Reviews of Vétiver (1959)
by Givenchy

A nice vetiver re-released after a decades long hiatus as part of Givenchy's Mythical Line, which includes Monsieur de Givenchy among others. This is what a well-restrained vetiver should smell like. Not as bright as Guerlain's reformulated Vetiver or as smoky as the vintage juice, but just right.

Very nice… The strong bergamot opening already has elements of coriander and vetiver in the background… together they come across as a somewhat unique aromatic introduction. I’m more ambivalent than anyway else about it. I think its oft-mentioned licorice tinge rather reduces my pleasure in this version of vetiver. Yet, in spite of my minor annoyance with the opening, I find it impossible to dislike the accord. Givenchy Vetiver is well put together and presents such a skilled professional performance, I find myself respecting it even though I don’t thoroughly enjoy it, so I'm voting a non-enthusiastic thumbs up... Low key, unexciting, and completely respectable... it’s an excellent scent for someone who is not me.

July 2009:

The reissued Vetyver from Givenchy features a very spare, nutty vetiver accord that sweetens gently through something vaguely suggestive of licorice to a very suave woody-mossy base. This is not the sort of raw, aggressively earthy vetiver you get from Route du Vétiver, Vétiver Extraordinaire, or Etro's Vetiver, but rather a comfortable men's club vetiver your well-dressed uncle might have worn while lounging in a leather chair. Among the best of its classical, sophisticated, "Old World" breed, even if it's not terribly exiting.

September 2009:

A couple of months, many wearings, and one full bottle purchase later, and I realize I’ve given short shrift to this outstanding, if highly understated, fragrance. With growing familiarity I have become more and more impressed and enamored of Vetyver’s fine qualities. My affection for this scent has come to focus on the “nutty,” almost buttery, quality that distinguishes its vetiver and which comes to dominate its drydown. No, it does not break any olfactory boundaries, explore new territory, or offer any structural novelty. But Givenchy’s Vetyver deserves better than to be defined by what it isn’t. It is the smoothest, the most suave, and the most comforting vetiver scent I have encountered. (And that includes Chanel’s resurrected Sycomore.) It is also the warmest, richest, and most rounded treatment of the vetiver note that I can recall right now. In fact, it is everything that Guerlain’s much-vaunted Vetiver should be (perhaps was?) and isn’t. A personal benchmark.

Excellent all around fragrance. I'm somewhat new to being a fragrance connoisseur but after collecting 50 plus samples recently and wearing each one, this is my favorite. I sprayed this on one wrist followed by the Guerlain Vetiver on the other and confirmed what I had remembered, that the Givenchy Vetiver smells much better on me. Green and earthy, luxurious and unpretentious. It doesn't smell like a typical masculine cologne and instead just comes off as an outdoorsy sensation with a bit of woodsy smokiness to it as the top notes transition to the heart. 24 hours later the drydown on fabric is fresh and invigorating. Although I'm picky and thrifty, I'll buy a bottle of this.

This is the best thing I have ever smelled.
I was an avid collector in my teens and twenties, but became more interested in making my own scents from essential oils, and stopped buying commercial fragrances. On vacation 4 years ago in Brazil I noticed that the business men I would pass in the morning all smelled of something I had never smelled before - something green, bitter, bracing. I spent a year trying to find out what it was, and then I recognized the scent on a Brazilian gymnast I met at a cocktail party. I asked him about the scent and he told me it was vetiver. I understand that one species of the root is native to Brazil, and assume it must be a more common fragrance ingredient there than it is here in Canada. I bought a bottle of vetiver essentail oil and started dabbing it on with Eau Sauvage, but it smelled heavy, smoky, almost like patchouli. I smelled every vetiver scent I could find for another year, but could never recapture the freshness I remembered from those bright mornings in Rio. I finally settled on Guerlain, after a convincing lecture from the sales woman about how the house practically defined the style, etc. etc. But there was always something synthetic in it that kind of turned my stomach. A sweet note gone sour, perhaps the tobacco. Then at last, a few days ago, I finally found the Givenchy and tried it on. Fireworks! The opening sparkles like the oil from the skin of a mandarin orange peeled on a sunny Christmas morning. It's followed by a pale yellow, milky pastis swirl, and then the roots exude their unmistakable green depth. Brazil was also the first time I saw deciduous trees that grow year-round, the leaves achieving a green so dark it seemed black at night. The cilantro note puts a patent-leather shine on this fathomless vetiver green. A light dusting of sandalwood hints at something enigmatic without becoming ponderous, and grounds the previous exhilaration in firmly masculine territory. This is what a man is supposed to smell like. Thank you, M. Givenchy.

