Vetyver Lanvin (new) by Lanvin, 2003

I picked this up at the Maxx for 9.99. Being a Vetiver note lover I thought I had made an awesome purchase. Boy, was I mistaken. I don't regret the blind purchase. At 9.99 I'll continue to make them. I'm not rich but the thrill of the hunt is worth ten bucks every now and then.

I don't agree with the consensus of the reviews below. This is really bad. The vetiver is very hard to discern. I have to keep smelling the back of my hand and remind myself that there is supposed to be vetiver there somewhere. Every few sniffs I'll get something kind of green that I guess some could call vetiver. But seriously, this is too much work for a note that is so easy to discover. This is not a vetiver frag. This is a green/fresh aquatic. Nothing more. I don't have a problem with a lighter, softer vetiver in a frag and sometimes find it a nice break from the strapping vetivers out there. However, when the frag has the word "Vetyver" in the title it needs to deliver. I have smelled several department store designer frags with a stronger vetiver note in the base. This isn't worth the time, trouble, or the ten bucks I paid for it. There are too many other frags out there, vetiver or not, that deserve to be worn before this one. Straight to the swap thread it goes.

The review below is for the Lanvin in the same bottle as this called L'Homme. Now that I can edit, I will fix my review. I hope I did not lead too many astray with my review. So here it is: first, Diamondflame's review is spot-on. If one were to compare this Vetyver with Guerlains, it smels like 2 different fragrances, and I suppose Geurlain is a more more trustworthy frag-house? This Vetyver smells more like Azzaro's Pure Vetiver, a type of vetiver I would dub as modern. Azzaro goes straight for the punch and delivers vetiver, while Lanvin seduces those who grew up with the 90's aquatic trends: opens like Davidoff Echo and Givenchy's PH (Red Label) and Blue Label. In contrast, I find Guerlain's to be too sharp and astringent like. Lanvin and Azzaro's offering I can do. One problem: sillage and longevity. I have to do 12 sprays minimum, otherwise, nothing. It is good for snuggling up with your sexy someone without suffocating them. For that, it gets a thumbs up.


OLD REVIEW
Smells to me like C Herrera's 212. Not bad and it sticks around quite well. I am not old enough to know what the origianl was like, but this isn't my fav scent. It's bright and it stays that way....

Lanvin Vetyver has become one of my favorite "go-to" fragrances. Strange but true...

The first time I smelled it was when I bought a small bottle of it blind. It was inexpensive. I found it a very middle of the road scent. The opening reminded me a little too much of a Lysol air freshener smell so I put it away for a while. I was confused by the name also, because it's not your typical vetiver scent. Many people say this has little to no vetiver at all, but that's not true. The vetiver is apparent only as it dries down onto the skin, but once it does the effect is palpable and gives the scent a nice texture. Some people look so hard, they seem to miss it!

There is a "cologney" vibe about Lanvin Vetyver that might be offputting to some people, but it manages to behave well enough in its construction that it never falls apart into brash cliché. There are a lot of designer fragrances on the market that start out similarly to this one but turn awful because the quality of their ingredients is so poor. This one starts off a bit unambitious and common but gets better with time and repeated wearings. Very fresh and bright smelling. Supposedly, this contains a very high percentage of natural ingredients and I'm inclined to believe it.

If you're looking for some kind of be-all end-all vetiver root tour de force, look elsewhere. If you're looking for an outgoing, crisp, sporty, fresh, versatile cologne that dries down to a slightly dry vetiver skin scent-- think about adding this to your rotation.