Vetiver Réunion Urban Scents 2016

Vetiver Reunion starts off very woody, and completely dry, the vetiver rises up from the earth towards me. Shortly after, the characteristic cool-green scent of vetiver unfolds. It quickly becomes spicy. Peppery, a bit bitter. The grapefruit doesn't appear as a fruit at all, but rather as a bright, also bitter nuance. The scent itself: light, it even becomes steadily brighter.

This fragrance does from the very beginning what captivates me, AugustA, about vetiver, why I keep searching for the right vetiver for myself: It grows from beneath the earth directly into the blue sky!

Then, after about half an hour, the scent becomes a bit floral and additional facets emerge upon closer sniffing: a slight mustiness, a bitter sharpness, even a hint of seaweed. But also some kind of pleasant nuttiness, the famous hazelnut of Reunion vetiver? Well, I hope I haven't mixed that up. It's the first time, in any case, that I perceive it this way without any (fruit or gourmand) sweetness added.

I find this vetiver scent thoroughly modern, free from all gentlemanly pretensions that vetiver - for which it cannot be blamed - sometimes historically carries with it.
The airy side of this grass, the freshness, the almost ethereal quality, the lightness and coolness of water, all of that and more. A wonderfully crafted fragrance that manages to refresh the vetiver tradition subtly yet significantly.
The scent shines for me in shifting shades of bottle green, and after about three hours, a bright creaminess even joins in.

I can hardly stand the term urban anymore, since it has become a constantly and universally used synonym for modern, hip, and trendy, thus anti-traditionalist. But this one is it. Period. No barbershop, suit-wearer, or any kind of design item.

From the root to the sky, a success.