Reviews of Vetiver (1961)
by Guerlain

Way to green !!! It really has nothing special IMO, just herbs invading your senses. It reminds me of Chanel pour Monsieur, another uber-green fragrance that follows a recipe that has been proved to be safe. Apparently, people love this kind of fragrances, so why change anything? Don't take any chances, don't try anything new, don't come up with something original... I don't like this approach. I rate this as neutral simply out of respect for Guerlain and because of the history behind this fragrance.

I am still trying to like it, but the longer I use it the less I am fascinated with that smell. The opening is amazing, the first five minutes I think: thats it!...but the vetiver scent turns pretty fast into a soapy, slightly greasy smell -still mixed with the fresh vetiver main note, but by far not as pleasant as the start off. It is too sharp and,in my opinion lacks a harmonius composition.
It is a perfume which impresses when you walk by it, but the longer you have to do with it the more it starts to annoy me( and my family). I had high expectations due to the high ranking of the Guerlain Vetiver-and I admit it is still better than most of the perfumes out there, but I didn´t fall in love with that one.

Initially invigorating very fresh top notes, but for me the tobbacco note on the drydown is just a bit too remeniscent of full ashtrays. Monsieur Rochas is far more subtle when i need an air of dignified maturity that better suits my increasing years.

One of my favorites. Classic scent.

The second Guerlain fragrance in my collection, the frist being Habit Rouge.

I bought this as a gift set which came with a 100ml Shower Gel, 125ml EDT and a rather nice Wash Bag. I bought it blind on the basis of the reviews here and I have to say, thanks everyone!

My first Vetiver fragrance was by L'Artisan Parfumeur. As such it turned me off big time. I found it heavy, bitter and cloying. The Guerlain take however is nothing short of delightful.

Yes, it is soapy and clean and I like that. Now, without wanting to risk being slated I have to say I am reminded of YSL Kouros Cologne Sport. That particular fragrance has been well and truly panned in the reviews on this site. The Guerlain is similar to my nose but with all the Heritage (apologies for the pun) that Guerlain represents.

It's interesting to me how a single note can be interpreted in so many different ways. This fragrance couldn't be further from the L'Artisan Vetiver in that, for me at least, its wearable and enjoyable!

I find Habit Rouge to be perfectly delightful but without the wow factor of so many current fragrances. When I spray it on it makes me feel comfortable for some reason. It is not something however I feel able to wear everyday. Vetiver is that everyday fragrance that I'm looking for. Its clean, slightly sporty tones keep my arm going to my nose to smell more. Its something I can wear without fear of offending but without making too bold a statement. Yes, understated but self assured this is.

What a joy for me and solid evidence of the whole purpose and value of the Basenotes Review forum.

At first, I really didn’t think much of this – a very soft vetiver, citrus and tobacco scent with a soapy drydown. However, I’m finding that I’m appreciating it more as I get older (or is it more to do with my sense of smell becoming more sophisticated?). Its longevity was, initially, disappointing but I’ve found it to improve both with consecutive wears and during warmer weather.

I still wouldn’t consider this to be the best vetiver scent on the market (for me, the title belongs to Malle’s Vetiver Extraordinaire). However, the fact that it’s transcended time without ever being considered outdated, makes Guerlain’s Vetiver a true perfume classic.

An excellent office scent for the warmer months.

Initially I thought "insect repellent". Then it occurred to me that I'm not being fair so on subsequent application I tried to understand the fragrance. The opening is fresh but not sweet or aquatic (good). The dry-down ... "insect repellent".

I was initally enthralled by this one. I went back and smelled it again later, sprayed it on a scent stick and kept it for a while. I've decided that it smells like an old man. The scent of tobacco is almost overwhelming==reminded me of a tobacco drying shed in Virginia. Or of my old boss' office.

This is one of those scents that makes me feel guilty for not giving it a raving thumbs up review. I've my decant of it for close to a year now. Every time I select it as my SotD, I'm a little excited because I think that THIS will be the day that Guerlain Vetiver (new formulation) finally clicks for me. Alas, it has never happened. Which is odd because I like vetiver, and I like citrus.