Sweetly sophisticated and refined vetiver fragrance that has a definite daintiness to it, very upperclass.
It does without the rubber/tobacco of the Guerlain Vetiver and the soapiness of the Creed OV.
Can be easily worn by both sexes IMO.
To paraphrase something I read; if Guerlain is the gardener then the lord of the estate is definitely Givenchy.
Reasonably priced but not easy to find - well worth a try.

I will give the view point of a 20 some year old kid who has typically sided with younger colognes like Tommy Hilfiger and such.
This came as a shock to me as I have never experienced what a formal scent smells like let alone a "vetiver" scent (apart from Guerlain Vetiver). But this epitomizes something you would wear to an evening hosted by Donald Trump or the Intellectuals of the World. I can't really distinguish between all the ingredients and notes but I can say that from an overall perspective, it smells similar to an Asian herbal store (but a good smelling one).

This has a sparkling-green vetiver opening that is quite delightful! Green citrus notes (lemon, aromatic bergamot) and green leaves and herbal notes contribute to this excellent beginning. It is refreshing and most enjoyable. The scent develops into a lovely warm, comforting cushion. There is a haunting yet invigorating dusky-tangy quality that is so appealing! Light sandalwood is here: soapy, woody, aromatic. IMO this far surpasses Guerlain Vetiver. Those who like it, like it a lot; and with reason. Re-released recently.

Hopefully this is the original version of 1959!Congratulations to Givenchy that they they dare launching this very unique and special scent being really different from what is launched in general and absolutely not the mainstream!Very decent, discret and sophisticated and even unique vetiver.A gentleman´s choice!I prefer this vetiver instead of guerlain´s because this one is fresh, clean and minimalistic.Thanks god no vanilla !In comparison to guerlain´s vetiver this one is not so warm,not so intense strong and sensual- it is a very clear, a bit harsh and bitter- maybe spicy and herbal vetiver and you never have the impression that it becomes too intense and to dominating! To me it is the best vetiver I hab´ve smelled so far!

Impressively restrained. A pronounced, rooty -though not radical - green vetiver note at the center, surrounded by a conservative and very well executed bouquet of masuline gentility - cedar, perhaps sandal, refined sweetness of tonka, mossy diffusion. Where Villoresi's excellent Vetiver is all about panache, this one is all about low key style. Not exciting, indeed, but excellent. A great alternative for those who cannot stomach the tobacco in Guerlain's version.

Like vetiver de Guerlain without the dry pepper/nutmeg welded to the vetiver core and perhaps a little less earthy. Surprisingly to me, the quality of the vetiver is very comparable guerlain's but feels more rounded overall, less sharp. Perhaps a higher dose of coumarine?...so the main accord is vetiver/tonka bean huh? it must logically smell of vetiver tonka by hermes? NO! it does not get to the point of smelling like waffles... after all it smells like a nice quality vertiver rounded with tonka beans (no reference to tobaco, no reference to sweet dough either). Overall classy, fresh n clean (in a vetiver kinna way) and comfortable. If you love vetiver de guerlain but never found one as good, you should try this one out. Three thumbs up

Probably the most perfect vetiver ever made. Second to the pointed vetiver of Malle's Vetiver Extraordinare.

