self reflection in here when people write about the perfumes... :)

I'm excited about this release. I have several Molinard fragrances and all good. 🙂