Guerlain
Vétiver pour Elle
(2005)
Jean-Paul Guerlain
Floral Woods
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Top Notes: Bergamot, Neroli
Middle Notes: Honeysuckle, Lily of the Valley, Nutmeg
Base Notes: Vetiver, Tonka Bean
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Green citrus bergamot, white-floral citrus neroli, green-floral honeysuckle, white-floral lily of the valley, the sweet spice of nutmeg, woody green vetiver, and the new-mown hay note of coumarin from tonka beans. Altogether a woody and green scent with traces of sweet florals and spice, with a dryish edge of coumarin powderiness. Vetiver with a touch of fougère? Yes, but too much vetiver to allow lavender in, so a kind of fougère manquée? Yet J-P Guerlain's instincts were dead-on; the right balance for a softer version of the 1961 Vétiver, if anything even woodier, less harsh, for removing the screen of rougher base notes and revealing more of the vetiver. It's quite nice for men, too despite the rather sexist name.