Le Vetiver - Bluff Lubin 2010

I bought Bluff not completely blind, but rather half-blind. It was presented at the Global Arts of Perfume fair in April of this year and has been on my wish list since then. Now it has finally been released in Germany.

Alongside Itasca, it is the second perfume in the Le Vetyver line, which has been given an American backstory. The managing director told me that an old recipe was found which produces a cola-like scent, and this is also mentioned on the website. That made sense, as a distinct cola accord was noticeable in Bluff among other things. The name fits perfectly, as such an impression can only be a bluff.

This is certainly something very special. I only know one cola perfume, namely "Cola" from the Alla Corte del Re line by Nobile 1942. However, Bluff was anything but a simple cola scent for youthful perfume beginners. The cola accord was just one aspect in a complex scent experience. Bluff seemed even more desirable to me than the wonderful Itasca, which was presented alongside it and did not impress me much at the time. So I was looking forward to the market launch.

But now I must, to my disappointment, realize that I have a completely different perfume in front of me! Either my scent memory is playing tricks on me - which I hardly believe - or the formula was changed before the market launch.

A cola accord is at best to be guessed at; instead, there is a mysterious fruity note, especially in the top and heart of Bluff. It smells most like apricot. The note is too subtle to be described as candy-like. It is also not perceivable on the skin, but comes and goes from a distance. This note does not suit me; I look in vain for a presumed wearer, but it probably belongs to the bluff after all. Otherwise, it is a woody-herbaceous scent, even slimmer than Itasca, with some spiciness in the top and heart notes. Vetiver - after all, part of the name - only makes a very restrained and gentle appearance, enhancing the woods in the base accord without taking the lead itself. Only towards the end of the development - which seems to be reached after about 4 hours - is a very subtle vetiver more discernible. Bluff is very far from the classic "Le Vetyver."

Well, it is easy to describe what Bluff does not smell like. But I struggle with positive statements about the scent notes. This is due to two things. First, a good perfumer was at work. They managed to bring everything together in such a way that Bluff cannot simply be grasped with three or four ingredients from the fragrance pyramid. And these are actually the more exciting perfumes, where I suspect a greater degree of craftsmanship, broader experience, and more care.

And secondly: Bluff is a distinctly subtle perfume that cloaks the wearer in a very vague aura, even when you spray heavily! It has a very weak scent intensity, comparable to perfumes like Kenzopower, Annick Goutal's Duel, or Eau de Cartier. This was also different in my memory from the perfume fair. Not only the scent intensity, but also the longevity is rather modest. While Itasca effortlessly lasts a whole day and longer, Bluff is done after about 4 hours. And it surprisingly lasts better on clothing than on skin!

Bluff seems to me mainly like a toned-down version of Itasca, stripped of everything that could smell in any way opulent. The original approach of releasing a perfume with a clearly noticeable cola note was apparently dropped at the last second. That would have required courage, and perhaps there was the opinion that such a thing could not be sold. Fear of one's own courage? Nevertheless, Bluff is a successful perfume that convinces mainly through its sophistication. However, I will need some time to get used to it.