Good fragrance to fully understand the Vetiver note?

Hi,

I recently realised that i have fragrances with the vetiver note in them but i for some reason can't seem to imagine what a fragrance centred on that note would be like. I can understand it as a supporting note but can't seem to get my mind past that. I imagine a dusty woody scent but maybe i am wrong? So i am wondering what would be a good place to start?

I was thinking about Vetiver Eau de Toilette as that seems to be popular and is a reasonable price to start off with or would i be better jumping in with Grey Vetiver Eau de Parfum to truly experience how good a vetiver fragrance can be?

the best way to understand the vetiver note is to try a fragrance that mainly smells vetiver like Llalique Encre Noire. It is not great in longevity and trail, but it is pure vetiver × 2 plus a bit of cypress. On the plus: Encre Noire (Black ink in French) is addictive and dead cheap.

vetiver Guerlain is a magnificent perfume, but it is formulated with the vetiver in the center. With other beautiful notes that compliment the vetiver note. If you are looking for a sample of TF grey vetiver and cannot find it try Just Jack Vetiver ,it is really close and at one twentieth of the price of the TF

Nice one thanks for the help. 

This is a great question - there are some notes I've also had a hard time wrapping my head around, too.

I know you're looking for vetiver-forward fragrance recommendations, but another way that I've found helpful to really grasp a note is to order a solinote fragrance oil of that particular note - such as, a sample vial of vetiver parfumer's fragrance oil.

I know each supplier's vetiver will smell a little different from the next, but it's been a helpful way for me to "isolate" the note for my nose/brain so I know how to better anticipate it in a fragrance. Best of luck to you!

Great suggestions so far! 👍👍 It's one of my favourite notes. I'd also suggest to try pure vetiver essential oil. You could add it in a diffuser, bath, unscented skincare products etc. to get a clear picture what plain vetiver smells like. There are also slight differences between different vetiver qualities.

Sultan Vetiver - Nishane

To understand the note go with vetivers oils:

Vetiver Ruh Khus

Vetiver CO2 extraction

Start with Indian or Indonesian and then maybe go to the more common Haitian.

Perfumes worth noticing are

Vétiver Bourbon

Vétiver Extraordinaire

II-III (homage to) Hemingway

Vetiver Eau de Toilette

... then maybe consider heavier and more smoky:

Fumidus

Cowboy Grass

Lampblack

Thanks for so many suggestions everyone. I am still to pick one. I have just been caught up in sales and products that are being discontinued that I haven’t had the chance to grab one yet but I plan on doing so along with one of the suggestions for the other topic I have about Tarragon and Caraway. 

Hearts coming your way to all your replies 🙏😊😍

I think this one could be just as interesting

"Hermessence Vétiver Tonka | Hermès"

Another vote for Grey Vetiver Eau de Parfum here!

Incident Diplomatique

Thanks for the further replies as i am yet to buy one. I did however receive Instinct Eau de Toilette and heard that this is a good one for vetiver. Can anyone confirm that is what i am able to smell a lot of in this fragrance? If so, would a good way to describe it as, would be a kind of bitter, sharp green kind of smell?

Hey, 

Vetyver is one of my favorite fragnance notes. I had Vetyver Guerlain and i enjoyed it. It is very close to realistic smell of vetyver. But you have to give it time to understand the fragnance. Try Vetyver Oriental a different facet of vetyver still dusty green but with a chocolate touch. 

Sorry i don't know how to put the image of the fragnances.. 

To link a fragrance you type # then start typing the name of the fragrance and tap on the thing that pops up

I assume you mean Vétiver oriental

Sultan Vetiver

Vetiver Eau de Toilette

Vetiver Sensuel

To me, vetiver is complex in the best way. It can be citrusy and green, like freshly cut grass, or it can be dirty and dry, like dried hay. It can also be both at once! I love it and anything that highlights it is an instant love for me.

Vetiver Eau de Toilette and Terre d'Hermès Eau Intense Vétiver both do this really well. Grey Vetiver Eau de Parfum also highlights some of these qualities, but leans more into the drier aspects of vetiver. It's not as bright as the other two, but still a shining example of a vetiver fragrance.

Vetiver Extraordinaire FM

Mon Vetiver Essential Parfums

# The GOAT Guerlain - Vetiver ( It's the most iconic and definitely the greatest of all time , Hands down ! )  

# Modern Vintage Terre D Hermes ( It's the most celebrated vetiver perfume in the modern time . )

# Extraordinary Scent Profile  Nishane - Sultan vetiver ( Ultimate fusion of Middle eastern and French Perfumery)

# Dark Vetiver Lalique - Encre noire  ( Damp Dark Forest at evening )

# Bright Vetiver Tom Ford - Grey Vetiver ( Not Grey at all and sunny day occasion vibe beside ocean, very uplifting ) 

# Aquatic vetiver Lalique - Encre Noire Sport (Natural Citrusy opening and light vetiver with heavy iso e super )

# Exotic Vetiver Lalique - Encre Noire à L'Extrême (Ancient temple in a long-lost forest at dusk

# Soapy and sweet Vetiver Dsquared² - 2 Wood (All vetiver fragrances have soapy nature in general, but this one is very soapy and sweet, revamp of the He Wood Rocky Mountain Wood

# Vetiver haters Vetiver Karl Lagerfeld - Bois de Vétiver (This one has a very light approach toward vetiver, even expert noses find it hard to notice) 

# Budget Vetiver Rasasi - Fattan (inspired version of Terre d'Hermès  but it appears as a Fresher lime centric Flanker of the OG. Most affordable on this list but definitely has the features to fight the rest shoulder to shoulder )

Vetiver 46 Eau de Parfum cannot find purest vetiver fragrance. I consider le labo to be the flavor, if you don’t know what and how smells, you must visit them.

Oh dear.. I knew I had to skip this thread… now there’s even more frags on my wishlist 😂

I gave Vetiver Eau de Toilette to my brother this year, it smells delicious, fresh, but not 'just fresh', interesting scent. I got wafts of it when we were sitting outside on a crisp spring afternoon. It now also comes as an EDP...

I'd go Vetiver Eau de Toilette and Encre Noire Eau de Toilette

both give a good idea of what it smells like. its so hard to tell sometimes because fragrance blends are hard to pick out individual stuff sometimes, but these 2 I feel give a pretty good grasp.

@Mitchcraft  during the quarantine phase of the pandemic I wanted to learn more about individual perfume ingredients so I ordered a ton of samples from Eden Botanicals. You can see the range of vetivers they carry here and most samples are only $3.00.