Les Nombres d'Or - Vétyver Maison Mona di Orio 2011

First of all, a little introduction about me and vetiver:
The ultimate vetiver scent for me is Sycomore. You really only need one vetiver fragrance, and that is it: green, woody, clear, smoky, strong, daring, mystical... All other vetiver scents fade in comparison. They smell like vetiver, but somehow... worse.
Aside from that, I was only taken by Vetiver Tonka, but that one is too sweet and gourmand for me most of the time (almond with licorice?) and somehow feels perverse on my skin. Exciting, but not necessary.

But then came the day when Vetyver came under my nose. My first impression was: unmistakably vetiver... but how vetiver + skin? Initially fresh and softly herbal, I soon distinctly smelled labdanum, musk, and tonka, which provided the vetiver with a slightly creamy-leathery base.
I was a bit confused afterward, as the scent did not smell like Sycomore, but also not worse. A vetiver that actually stands out from the crowd?

Wearing it multiple times confirmed: Vetyver is a close-to-skin, contemplative, intelligent-sensual representative of this otherwise too similar fragrance family. For me, it’s not a party scent and also not an office scent. With too much distraction and movement, it gets lost. Vetyver is more of a refuge at the end of the day or Sunday morning; it feels human, calming, and grounding to me.

Having now tried not all, but quite a few vetiver scents, I can conclude: for 99% of all vetiver fragrances, the saying "if you know one, you know them all" applies, as most are not very memorable. However, with Vetyver, it’s the other way around: I know (almost) all and can recognize one - Vetyver simply wouldn’t leave my mind and is now finally part of my collection.