SYNONYMOUS WITH STRENGTH, STRONGLY CONCENTRATED PARFUM OFFERS THE BOLDEST EXPRESSION OF A FRAGRANCETo reinterpret Vétiver’s iconic fragrance, Guerlain’s perfumers have turned to the world of spirits as an inspiration. Drawing upon the emblematic notes and the spellbinding yet bold aesthetic of this world that shares so much with perfumery, this fragrance is crafted from an exceptional selection of highly concentrated ingredients, to create a scent of unparalleled seduction.
NOBLE, POWERFUL, INTENSE
Composed much like a gin, Vétiver Le Parfum opens with slightly bitter, aromatic notes of juniper berry. Invigorating and energizing, an exceptional vetiver essence follows, revealing its freshest facets. Distilled from vetiver roots, this noble ingredient showcases the full depth of vetiver’s woody tones. Blended with captivating smoky notes and the addictive Tonka bean, beloved by Guerlain, the result is a fragrance that reveals a sublime balance of brightness and earthiness, power and elegance.
It’s been a while since I travelled up to Shinjuku Isetan specifically to try and potentially actually buy a new perfume. But I have always loved Guerlain Vetiver and the idea of a ‘parfum’ variant was just too intriguing to pass up. Buoyed up by a positive review on Persolaise I went straight to the Guerlain counter on an (unseemly busily Golden Week Saturday) and asked to smell it: within five minutes I had bought it. I love the bottle. The green colour. The label details. The heavy feel of it in the hand. The sense that the soul of the scent – the basic DNA – that husky, tobacco nutmeg with the vetiver and tonka that make it so distinctive – was still intact, even if some of the softer details have been swept away in the process.
Thirty years ago or so I used to hover about a bottle of the original Vetiver edt in a shop in Cambridge with a slightly tattered box (probably more tattered each time I went in there because it was me doing the tattering); eventually it went on sale and an ever increasingly perfume obsessed student could then buy it. It was a new departure for me , scent-wise, but there was something haunting about the perfume, like a cello played in a smoke- timbered house. It really tugged at an unknown chamber within me. Those melancholy, musky-citric, more profoundly human and poetic edges have been shorn away, and I miss them. But this slightly flintier, darker variant, which prolongs the essential vetiver note at the heart with a subtle note of juniper and coriander for a slightly basilic green astringency, is something I will wear regularly, probably layered with a touch of vintage Shalimar. It is me. And much better than some reformulations I have had over the years, where I always felt an overpreponderance of unnecessary, inexpensive ingredients. This is streamlined, simple. I made the right choice.
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