Lorenzo Villoresi Vetiver - what do you think about it?

Not experienced really, but I have a sample of it. Quite raw and a bit herbal, doesn't feel polished at all. Sometimes it feels almost a bit salty. If you want a vetiver from Villoresi, I also strongly suggest you check out their Sandalo. I like the vetiver note in that one more than how the accords work in Vetiver for some reason. For me it would work both as a vetiver fragrance, as well as a sandalwood one. It leans more towards being a vetiver fragrance inmo.

What a dark vetiver! It's haunting , to say the least. Sillage is limited to a minimal space around you though the scent is tenacious and does last a long while. A work of art. in the truest sense of the phrase. So dark that you will need to carry a torch with you. LV's Vetiver is a scent of good earth.

I sampled it a couple of weeks ago and it made it immediately into my "most desired" list. It´s raw and herbal and starts quiet sharp, sure, but after (as usual with Villoresi frags) about half an hour it gets smoother and in the end it´s a very warm and earthy vetiver .One of the best vetivers I have ever encountered. It has that certain Villoresi-touch that combines rawness with elegance. Absolutely great!!

Christian

Spezie and Yerbamate are already in line. And I hear that Incensi should be so nice... I simply love these threads of pure appraisal - even knowing that this will mainly end in a big black hole financially. Bring me the torch for that one !

It's the only must have Lorenzo Villoresi scent I've come across. It's my favourite vetiver. Very raw compared to the designer vetivers, not as raw as the Etro one, but lasts a lot longer than it and several other famous niche ones I've sampled (but can't for the life of me remember which ones they were).

I don't usually wear vetivers in summer, so can't really comment as to it's effect.

The only thing I don't like about it is the spray top. Lay the bottle on its side and a few drops always keep coming out of it, giving my drawer a very vetivery smell. Kept upright, the bottle is okay. Thus it's not a good travel scent.
Renato

LV Vetiver is fantastic! Yes it is earthy and herbal, and that is exactly what I love. If you want citrus and tobacco, Guerlain is your choice, but I like the LV for its natural earthiness.

Joe

I forget who wrote it, but the description of LV Vetiver I heard that I found on the money was: Other Vetivers are the leaves and the smell. LV Vetiver is the whole plant, including the root ball. To me it smells like the knees of a gardener's pants who has been kneeling and working in a patch of vetiver for a few hours. Interested, well-constructed, but not really for me.

Of the LV line, I *do* like Uomo and Piper Nigrum. (Uomo some people have longevity issues with)

I, too, like LV's Vetiver very much! It fared very well in my mano-a-mano showdown of vetiver fragrances nearly two years ago, though succumbing in the quarterfinals. I agree with the perception that while LV Vetiver is "wet", "raw", and "earthy", that it is also somewhat "elegant." I sum up these qualities to describe the scent as "big" and "shaggy." It is the full-grown St. Bernard to the sleek Doberman Pinscher that is MPG's Route du Vetiver. I am wearing L'Artisan's Vetiver today, and I think this is the closest approximation to LV Vetiver in overall character, with the L'Artisan a bit less shaggy (raw) and slightly more elegant. Etro Vetiver is also in this same neighborhood, as is Floris' underappreciated Vetiver.

Jeff

I wore LV Vetiver to a party in LA on Friday, I sprayed myself around 3:00 pm and by 6:00 pm it was gone. I had to stop in a shop in Santa Monica for a re-fresh. It's a very aqueous vetiver, which I like. It dries down to an elegant scent, with low sillage. I appreciate the lack of citrus notes. Very nice, but not the vetiver Holy Grail scent.

Interesting you say this, as my only (minor) complaint on the LV "blue bottle" line is that they don't last as look as I would like, but the Vetiver is supposed to be the longest lasting of the bunch. Too bad.

In case anyone besides me wants to revisit that treasure of a thread from Jeff, here it is: http://community.basenotes.net/showthread.php?t=172042

Vetiver Redux - this just floored me! How come I missed it last Winter? I must not really have been ready for Vetiver. This is partly due to the quality / lack of quality of the only three vetivers I knew then (1) Guerlain - too many other ingredients for me. It will remain a reference frag after I noticed, that it actually lasts double as long as I had thought for years. I learned that during last summer wich was long and hot. (2) Azzaro - dishwater with green detergent. (3) Lanvin (new), a blind buy and a total waste of money (the vintage Vetiver was a real fragrance).

