II-III (homage to) Hemingway Masque 2018

I love the ginger and rhubarb in the opening, and when the vetiver kicks in, it's wet and mossy and dark. The vetiver is rich, it dominates the fragrance, making it austere, mysterious, intriguing. When it settles into the patchouli-leather base, I can close my eyes and picture the man wearing it: he's a nomad, serious, austere, a man of few words. So yes, a perfect homage it is. Unfortunately, it's so short-lived, 2, 3 hours at best.

Today I found the best vetiver I've been looking for all my life. This is not an ordinary thing. I knew that right after the first spray. It's not heading for the scent of wet soil or thick undergrowth like other vetiver fragrance. Rather, it's a bitter scent from the roots of a living vetiver. The scent comes with the spicy taste of ginger and rhubarb. And the salty taste of the sea is melted maybe somewhere. From the beginning, this fragrance immediately summons the scenery of a exotic harbor village.

Over the course of an hour, the spicy bitter scent slowly turns the dry vetiver into a fiery scent. This part has a texture similar to Lalique's Encre Noir, but it's not that dark or subdued. If Encre Noir is like the black, sticky tar that burns vetivers and remains, Hemingway is like a gray smoke that spreads stealthily during the process of smoking vetivers. It is a lonely night with no moonlight, a tough old man's campfire.

After drying, old leather blanket's scent remains with some heavy woods. The vetiver which has been continued since the opening, then becomes the moist land's nuance what we know, and it sleep quietly. Hemingway is an epic of a daring adventurer that lasts seven to eight hours. This can certainly be regarded as a phenomenal work of art. Only 35ml high price, a bit small projection range. Nevertheless, for Vetiver fans like me it's highly appreciated.

Jovoy has chosen an elegant location for its London branch: Mayfair - perhaps the most expensive square on the local playing field. The selection is consequently no less exquisite and almost as prestigious as in the slightly larger flagship store in Paris (see the comment on "Rêve en Cuir" if necessary). By the way, the in-house creations are by no means the focus in either branch.

I was assured that the Masques are only available here throughout the UK. Not with pride, but with that demonstrative calmness that knows no doubt about the obvious. After all, such a store is on eye level with its clientele. This - just like in Paris - did not prevent them from courteously serving the tourist with a red backpack and sneakers, as well as his 13-year-old daughter. However, it looked quite professional, if I may say so, as the not-so-little girl held her neatly labeled test strips in her left hand, sniffed them alternately, and gave her (quite plausible!) judgments. How proud the dad was!

Back to the Masques: The finely engraved marlin quickly turned the well-shaped bottle from a visual delight into something to reach for. The salesperson declared ‘Hemingway’ to be the best vetiver scent he had smelled in a long time. That sounded good, especially since Jovoy also sells Malle’s ‘Vétiver Extraordinaire’, to which certain parallels could be found in terms of vetiver breadth. Upon request, a sample (made of glass!) was handed over without hesitation, labeled with a neatly printed sticker made on-site. That has style. I was able to test it at home in peace.

Vetiver. Right from the start. Characteristically distinct, yet mild in presentation. I would never have thought of ginger or rhubarb on my own, and even with a hint, they hardly leave the realm of imagination at this stage. Instead, the stronger ingredients of the base already flash through, quickly hinting at patchouli, which plays with its closeness to leather, which, on the other hand, also has tarry-smoky roots. Or better: seems to have, as the aromas swirl around each other like clouds. Fresh, slightly damp earth, warm-spicy-herbaceous hints, an almost sweet nuttiness. The grass offers all its facets, and at its edges, some rounding aromas are skillfully and gently added.

One drawback is the soon retreat. Already after three hours - at least on a warm summer day - the scent is gone from the skin. Interestingly, a hint of fruitiness breaks through for a while, as one would have expected at the beginning. Overall, it remains exciting. The patchouli steps into the chocolatey (bitterbitterbitter, of course) and around noon, so to speak, the still-missing vetiver varieties appear, such as: a delicate, gentle salt note that enriches the earthy-smoky part, as well as a hint of acidity, as some vetivers show. Today, however, we also want to believe that rhubarb is involved - just for the sake of pyramid order.

After about six or seven hours, the scent gently lands on fine wood, which exhibits both light and dark aspects and no noticeable synthetics for me. On the second testing day, I notice the base much earlier, yet it remains very backgrounded into the afternoon. This ending comes across a bit more polished than the rest and radiates a rather uniform nobility. Still, nobility. An overall worthy conclusion.

Conclusion: A vetiver scent without any frills. ‘Hemingway’ successfully focuses on the central ingredient and its aromatic variety. The result should not go untested by any vetiver lover.