The dealbreakers for me are the nutmeg note and the strong tobacco note. I already knew that I didn't like these notes when I decided to give this scent a try, but I thought that since they're basically supporting notes in the generally terrific cast, I could deal with it. But no, the suffocating tobacco and noxious nutmeg hijack the accords and ruin the whole thing for me. It's like watching an amazing movie in a theater and knowing that it's an amsolute masterwork, but the sound is slightly off and there projector is making a big blotch in the corner of the screen. You just can't appreciate it anymore.

If you like vetiver but are not fond of the heavier notes that Vetiver makes use of, I suggest something like CdG's Vettiveru, Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire, or Creed's Original Vetiver. These are "brighter" rentitions of this theme, and work much better on me.

All that said, I can't give this a thumbs down. The evolution is too perfect, the balance of the notes too impressive, the sillage just right. No, I don't like it for myself, but it is certainly a noteworthy blend.

Some years ago, when buying a fragrance, I got a lot of fragrance samples. Among these samples were 2 Vetiver sprays. I had tried it once and didn't like it, it smelled rather old. When a friend of my wife needed some fragrance for the week, because he broke his bottle, I gave him the Vetiver ones as I didn't like it. Maybe it was a matter of skin or image, as he worked in a bank, wearing classical grey suits, white shirts and stripped ties, but the Vetiver worked fine on him.

Top notes are citric, not in a lemon style, just like an old style cologne. There's a note of coriander I couldn't smell as an individual one, just as a green note that avoids the top notes becoming a so much citric blend. Next middle notes are green, mainly vetiver notes arises, while citric top notes tones down. The base notes are bitter, with something spicy like pepper, maybe also nutmeg, and a note like leather (or tobacco).

Works fine as a office fragrance, also for daytime, but don't know if it should work for evening events. Suitable for all seasons, but for classical style men, over 30 years old.

I see why people like it; it's sort of an archetype fragrance -- classic, old school fresh and green, what people who aren't into fragrances might think of when trying to imagine a "classic". Alas, my opinion is biased as I compare it to other vetivers (MPG's Route de Vetiver is my favorite, Creed's new one is next) that I tried before really giving Guerlain's classic version a serious go. In comparison, this one is very light and stays extremely close to the skin on me. It's green and somewhat organic, but not as good as I had expected. 3 out of 5 stars.

This is one of the first men's fragrances I ever encountered, although the name of the elderly relative who wore it seems to escape me now. I started visiting Basenotes the same year this first won "Best Fragrance" and I bought a bottle. The 2000 version is not as good imho as the original, and smells more like a cross between chewing tobacco and a citronella candle; not my style. That said, it did inspire some very good vetiver-based fragrances, such as Frederic Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire and Creed's Original Vetiver. For me, this is very much a summer fragrance, and was one of the few scents I took with me to serve overseas in a hot climate (the others were GIT and D&G pour homme); Guerlain makes great stuff, but this one is very much an acquired taste.

it's a nice office wear scent,imo OV is much better.

I really wanted to like this because it's a classic and it's Guerlain, but I'm just not too wild about citrus or vetiver scents. It starts off pretty decent with a fresh green note but the drydown ruins it for me. It develops into a dry and earthy vetiver note that lacks the sweetness that I crave in frags. It's a benchmark vetiver scent, but it's not for me.

I like the guerlain vetiver,blast of lemon and woods out of the bottle,the quality is good and lasts a long time,the drydown reminds me of laundry detergent,smells just like it,cant remember which one,think it was when I was overseas.

I love the old one, the new one is too light in my opinion

Vetiver by Guerlain is a fragrance that I am very off and on with. Some days I think it is a nice fragrance to have around for a hot summer day, and other days it smells old fashioned and very musty. It is a fairly strange combination of sharp citrus notes, neroli
flower and strong vetiver with a little pepper, tobacco and cedarwood. It smells very grassy and earthy, I can imagine it being an outdoorsman's signature fragrance. I think of it as being more casual than formal, but it could work for both. If you crave vetiver, there are more than a few other vetiver based fragrances that are much better.