Adolfo Dominguez: I know this designer who made a few colognes for one reason only: Vetiver Hombre. People whose judgement matters to me have kept praising it! I wonder why you have left this one out, Wicozani ? Can anyone please tell me how it compares to Malle's Vetiver X (present favorite) or Guerlains' ? I find Sel de Vetiver very, very nice, but before I buy that I need something more real and earthy. I guess I shall not even decide for Malle before I know what Dominguez and Villoresi are like. Based on what I own and what I read just now my option would be: Villoresi's!

btw: My bottle of Uomo is on the way, and I'll be anxious to first test it's longevity. . Piper N lasts extremely well on me, and so does my sample of Spezie which seems to even grow bigger during hours one and two!

Hi Narcus,
The newer Guerlain lasts heaps longer than the Guerlain Vetiver in the old bottle.

Azzaro's - may have faults, but projection over several meters isn't one of them.

Lanvin's - not a total waste of money, it's pretty good, but I'd never really call it a vetiver either.
Renato

This is a hardcore Vetiver, for sure. It almost scares me in a way. Strong and with a natural feeling to it. Not a complimentgetter among the simpletons around me, but for a Vetiver lover it is a definate must-try!
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Dominguez vetiver is really weak on the vetiver. If Guerlain's Vetiver struck you as a scent with too many other ingredients, I think you don't even have to try the Dominguez one, if it is pure vetiver you're desiring. Adolfo Dominguez Vetiver Hombre is much smoother than both Villoresi and Malle. In my opinion you should go for the Vetiver extraordinaire! Good luck!

Narcus, the longevity of Uomo is a really puzzling subject for me. Some days it lasts literally all day, and some times it's gone in less than two hours. Only other fragrance that has done this to me, is Chanel Pour Monsieur. I'm happy to see you buying it, since Uomo is quite simply one the best fragrances I have ever tried, and I wear it more often than any other scent. It never ever let's me down. Also excellent for tired and/or hang-overy days; very refreshing without any banal freshness if that makes sense.

You are right, when it comes to light and subtle vetivers, Sel de Vetiver is superb. Inside this category, decision should be, in my opinion, made between that and Creed's Vetiver. L'Artisan's Vetiver falls in the same caetgory, and is also a very nice one, but not much more than that.

Vetiver Extraordinaire might just be my favourite vetiver overall, I don't know; but I do know, that you should sample Villoresi's magnificent vetiver before choosing which one of these two earthy ones to buy. Both are absolute masterpieces, but I don't feel like wearing these too often outside my house, since these - like viktorov noted - are not at all appreciated by the people around me. Vetiver as a note is not an easy one to truly comprehend and appreciate.

One more thing! Have you ever tried MPG's Racine narcus? It is the ultimate vetiver and citrus composition, so balanced and also very longlasting. I remember it didn't last on Renato, so don't take that for granted. Anyway, I much prefer it to Guerlain. If you are interested in citrusy vetiver, this one should not be missed.

Are you serious

I don't have the slightest problem with any of the LV's I have owned or tested: Musk, Uomo, Spezie, Piper Nigrum, Alamut, Yerbamate, Garofano, Vetiver... They all linger on for the entire day and some of them are even noticable the next morning (Garofano and Vetiver in parficular).

I would even dare to say that Lorenzo Villoresi produces the most potent frags I know, together with Serge Lutens

Guerlain: I believe I have both bottles, the one in the classical (old) bottle is what I call 'vintage' and has the vetiver really more emphasized. That's not the one I have talked about, because I didn't want to exclude posters who do not own that version.

I lack the words to politely describe what I think about a former leader in perfumes, Lanvin, to issue a cologne they call Vetyver (as before) when in fact the new cologne has inherited nothing but the name from the beautiful old cologne! I bet the old version had triple the amount of ingredients or natural oils in it. The difference is immense! Alas, less than 15 ml is all I have left! I tend to be a purist, but here I make an exception - what you smell is a rich cologne including vetiver, but V isn't the only note you ever smell.

