Yesterday I got a package from Luckyscent. A bottle of the up-til-now impossible to find Comme des Garcons Series 4:Cologne- Vettiveru!
This stuff has up to this point been almost impossible to find anywhere, so when i saw that Luckyscent is now carrying it, I ordered a bottle quick snap! I had to be the first on my block to get some.
First off the packaging. This stuff comes in a SEVENTEEN ounce splash bottle, with a screw on cap. Freakin huge! The size of a bottle of mouthwash. Fitting, because the bottle comes in a khaki fluted cardboard sleeve, like those old bottles of Listerine. So after sliding it out of its sleeve and picking the shrinkwrap off of the cap, I unscrewed the lid and took a sniff...
Vettiveru is like an "all-star" team off alot of different vetivers rolled into one.
I slapped some on my skin and right away I picked up the salty earthiness of Annick Goutal's Vetiver. Then as i slid my nose up my arm, I picked up the sharp bitterness of Guerlain's Vetiver. This was balanced by pulses of clean vetiver notes of Creed's OV/Mugler Cologne. Alot of different facets of the "vetiver experience". Luckyscent's description is right on the money- it does drift between being a dry "brown" vetiver and a clean "green" vetiver. Its a fragrance with a real dual nature. It has a salty green olive character, but also a fresh citrus side. Its like a real tug-of-war between the two sides; the mature earthy brown suit wearing vetivers on one side, and the green, soapy youngster vetivers on the other side.
Now here's the controversy. You'll either love or hate this fragrance based on its complete lack of sillage. None. ZERO. You seriously have to be within a foot of someone to smell it. Even if you DOUSE yourself in it (Which feels really good), you just cannot overdo this fragrance. I wore it to work last night and it was perfect. I could only smell it occasionally, but a cute girl I work with was hanging all over me. She usually gives me a hug, but last night I was counting my drawer and when she went to hug me, instead of letting go of me, she took a deep breath and CRUSHED me with her arms. Good sign!
But damn you really have to go heavy on the application of these Series 4 Colognes. Its like a full body experience. And the weird thing about Vettiveru is that it seems to smell different at different parts of my arm. You can't just dab a little but on your neck, you literally have to SPLASH this stuff all over. I've never encountered anything like this before. Its a totally different experience from any EDT or EDP I've ever tried. And although its so light, it does seem to last a long time. But for people who want to be able to smell their own cologne all throughout the day, you may not like this series, because its not about the sillage. Its about the magnetic appeal of closeness. And when people do get into your personal space and pick this one up, they will get even closer.
A few side notes. I tried Anbar and Citrico from samples. I wasn't too impressed with either of these, but its possible that its because the samples don't pack the full "splash on" experience. Anbar was kind of nice, but it goes on smelling like Gobstoppers jawbreaker candies. Citrico is nice, but its just a basic citrus. Vettiveru is the star of this series, much more complex than the others, yet compared to EDTs and EDPs, simpler and less "high maintenance" smelling.
Vettiveru is not a scent to wear to the nightclubs. It IS a perfect work scent for me. Its really an anytime scent, easy to wear-impossible to overdo.
Still, with that ginormous bottle on my bathroom shelf, I hope a bleary eyed houseguest doesn't mistake it for mouthwash at 3AM
Another thing; I have even MORE admiration for CDG 2 MAN now. I've often felt it was a "best of" of different CdG fragrances all put together (Odeurs 53 and 71, CdG 2, Avignon, etc.) Well last night I was sniffing it and its vetiver accord is straight out of Vettiveru! Actually, during my hiatus, I didn't wear fragrance much, except on weekends; but I really started to get into CdG 2 MAN, more and more. I'm starting to think it and Gucci PH are miles apart, not as similar as they initially seemed. People say CdG 2MAN lacks imagination, but for me its like wearing a collage of my favorite CdG scents!
This stuff has up to this point been almost impossible to find anywhere, so when i saw that Luckyscent is now carrying it, I ordered a bottle quick snap! I had to be the first on my block to get some.
First off the packaging. This stuff comes in a SEVENTEEN ounce splash bottle, with a screw on cap. Freakin huge! The size of a bottle of mouthwash. Fitting, because the bottle comes in a khaki fluted cardboard sleeve, like those old bottles of Listerine. So after sliding it out of its sleeve and picking the shrinkwrap off of the cap, I unscrewed the lid and took a sniff...
Vettiveru is like an "all-star" team off alot of different vetivers rolled into one.
I slapped some on my skin and right away I picked up the salty earthiness of Annick Goutal's Vetiver. Then as i slid my nose up my arm, I picked up the sharp bitterness of Guerlain's Vetiver. This was balanced by pulses of clean vetiver notes of Creed's OV/Mugler Cologne. Alot of different facets of the "vetiver experience". Luckyscent's description is right on the money- it does drift between being a dry "brown" vetiver and a clean "green" vetiver. Its a fragrance with a real dual nature. It has a salty green olive character, but also a fresh citrus side. Its like a real tug-of-war between the two sides; the mature earthy brown suit wearing vetivers on one side, and the green, soapy youngster vetivers on the other side.
Now here's the controversy. You'll either love or hate this fragrance based on its complete lack of sillage. None. ZERO. You seriously have to be within a foot of someone to smell it. Even if you DOUSE yourself in it (Which feels really good), you just cannot overdo this fragrance. I wore it to work last night and it was perfect. I could only smell it occasionally, but a cute girl I work with was hanging all over me. She usually gives me a hug, but last night I was counting my drawer and when she went to hug me, instead of letting go of me, she took a deep breath and CRUSHED me with her arms. Good sign!
But damn you really have to go heavy on the application of these Series 4 Colognes. Its like a full body experience. And the weird thing about Vettiveru is that it seems to smell different at different parts of my arm. You can't just dab a little but on your neck, you literally have to SPLASH this stuff all over. I've never encountered anything like this before. Its a totally different experience from any EDT or EDP I've ever tried. And although its so light, it does seem to last a long time. But for people who want to be able to smell their own cologne all throughout the day, you may not like this series, because its not about the sillage. Its about the magnetic appeal of closeness. And when people do get into your personal space and pick this one up, they will get even closer.
A few side notes. I tried Anbar and Citrico from samples. I wasn't too impressed with either of these, but its possible that its because the samples don't pack the full "splash on" experience. Anbar was kind of nice, but it goes on smelling like Gobstoppers jawbreaker candies. Citrico is nice, but its just a basic citrus. Vettiveru is the star of this series, much more complex than the others, yet compared to EDTs and EDPs, simpler and less "high maintenance" smelling.
Vettiveru is not a scent to wear to the nightclubs. It IS a perfect work scent for me. Its really an anytime scent, easy to wear-impossible to overdo.
Still, with that ginormous bottle on my bathroom shelf, I hope a bleary eyed houseguest doesn't mistake it for mouthwash at 3AM
Another thing; I have even MORE admiration for CDG 2 MAN now. I've often felt it was a "best of" of different CdG fragrances all put together (Odeurs 53 and 71, CdG 2, Avignon, etc.) Well last night I was sniffing it and its vetiver accord is straight out of Vettiveru! Actually, during my hiatus, I didn't wear fragrance much, except on weekends; but I really started to get into CdG 2 MAN, more and more. I'm starting to think it and Gucci PH are miles apart, not as similar as they initially seemed. People say CdG 2MAN lacks imagination, but for me its like wearing a collage of my favorite CdG scents!
