Itasca / Le Vetiver Itasca (2010)
by Lubin

I really like it a lot with more wears. A woody vetiver seems to be the focus though there are several other elements present such as pine, spices, smoke, tobacco and musk. It's not a fresh woody scent nor a dark scent, but a rugged lumberjack fragrance. Masculine, complex and attractive.

Itasca opens on my skin slightly fruity and boozy but it is also grassy and earthy. While the boozy accord stays, the vetiver seems to be pushed in the background rather quickly. Here and there, I pick up traces of vetiver, but the heart evolves into a watery (not aquatic) coniferous tea-like smell. Itasca is not sweet nor resin like and after some time it shifts again by adding a fresh pine needle and, by this stage, it is slightly smoky while retaining the freshness and boozy, green, herbal.
Itasca is a well done and mixes the smell of a forest after the rain, forest fruits, spices, green and earthy elements. I think it complements a man very good, having the earthy elements backed up by unsweetened fruits, good longevity and close projection.

Le Vetiver Itasca is a high-quality fragrance with one jarring accord that sticks out to my nose just enough to keep me from giving it a thumbs up.

The top is great, and refreshing. I mainly get a floral grapefruit with a backbone of something slightly nutty, smooth and satisfying. I wish this phase lasted longer. It's unique and really works for me.

Scent Detective mentioned astringent note in the middle, and that sums up the problem for me. It might be the mixture of clove and nutmeg, very sharp spices that complete with the lingering grapefruit in a kind of sour tug of war that I don't find pleasant. This phase lasts too long.

The base is a perfectly nice woody, somewhat spicy, fougere-ish barbershop-ish vetiver that's very versatile. No fireworks, but a really high quality accord. Longevity and sillage are both average.

I'm on the edge of a thumbs up, but can't fully recommend Itasca to the extended astringent/sour phase in the heart.

Itasca is a gem of a fragrance. It's not a vetiver fragrance as such. Neither do I find it particularly piney, herbal or astringent.

Consider all the fresh, sporty aftershaves and fragrances for men that flooded the market before things started to become calorie laden. Think of all the Gillette aftershaves and the Cool Water inspired fragrances. Some of them were green, some aquatic, some a little woody. All were fresh.

Now take all the good renditions of that style. And then take all the best elements of those good renditions, create a proper blend, and bottle it as an eau de parfum.

That is Itasca. It is invigorating, fresh, green, foresty and smells wonderful. It is neither juvenile nor mature. Perfect for all seasons, and almost all occasions. It successfully evokes an aftershave vibe due to its associations with fresh modern aftershaves, but is much classier.

Great in slightly warm weather, even better when it's slightly cool.

Good projection and longevity. Excellent stuff.

4/5

I've been waiting to review Itasca until I'd worn it for a while. I didn't love it the first two times I wore it. So, I thought to be fair, I'd give it some additional wearings and let it "soak" in, so to speak. Well...I don't hate it. I get the juniper berry in round 1, and I enjoy that. The rest of the notes duke it out from there. In round 2 the notes also fight it out for dominance I'd prefer a little more straight juniper in the opening and less competition from the other notes in the opening and middle notes. There's an almost astringent quality that is slightly off putting to me. The bottom line is this juice feels like the notes are competing with each other a little too much. It sort of fights it's way through the day duking it out with itself and just wore me down by the end. Unfortunately I can't smell the Red Pine or the Canadian Fir Balsam in the melange of other notes in the bottom notes either. With all that said, I still don't hate this juice. I'm somewhat intrigued by the sheer busyness of it. The longevity and sillage are impressive. About 9 hours for me.