Must go off line for the moment. So many new considerations! Butt I'll get back to the suggestions from Europes north....thank you all in between & by for now !

I agree that skin chemistry might be the culprit.

I see in your wardrobe that you own (or tried?) quite a few Serge Lutens's and other nice things like Knize Ten, Musc Ravageur and Bois Du Portugal. How many 'hours of pleasure' do you get out of these ones? As LV's Vetiver lasts about as long as Musc Ravageur on me, and longer than Knize Ten (which still lasts the whole day).

I don't know what it is, but I'm the odd man out in this LV Vetiver is a raw vetiver mindset. Nothing wrong with all the fine smellers here who call it a gritty, earthy, raw smell, I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with any of their fine answers and thoughts--but for me LV Vetiver is supremely polished and smooth. It's the vetiver I'd put on under a tuxedo for a fancy music event on a stage in my fantasy of those kind of people and those kind of times. (Today I itch to find an event for my fancy clothes, and I'd probably wear a rose scent under them anyway.)

But LV Vetiver is dead on perfect for elegance and some kind of smoothness. Herbal is right, interesting vetiver in high concentration is right, edge is right, but the package all comes together with consumate elegance and top of society-ness. Not jeans and dark glasses, although it would be great with those, but the image I have from the smell is, well, you get what I mean.

Love the stuff. LV stuff lasts very well on me. All of it.
--Chris

Viktorov: Thank you for your comments on Vetiver Hombre. I got that just in time! A friend is going to Madrid this weekend, and I was about to ask him to get me a bottle. But from what you just told me the risk that I may be disappionted is pretty high, and I now called the bottle off! A sample is waiting for me anyway. I am not afraid wearing V Extraordinaire. People around me didn't complain about my Noir Epices, and I think VE has less sillage. Besides, both are too nice for the job actually. (I like the avatar)

Johnny Ludlow: MPG Racine - never even heard of it. But I know where I can go to sample it, and I will! This is growing over my head, friends, but in a nice way. I cannot explain why I had 5 ml of VE for more than a year, and it didn't impress me until January whe I got a sample of Sel de V, and I needed something to compare that against. Vetiver, the note I think is more about virtue and will than about carnal matters. It's so clean a smell, and green is a very appropriate color. I found it easy to love V, but perhaps it wouldn't be too hard to again be without it.Too big is the variety of basic notes I enjoy!

Des Grieux : When you smell nothing an hour or two after you applied your cologne - have you checked with others if they also get 'zero' near you? If it is your skin which somehow absorbs these fragrances too quickly, things should significantly change if you try wearing Villoresis on your shirt, Tshirt or other textiles. If your job requires you to sit a lot, and as it is summer now, try spraying a bit on your legs. That can work miracles, and you do not need to wear shorts for that

Man, that's gotta be the most inaccurate statement I've heard on here in awhile. Longevity of the vintage juice is some of the best there is (12 hours easy), and with half the application than the new juice. Why? Among other things, an abundance of oakmoss, myrrh, as well as civet (not in the new juice) in the base of the vintage has a lot to do with it.

I wear Vetiver Extraordinaire for all occasions. It is perfect for the office on a warm or cald day. I am not afraid of it either. I hope you did the right thing to call the Vetiver hombre off, it would be embarrassing for me if you would change your mind after smelling the sample. Anyway, I think it isn't what you described you was looking for.
Thank you for the compliment on the avatar, you're the second one to do so in just a couple of days!

Even worse is Vetiver Sport. I put an ample amount on my wrist a few hours ago, and while it smelled quite nice, there is not a trace of it left.

I can speak first hand about Guerlain's Vetiver Frozen and it lasts very well on me. I still got whiffs of it on my person almost 24 hours after application, which is longer than most of the frags in my wardrobe (TdH was stronger with the same time period and Givenchy Gentleman seemed on par). Unfortunatly I can't comment about the new (or vintage) Guerlain Vetiver.

