Vetyver
by Parfums de Nicolaï

Let me add to the confusion. Opens as a spicy fresh sharp soap. Generic, yet bold. Grassy, yet nothing reminiscent of vetiver. Then it sort of vanishes. If you press your nose to the skin, that FRESH component is still hissing along. Nothing here that I like on me or a man.

31st January, 2011.

Big lemon, medium spice (clove, pepper), little flower, a smidgen of vetiver. Vetyver is actually a refreshing and lovely scent for the few minutes it lasts. I exaggerate only mildly. On the skin, Vetyver last not quite as long as any eau de cologne I’ve tried. And has less sillage.

Neutral rating for a very pretty, very temporary scent.

25th January, 2011.

This is exceptionally weak, with a similar herbal citrus opening to a lot of her other masculine scents, many of which I like. It's so weak that I'm not really sure what it smells like, per se, so I have to give it a thumbs down for that alone. Plus, it wouldn't even occur to me that it's meant to be a vetiver scent. As far as I can make out, though, it becomes less herbal and more nutty after a while. Later it's more sour, like lavender or maybe a very unsweet patchouli; rather like a diluted ST Dupont Pour Homme. Maybe my LuckyScent vial had been sitting around for ages, or got zapped by heat or sun? Really a pity. And I have no idea why LuckyScent considers it semi-feminine.

16th January, 2011.

Nicolai's Vetyver is a completely different take on the vetiver concept from any other vetiver scent I've smelled. It opens with a citrus/cut grass/petitgrain/galbanum accord. A strobe type of effect of pepper, clove and coriander oscillates in and and out of the scent right from the gate. The floral/cumin heart stays decidedly masculine as the pepper/spice strobe keeps pumping through the entire development. The whole scent keeps a decidedly natural smell from the beginning right to its nouveau barbershop tonka dry down. This scent is to Vetiver what Nicolai's Patchouli Homme is to patchouli, in that the vetiver is persistent throughout the life of the scent but is markedly camouflaged by the structure of the composition itself. The result is a very bold, yet dignified perfume that is decidedly masculine to my nose.

24th February, 2010.

Spicy - yes. Dirty - no; earthy perhaps. Think Lemongrass seasoning. Longevity - poor. It's a fine fragrance - just not one I'd buy, and that's reflected in my rating.

20th October, 2009.

When one goes to the PdN website, the notes for Vetyver are listed as:

Top notes : Citrus : lemon petit grain oil, galbanum oil
Heart notes: Lightly aromatic woody vetiver
Bottom notes : Amber

The text in French below the listing talks about different things: cumin, vetiver and black pepper. And that is exactly what this scent seems to be about. It is a dirty, spicy vetiver and I really like it. It deserves more attention than it gets.

16th October, 2009.