Vetiver pour Elle Guerlain 2004

For a long time, Jean-Paul Guerlain was said to have been asked, even urged, to finally create a version of his legendary 'Vetiver' that would not only be wearable by women (in olfactory terms, women had long been emancipated enough to use the men's classic), but should also be dedicated to them with all the honors of an independent Guerlain fragrance.
It took a long time, very long, for the maestro to comply, but more than 40 years after the introduction of the first soliflore vetivers by Guerlain ('Sous le Vent' and 'Djedi' were, in a way, trial runs for the highlighted vetiver note), it finally happened, and the house launched a fragrance simply called 'Vetiver pour Elle.' This came in a bottle reminiscent of the classics 'Mitsouko' and 'L'Heure bleue' and was strangely initially sold exclusively at Paris train stations and in duty-free shops at the capital's airports. However, after a few years, as part of a restructuring of Guerlain's portfolio, 'Vetiver pour Elle' found its way into the newly created 'Les Parisiennes' line, is now housed in the familiar 'Abeille' (bee hive) bottles, and is sold exclusively in the brand's own boutiques and at a few places called 'Maison Guerlain.'

While the classic men's version continues to be available in countless stores worldwide, the option to purchase the women's version is limited to just a handful of supposedly oh-so-exclusive 'Maisons.' And the pricing also differs significantly: while the original costs around 80 euros, 'pour Elle' demands more than double that. Well, there are indeed 25ml more in the bottle since the old 125ml bottle of the original was replaced with a 100ml one. But please don't think that the women's version is twice as good just because it costs twice as much - it is not. It is also not an optimized or more refined version of the old 'Vetiver.' In my opinion, it is neither 'perversely confidential,' nor do I see the house Guerlain with this vetiver version 'once again ahead of the pack' (Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez, Perfumes - The Guide).

No, 'Vetiver pour Elle' is a beautiful, rather light, but still persistent and long-lasting floral scent with fine woody nuances, an exceedingly subtle, almost shy vetiver note, and a warm, slightly ambered chypre base. The seemingly dissonant strong spice, the radiant green freshness, the smoky, but also the rubbery facets of the aromatic vetiver grass, as well as the famous tobacco note of the original are all sought in vain here. Instead, the wearer (and with all the 'pour Elle,' the fragrance is certainly also 'pour Lui') is embraced by a gentle, wonderfully balanced floral quartet that is said to contain orange blossom, lily of the valley, jasmine, and honeysuckle (orange blossom and jasmine are clearly recognizable, but the other two... well, they are just finely woven in). And of course, the vetiver makes an appearance, but - as mentioned - surprisingly reserved. So reserved that I can't shake the feeling that Jean-Paul Guerlain composed this fragrance merely to appease the pressure from his surroundings and less because he had come to the conviction, after long hesitation, that the complex scent of the harsh, edgy, indeed masculine vetiver was equally suitable for the female gender. In any case, he assigns the women's world such a surprisingly small quantity of that fragrant grass (and its root) that one might not be wrong in suspecting that Monsieur Guerlain also struggled with the idea of a 'Vetiver pour Madame' during the creation process...
Essentially, the fragrance ultimately named 'Vetiver pour Elle' could bear any other name, for it is truly not a soliflore vetiver.

But perhaps Mr. Guerlain had the following image in mind: While his old 'Vetiver' was inspired by the gardener working in the Guerlain garden, who always kept a packet of tobacco in his pocket, his 'pour Elle' might have been inspired by the lady of the house, who accompanied the gardener into the garden to guide his work according to her wishes. So perhaps he trimmed a hedge here at her behest, pruned a bush there, and then mowed the lawn. She, however, after having instructed him, returned to the house and brought with her a hint of the gardener's scent, which smelled of all that green and tobacco. This hint blended wonderfully with her own perfume, a fine, creamy-powdery floral chypre.
Maybe it was like that, who knows. In any case, 'Vetiver pour Elle' presents itself exactly as such: as a vetiver scent (if one can even call it that) that could be for anyone, regardless of gender, who has some issues with the typical characteristics of this genre - a fragrance for vetiver skeptics, then, or for those who have always been looking for a floral, less harsh variant.

However, die-hard vetiver enthusiasts and admirers of the great works of this fragrance category, such as Givenchy's magnificent 'Vetyver,' Frédéric Malle's equally successful reinterpretation 'Vetiver Extraordinaire,' or indeed Guerlain's own legend, will likely be disappointed by 'Vetiver pour Elle' - too tame, too shy, too much cream pot and powder puff (Coumarin!) - simply put: too little vetiver.
It is a pleasant fragrance, beautifully composed and with admirable proportions, nonetheless. Just not bold. But do we want to have to muster all our courage every day to wear the harshest of all vetiver fragrances, Etro's wonderfully smoky-woody 'Vetiver'? No, one - or rather I - do not want that.

There are also carefree, sunny days when Guerlain's 'Vetiver pour Elle' can certainly be the choice. On most other days, however, I will probably continue to reach for the original or the liqueur-like, dark-woody 'Extrême.' Now and then, though, I will surely also reach for this cheerful, relaxed variant, which hardcore vetiver fans should please stay away from - they are already well taken care of!