Fragrance Reviews by Arneblaze

For me this comes across as Vetiver Insipid. The first note is one of rubber, followed by the dry woody scent of reeds blowing in the wind. Two hours later the faintest of vetiver scents emerges. A failure in my book.

I so wanted to like this one since the author of the famous Vetiver Redux on Basenotes found it to be his favorite. I found it interesting, but it did not ring any bells for me. It begins with pure frankincense, moves on to a light dry smoky vetiver, embraces a green note with a bit of iodine, and settles down to citrus with sandalwood. It is masculine, subtle and sophisticated and it can be recommended as a thing of quality. It just didn’t rock my boat.

Along with Bluebell, my two favorites of Penhaligon’s women’s scents. This, like Bluebell, is a true evocation of the flower. This Lily of the Valley is sweet, not sharp as other oil distillations of this flower can be. It is softened by rose, ylang ylang and jasmine. An excellent breath of spring.

9 notes:
Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Geranium
Middle: Lily of the Valley, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Jasmine
Base: Oakmoss, Sandalwood

This begins with a dry floral potpourri aroma, dependent on dried roses. There is a fast drydown to patchouli and oakmoss. It was not stunning but I suppose it has its place in the scent world. One would expect to experience this on elderly women and most especially sprayed on their linen hankies.

13 notes:
Top: Lemon, Orange, Hyacinth, Galbanum, Chamomile
Middle: Violet, Jasmine, Rose
Base: Amber, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Oakmoss, Vetiver

An extremely feminine mix of the heady gardenia and tuberose, reinforced by jasmine, rose, vanilla and plum nectar. Very luxurious and every note distinct to the nose. It’s like being in a Southern garden by moonlight. This is pure indulgence. A warning though to use it sparingly as it lasts and lasts and this type of scent (like Penhaligon’s LILY AND SPICE) can become cloying as the hours pass by.

8 notes:
Top: Mandarin Zest, Vilolet Leaf
Middle: Gardenia, Tuberose, Rose, Jasmine
Base: Plum Nectar, Vanilla

Another Trumper dry chypre (like their Eucris and Astor). This begins with amber, drys down to sandalwood, then oakmoss and pine. It's not as harsh as Eucris and slightly sweeter than Astor. I'm not crazy about chypres. I find them the most unpleasant of categories in scentland, but this one is at least endurable.

The initial blast here is of a combination of pepper, clove, mint and nutmeg, which dries down to cedarwood. Overall it's a light spicy scent, but mediocre compared to Villoresi's Spezie. For those who like it light, it may just be the ticket. For those who like a complex spice, Villoresi's Spezie is the way to go.

From the Villoresi site:

19 notes in all
Top: Cirus, Anise, Fennel, Peppermint, Conifer
Middle: Black Pepper, Origanum, Nutmeg, Elemi, Olibanum, Petitgrain, Clove Leaves, Rosemary
Base: Amber, Styrax, Benzoin, Peru Balsam, Myrrh, Cedarwood

One of the finest and most original Lavenders out there. The overall balanced effect of lavender, lemon and ginger is wonderful and these three co-exist for quite a while together. The lemon and ginger perfectly compliment the lavender - who would have thought it? A terrific and original take on lavender, highly recommended for fans of this flower.

From the Villoresi site:

15 notes in all
Top: Lavender, Bergamot, Lemon, Iris, Coriander, Elemi, Laurel, Galbanum
Middle: Clove, Clary Sage, Juniper, Pepper
Base: Tonka, Musk, Rosemary

One of the few Villoresi's that I do not care for at all. The top note of Patchouli is green and raw. After half an hour the cedarwood resin emerges, along with a scent reminiscent of humidor tobacco, then a drydown resembling turpentine. Simplistic and unpleasant to my nose.

From the Villoresi site:

7 notes in all
Top: Patchouli, Lavender
Middle: Patchouli
Base: Patchouli, Vetiver, Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Musk, Benzoin

This is one of the most complex fragrances I have ever encountered. A balance of cardamom, cypress and mint immediately strike me as top notes. Soon this is followed by cinnamon, strong clove and a hint of oregano. Finally the rosemary takes over. There is a quiet and subtle dry down with the overall lasting effect of cypress mixed with clove. One of the finest spice scents I've come across.

From Villoresi's site:

18 notes in all
Top: Coriander, Cardamom, Laurel, Cypress, Eucalyptus, Mint
Middle: Cinnamon, Clover, Pepper, Juniper, Fir, Origanum, Thyme
Base: Tomato leaves, Rosemary, Sage, Heliotrope, Oakmoss

One of my three favorite vetivers (the others are Route du Vetiver and Sel de Vetiver). Etro is deeply woody and intense. Pure vetiver and well balanced so as to float, not overwhelm about your person. It is long lasting on my skin - always present and never harsh. A real winner in my book.

This is an earthy, smoky vetiver combined with spice (clove, bay?). The spice disappears quickly and the vetiver itself is gone after two hours. So although it is quite nice, I have to give it a neutral vote, because of its poor longetivity.

This is a sharp, acrid, green vetiver. I get a top note similar to cumin, followed by an unpleasantly heavy oakmoss. A failure as a vetiver in my opinion.

This, like Creed's other Vetiver, disappointed me. Where the other had a caramel/woody scent that quickly disappeared, this gave me a soapy scent with no detectable vetiver at all. It too disappeared quickly, which was not upsetting as I found it totally undistinguished.

I wanted to like this as it is so popular with Basenote-ers. It struck me as very light and of a woody, caramel combination. It disappeared quickly on my skin. Not a distinguished vetiver by any means.

I liked this initially but not ultimately. I get a light, green vetiver note with spices - very powdery. The dry down however disappoints with the green note becoming raw and disintegrating into a cabbage-like aroma. Luckily it was short lived on my skin. Good try but back to the drawing boards.

I was so looking forward to this one as I am a Villoresi fan, but it proved too strong for me. It opens with a dark wood/iodine note, which calms down to a sandalwood with a very earthy, acrid vetiver floating above. It is long lasting and at end of day it was almost making me nauseous. A very strong vetiver but not for the faint of heart.
It has so many notes listed in its make-up, but I could only detect a few.

From Villoresi site:
Top Notes: Rosewood, Bergamot, Mint, Lavender, Galbanum, Petitgrain
Middle Notes: Neroli, Sage, Celery, Cumin, Nutmeg
Base Notes: Vetiver, Musk, Tonka, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Oakmoss Patcho

This smells cheap and tawdry to my nose. A burst of sandalwood, then a synthetic melon scent that is present in 90% of commercial colognes, and which I avoid like the plague.

I am not familiar with Joop!, but thanks to the other reviews comparing it as identical, it is one scent I will avoid even sampling.

Created for a Russian Grand Duke (just prior to that nasty unpleasantness in the trenches). Neroli (orange blossom), orange, rose, petitgrain and a few others - rich, rounded citrus/floral and ultra sophisticated. That underlying dryness brings the high sweet neroli notes down from their heights and balances the whole. Very special and for wearing only on special evenings and state occasions.

I totally agree with the review above. The original Newport was redolent of warmth. Heliotrope provided the sweetness and there was a pungent aroma (reminiscent of a black Necco wafer)that rounded this out with something lightly reminiscent of anise.
I too miss it - it was my personal favorite for 15 years.