Vetiver – green and earthy and elegant

Photo: perfumeniche

I can honestly say that I can’t recall ever smelling a vetiver fragrance I didn’t fall in love with. And you know when you fall in love, you want to tell everybody about it. So, allow me to introduce you to Vetiver from the Italian fashion house Etro.

Let’s begin with vetiver. Chrysopogon zizanioides, the fancy name for vetiver, is a type of grass that thrives on volcanic soil. It’s native to India and Indonesia, but nowadays, it grows in Brazil, China, Haiti and and regions of Reunion Island. Even though vetiver is a grass, its roots are mainly used in perfumery.Vetivers from around the world vary greatly, but the Haitian and Bourbon varieties are the finest quality vetivers available. Now, let’s cut to the sniffing.

It opens with a note of Clary sage that’s herbaceous, camphourous and warm. It’s joined by fresh, sparkling bergamot and sharp, bitter herbaceous artemisia. The artemisia threads through the opening and gives it a bracing vodka/vermouth booziness. Fresh, green petitgrain keeps the green going as its floral-woody aspect bridges to a note of iris that’s earthy and woody and leads to the heart that’s vetiver joy! Both Haitian and Bourbon vetiver are used here to great effect.  Haitian vetiver is clean, green, earthy and ethereal to my nose, while Bourbon vetiver is smoky, woody, earthy and smells of wet soil. Together, they give the fragrance the full vetiver experience - dank earth, damp wood and moist roots while adding elegance and refinement. Guaiac wood adds a soft floral note to the vetiver that keeps it in check. Amber is, sweet, warm and animalic at the base, while tobacco flower, sweet and jasmine-like, finishes the fragrance.

Vetiver dries down to a gorgeous, green, floral-tinged beauty that celebrates vetiver's woody, earthy qualities without being dark, heavy, coarse or rough.

That’s what I love about it.

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