What I don't get is, if everyone has longevity issues with the different designer Vetivers out there, why don't you wear natural vetiver essential oil neat on the skin?

It is the longest lasting fragrance on the planet (after Oud, of course )

I do not know whether I have the oil, or not, but I shall give it a try. Normally essential oils are rather heavy and not really enjoyable in that form. The only exception for me is oudh.
I came near my rosemary bush yesterday - it's the air around it that is more heavenly than the a leaf between my teeth. Also lavender oil: how far away is that from the plant which begins to smell now - weeks before the first blossoms open!

I see this as the primary responsibility of perfumers: filling the air with smells that have temporarily been 'caged' in oils. Essential oil, diluted enough in more oil so it cannot harm me, and then applied to skin does not seem to free enough molecules per second, to really tickle my my nose. Not only that: true lucidity can be so pleasing, and perhaps you need ehtanol/alcohol to achieve that. I have some fine Indian oils with different intensities. Generally speaking, I would call them mellow, warm and soft, just as pleasant to the nose as they feel on skin. And of course, they are so reliable for hours! But you cannot expect the volatility and lightness which a cologne like L'Instant gives you for one awesome hour.

btw: Guerlains Vetiver Ice lasts quite well indeed.

The old bottle may well have those things in it but my EDT old bottle of it doesn't last as long as the EDT of the new one. It's only good for 4 or 5 hours on me, whereas I get 7 or 8 ot of the new one. I own both and have done side by side comparisons.

I also have the EDC splash version of the old bottle which, curiously enough, even though it's not as strong smelling as the EDT old bottle, seems to last much longer than it.
Renato
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I'm amazed that you remember that tidbit. I bought a whole bottle of Racine (together with other MPGs) because I liked it, only to find that it had very limited lasting power on me, whereas the other MPGs were very good.
Renato

Well, indeed, I had a chance to directly compare Adolfo Dominquez Vetiver Hombre (VH) and Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire (VE) the night before last, and I think that viktorov pretty much captures the primary difference. These are two distinctly different scents, with Vetiver Hombre being the outlier. VE smells similar to many other "raw", "earthy" vetiver scents (LV, L'Artisan, Etro, and Floris spring immediately to mind), while Vetiver Hombre doesn't really smell very similar to any other vetiver scent I have ever experienced. VH is notably smooth and I perceive it as "juicy" and "fruity/floral" if that makes sense. There is a large synthetic floral component to VH that I'm guessing is the "tecnofloral" note that is listed on the rare Spanish-language olfactory pyramid for VH that can be found on the web. One source cites the notes in VH thusly:

Topnotes: Fresh (fresca), neroli, aromatica
Midnotes: Especiado, tecnofloral, amaderado
Basenotes: Vetiver, leather (cuero), root (raiz), humid earth (tierra humeda), musk (almizcle)

The dominant theme to my nose is the synthetic floral component. VH also starts off quite sweet, but becomes drier throughout its evolution.

VE, by contrast, opens with a strong focus on a pretty pure, natural vetiver note, tempered only minimally by some spices. VE pursues a somewhat linear development to my nose, the vetiver unchanging and quite constant. After two or so hours the basenotes of oakmoss, sandalwood, and synthetic musks join the fray and accompany the vetiver to its natural end after about 7 hours.

I much prefer the VE in this comparison. VH has about as much to do with vetiver as Mark Birley for Men does, which is to say not very much at all. I would be very interested to find out what "tecnofloral", "Especiado", and "amaderado" are in VH.

Let me get this straight, Guerlain recently changed the formula of their Vetiver? When did this happen, does anyone know?

Anyone have any idea about the list of ingredients in the old juice and new?

Well, I wouldn't call 7-8 years ago exactly recent, but I would bet the individual notes really didn't change very much, rather their use. For example, more citrus in the reformulation, which was probably done by merely increasing the concentration of those components responsible for the hesperedic notes.

Jeff

I tried this for the first time today and it's got a resounding WOW! Unbelievable. I can't even frame a reference, for this scent - I've never smelled anything quite like this combination of darkness and elegance before.

