Vetyver by Jo Malone, 1995

Agree with Alhamr. This begins with a bright green Vetiver which momentarily gets you thinking 'Guerlain' but the simplicity of Malone rather than the complexity of Guerlain is there. Al so agree with rogalal. For a brief time it is bright indeed. However, on me, the Vetiver burns away to be replaced by a soap note, possibly my least favourite note in fragrance. From A Guerlain Vetiver wannabe to Mugler Cologne in 30 minutes. Fortunately it doesn't hang around long enough to annoy me too much. Thumbs up for the bright opening. Thumbs down for the dry down. Averages out around a wobbly sideways thumb. Ok.

Very like Guerlain Vetiver but less complex and interesting and a little more sweet and creamy. A very green opening with something a little dirty underneath in the dry down, reminiscent of sweat or charcoal. Perfectly pleasant but underwhelming, as are both its sillage and longevity. I'll stick to my all time favourite Guerlain.

Gentle but good clear vetiver note throughout, I later also get nut and gentle spices. Discrete, very modest silage and projection, lasting on me between 1-2 hours. Overall probably neutral, but the cleanness of the vetiver tilts it to a thumbs up.

Probably the brightest, sweetest vetiver scent I've tried. There's a tried and true formula for vetiver scents, which pairs vetiver with nutmeg and lemon verbena on top and a chypre base on the bottom. Most vetivers, from Geurlain to Sycamore, follow this recipe and Jo Malone's is no exception. What she does differently is actually to cut out most of the vetiver. As such, hers is mostly a bright explosion of lemon verbena and nutmeg, further brightened with black pepper and a shot of wintergreen and sweetened with neroli. The vetiver is implied more than upfront (it's actually a fascinating case study - if you smell everything vetiver is usually mixed with, do you think you smell vetiver? I do, and it took me forever to figure out what was going on here). If this sounds like some sort of put-down, it's not. Jo Malone's Vetyver is one of my favorites and is my go-to bottle when I want something really fresh that smells unique but is unlikely to offend anyone. Is it one of the world's great vetiver perfumes? I doubt it, but it certainly fills a spot in my wardrobe.

Not my fav Vetiver but good as an eveing scent and it lasts quite a while. Comme De Garcons much better but the 125ml bbottle makes it difficult to take on a plane as hand luggage so I take this in the small bottle!

Alone - very nice.
Mixed with Jo Malone's Verbena of Provence: INCREDIBLE !

Wallops you over the head with its one-note metallic tang and just keeps bashing...
Can't fault its staying power, sadly.

This is a really true rendition of vetiver in my opinion, which makes a change. The vetiver is surrounded by some subtle spices that never swamp the note. A joy to wear.

PS. JM have a new fragrance coming out in September called Anise and Vanilla and is really lovely.

This has a gorgeous neroli opening, with light spice and green notes quick to develop. Then there is a lovely, cushiony vetiver scent. I call this an ideal treatment of vetiver. It is not sharp or excessively earthy, nor is it heavy and soapy. It has a charming vitality and a comforting quality that I cant explain, but I do enjoy! This is not a complex scent, but I love it.

One of my recent favorites from Jo Malone. I love vetiver scents, but I find that many of them either turn into men's cologne or don't really meld with my skin. This begins as a simple, energizing vetiver-citrus, but it gains some warmth and spice in the base as it dries down. The notes list nutmeg, but it reminds me of the cardamom and myrrh that warms up the base in Vintage Gardenia. In any case, the warm, softly spicy drydown really grounds this scent for me. Women who find other vetivers too brash should check this out.