Sel de Vetiver (2006)
by Different Company

A salty, slightly bitter scent, with overtones of spice, a sweet floral note, earthy root notes, and an underlying iris almost devoid of powdery effect. This is a tour-de-force of a fragrance, whose character is beautiful without a trace of prettiness. The beauty is in the audacity of it, and in its extreme rawness and earthiness. The geranium and one of the vetivers in it are called "Bourbon," after the pre-French-Revolution name of the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, an overseas region of France; this island is a perfumer's emporium of exotic white florals, aromatic grasses, vanilla, and geranium, among others. Anyway, wear Sel de Vétiver, and you're bound to attract attention!

This is wonderful.

I get a big burst of some universal detergent kind of smell in the start, and actually I like that very much. It’s a delicious start for this wonderful scent.

Se de Vetiver is extremely complex composition; There is lots of things going on; lot of nuances, layers and different kind of associations.
It has a fascinating development and great longevity.

In the dry down I get, instead of just vetiver salt, more iris with that vetiver together that has been spiced up by salt, cardamom and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.

It also obviously has a bit of that patchouli in the base; it gives a subtle dark and bitter “kiss” for this masterful blend.
Although it is said this has also some ylang-ylang in the mix, I admit I can’t smell that very well, if at all.


Sel de Vetiver is made with great talent. It is unique, compelling and extremely natural smelling spicy scent that is easy to wear on any occasion. It has a strong soothing effect. It is able to transport me to some different time and place….to somewhere better away from the middle of the gnawing everyday life.

The transformation from those fresh detergent kinds of shades into this savoury and earthy scent is quite remarkable.

Fantastic scent and for sure very expensive one too. Get a sample of this and let your heart decide if it is a full-bottle worthy scent for you.

Never would have anticipated salty vetiver as a wardrobe staple, but such are the revelations that come of sampling.

SdV's top notes compel me to sniff my forearm up close to experience a primitive, animalistic sensation -- not quite carnal, but somewhat base. This is my favorite phase, these zesty, salty, skin-complementing top notes. I regularly pair SdV with Jo Malone's Black Vetyver Cafe to achieve what I call "spectral vetiver." Just as "sweet" and "salty" enliven each other in foods, SdV and BVC make the vetiver experience really blossom for me. SdV is, however, one of those frags I don't expect others around me to understand as an art form, and this is another reason I wear it in tandem with BVC (which my husband likes on me quite well).

If you're exploring the world of vetivers, this one is a must! Very close to nature, easy on the nerves. I've not known the occasion of sitting on an ocean's windswept dunes, but I can still relate to this mild, earthy fragrance just the same.

I've tried a number of vetiver scents and unfortunately I just can't join the camp of admirers. This one in particular just reminds me of using a solvent to rub off the old varnish in a church. I appreciate the artistry intended, I just don't want to smell it. Vetiver seems to just vibrate like a whistle in the back of my nose in an unpleasant way. Sel de Vitiver has shades of Timbuktu and Ellena's Un Jardin sur le Nil, which are reasonably wearable for me, so it isn't the incense, I think. Just that damned vetiver. Maybe if Sel de Vetiver just had the slightest hint of something sweetly aromatic, it would help. But the intention was salt, I take it, and it is truly dry as a crust of salt clinging to the reeds.

In two words, I would call this a ‘salty vetiver’. The salty character comes from liveche (also known as lovage), a plant related to celery. To me, the saltiness reminds me of the effect of pickling, in this case a pickled vetiver. I dislike it. The salty overtones seem to diminish with time and it becomes bearable and more conventional. Still the opening ruins it for me.

The Different Company Sel de Vetiver

Vetiver has to be one of the most versatile notes for a perfumer to work with. I probably own a dozen vetiver-based scents and I can say that none of them smell alike. The latest vetiver scent for me is Sel de Vetiver which was designed by Celine Ellena in 2006. There are signs of her father's minimalism throughout but there is also a tone which is all her own. The top is a mix of grapefruit and cardamom and it is applied lightly. The sharpness of the top notes are smoothed out with the appearance of iris and ylang ylang again applied lightly. The base is all patchouli layered with a slightly heavier hand. All of these notes are laid like a sheer drape over the core of vetiver that is present throughout the development. In the description of this Celine Ellena says she was going for an accord of "salt drying on skin after swimming in the ocean". For me, about a half an hour in she nails that accord. I could feel myself on a beach lying on the towel as the sun dried my skin after a swim. This is a beautifully done scent which achieves its stated goals but I feel it might be too light and all of the things that make it good are gone too swiftly to leave a lingering impression.