I am going to give this one more full wearing before I write up a review, but I am floating on air today...I am so excited about this scent. This might just replace Route du Vetiver and Vetiver Extraordinaire as my 'Favorite' vetiver.

(((jumping up and down - spinning all around)))

Ah, yes. If the older Heathcliff, returned to Wuthering Heights with elegant suits and brooding vengeance, wore perfume, this would be it.

I'm so glad you like this one, Mike! It's by far my favorite vetiver and one of my favorite frags of any kind. It's one of the few scents I have that if it were ever discontinued, I'd have to buy a half dozen bottles. I love the dark earthiness and the nice smokey rosewood. Great stuff. I can't imagine how anyone could have longevity issues with this one. It lasts forever on me (as do all of the LVs).

I am so happy to see so many basenoters disovering LV Vetiver. Along with TonyPrince, I felt like a voice in the wilderness about LV Vetiver when singing its praises last year. It is raw, green and damp earth, roots and all vetiver. Wonderfully blended! You have to be in the mood for it though because it carries such a serious attutude. If your not in the mood for a grounding scent rather than an uplfiting vetiver, it will pull you down a little. The closest other fragrances to LV vetiver I've tried are Vetiver Extraordinaire and French Lover / Bois d' Orage but neither hit the earthiness that LV does. I have also found LV Vetiver is a great grounding agent when used in layers with Rive Gauche. Sort of brings out the earthy vetiver drydown of RG which has too much spice up front, IMO.

I love this Vetiver, always appropriate, classy an calming. It has the most divine bergamot note too.

It's too beautiful. I can't wear it in public. Don't get me wrong, it's not that it's too polite, if you know what I mean. Oh no. It's a raw, pure, slightly brutal scent. I cannot concentrate on anything when I'm wearing it. I went shopping w/ my family and friends, they had a discussion and I was asked a question, and I was like, 'ha? sorry I wasn't listening'. From now on I am wearing LV vetiver only while contemplating at home alone. I swear it's the best one ever.

Great thread. I put some on at galerie lafayette today ,around 9 hours ago and it's still present , strongly. One of my favorite vetivers.

Villoresi's Vetiver is good stuff. It's a little rugged for my taste, but all his renditions are that way. His releases are like a rough carpenter who builds a cabin compared to a finish carpenter. Both cabins will be great once completed. They will be different and appeal to a different potential customer.

His vetiver is something I enjoy wearing around the house when I'm in the mood for it. There's something to be said for frags that have this quality.

I see I posted to this thread a couple years agao and am happy to see I still enjoy Villoresi Vetiver as a fragrance; but I should warn people that it is not a good fragrance if you are seeking out the vetiver note. There are so many other notes in there that it could easily be named something else to reference earthiness, roots and dirt. It kind of reminds me of the smell of the waterway deep in the canals of Venice or the riverside along the river Tamar which divides Devon from Cornwall. Name it after one of these areas would be more accurate.

Also this scent smells better at certain times of the year - fall and spring are best. In the middle of winter it kind smells like cabbage and I am not usually in the cabbage mood. But the rest of the year it evokes roots, earth, damp wooded greenery etc. It is a highly unusual fragrance and it keeps its spot in my wardrobe due to it ability to create a mood and be different.

buzzle, I could detect the lavendar and the patchouli. Perhaps the lavendar more than the patchouli but in an earthy lavendar not a floral one.

I am wearing this again today, after having smelled it and posting about it above in 2008.

Of course, since then, I have smelled/sampled/owned many other vetiver fragrances so my perceptions have shifted and my threshold has most likely increased.

Yes, it's strong and raw and root-prominent but I also think it has a watery whiff to it, that seems to be the reason people are using the word 'wet' to describe it.

I think it has a lot in common with Turtle Vetiver Exercise No. 1 by Les Nez that I wrote a review of back in '09 here: http://www.basenotes.net/threads/226....-1-by-Les-Nez - the Villoresi is a bit less iodine-rich and because of this 'smoothness' I can see how many of you guys feel this is elegant and sophisticated. I'm not sure I agree (I mean, if I want a 'elegant' vetiver I reach for Sycomore) but it's definitely a very dark, complex vetiver and hey not all of us can afford Djedi, right?