This is one of the Vetiver benchmarks in my opinion. It is somewhat less composed and truer to a pure vetiver note that Guerlain's. I love both Givenchy and Guerlain's take on vetiver. They are very different from each other. This one doesn't have as much of a citrus explosion on top, nor do I detect any tobacco as I do in the Guerlain. There is definitely an herbal/spicy note in the middle, perhaps it's the cilantro note that JaimieB is describing. The sandalwood is barely perceptible. This is not a variation on the theme of vetiver, which Guerlain tends to be IMO (and a brilliant variation at that). To my nose, while I would not go so far as calling Givenchy Vetiver a single note fragrance, it is very clear who is the star of this show, and none of the supporting cast get many lines. The other notes are like a very subtle frame on a striking painting. This is a brilliant take on the Vetiver concept, and it is one of the best on the market.

This is a review for the actal relaunch:
Im a fan of the Givenchy Gentleman-the best scent I have ever smelled so far.
The Givenchy Vetiver is also a very sophisticated, elegant and masculine scent. It has everything what is missing in the Guerlain vetiver. It starts with a citrus note and then the vetiver comes through and just stays perfectly on the skin. It gives a lightly saopy, clean impression-never too much but still intense and longlasting. very well put together.

Note: This review is for the reissue. I haven't smelled the original.

This is quite possibly my favorite vetiver of all (and I'm an admitted vetiver fanatic). The opening is brilliant and citrusy without drowning out the vetiver, as many citrus openings do. As JaimeB has noted, the coriander leaves are what really give the middle its character, along with the waxy aldehydes. The base is just pure vetiver and sandalwood goodness, warm and rich with the slightest hint of cedar, like the wooden cabinet in which the gods keep their ambrosia. No wonder this was Hubert de Givenchy's own signature scent. Elegance and character seamlessly combined.

P.S. This fragrance is similar to another excellent vetiver, Miller Harris's Vetiver Bourbon (2005), which I'm sure must have been influenced by memories of the Givenchy. I love both but the Miller Harris is three times the price, so I'm sticking with this as long as the reissue is around.

recently re-issued
this is a smoky vetiver with a roasted note that reminds me of Hermessence Vetiver-Tonka (with a far greater longevity) mixed with the drydown of Terre d'Hermes
also very reminescent of Guerlain's Vetiver original formula (the 80's one)
it doesn't evolve a lot and the vetiver not isn't very pronounced
the smokiness makes it rather a winter scent

Top: Bergamot, Vetiver
Middle: Coriander Leaves, Vetiver
Base: Sandalwood, Vetiver

I must say this smells vaguely familiar to me, though I cannot recall ever having seen it before. Givenchy claims they are relaunching a men's EdT from 1959.

It is the coriander leaves that make the scent; the top notes are citrus and the base, wood. The vetiver, of course, is everywhere. The overall impression is quite distinct from any other vetiver fragrance I have smelled. The coriander leaf is a kind of rough green herbal note that isn't exactly spicy, but suggests a hint of spice. Strangely, in this mix it doesn't smell very much like the coriander leaves you use in cooking (the familiar cilantro of Latin American and Asian cuisine). The vetiver (in itself a rather earthy note) somehow transforms the coriander leaf into something less pungent and more... well, exotic... and ethereal. I think if I hadn't seen the note listed on the tester bottle, I wouldn't have been able to guess it was coriander leaf.

The juice is really very captivating. I sprayed a little on one hand, and nine hours later, I can still smell it quite clearly; and though it is projecting quite a bit less than it was at first, it maintained a respectable sillage for about five hours. There isn't a very complex development, but there is some, going from a rather distinct light vetiver to revealing the green coriander, and then stabilizing to give a lighter impression, altered to a woodier vetiver. The phrase I would use for the overall effect is a kind of earthy-ethereal depth.

More vetiver than Azzaro but not as much as Guerlian.
Unless you have an aversion to Vetiver, buy Guerlain. If you DO have an aversion to Vetiver of course, don't buy anything with the title 'Vetiver'!