Haitian Vetiver

[mymymai]

Vetiver is easily one of my favorite base notes. Dark, earthy, and somber, it makes an excellent perfume fixative, and radiates a scent that is profoundly relaxing and gently grounding. In aromatherapy, it is used to treat stress disorders, anxiety, and soul-weariness. It is a truly multidimensional scent, possessing more than a hundred and fifty aromatic molecules, and its fragrance grows even deeper - richly sweeter - and more intense with time.

 

ITB: Very smoky - like smoldering wood and beef jerky.

Wet: While it doesn't change too much from my original impression, there is more of an earthiness to it once it hits my skin.

Dry: After several hours and a shower, the scent is earthy, slightly resinous, and lightly smoky. I like it much better after it has dried.

[Zii]

Wet: This must be that deep, rich smoke note I love so much. It is an amazing vetiver! There is so much complexity, and while I typically consider Vetiver to be a pretty masculine scent, this is complex enough that it isn't IN YOUR FACE DUDE, at least not for me. Be warned, there is throw for days. It's not going to convert you if vetiver's not your thing.

 

Drying: Sweeter and more of a woody spiciness. Like a stronger version of the smell of my dad's home made charcoal.

 

Dry: for a single note, this is lush and complicated. Vetiver is a fav note and I was not let down.

[porcelina]

this vetiver is so rich and thick that my 2.5-year-old bottle was actually kind of difficult to open, because the area under the cap was kind of sticky! the oil itself is very dark and oh my gosh a little goes a LONG way.

 

if you love vetiver, you will love this. for me... vetiver is in a number of scents that i enjoy, to add a sense of smokiness, i think, but when it is the dominant note in a blend, i don't tend to enjoy it. it's interesting to get to smell it on its own; i can really appreciate its complexity as a single note.

 

the oil itself is very dark, and the scent itself is dark and somber, as well. it's gritty, earthy and very smoky. it almost smells savory; i can see where some might think it smells like bacon! (i have gotten that myself from a couple of vetiver blends.)

 

i don't think i will ever wear this but i enjoyed being able to smell vetiver on its own and i like having it in my SN collection.

[hammy]

In the imp - Oof, now that’s vetiver for ya. It’s smoky and straw-like and a little bitter. Suuuper thick oil, too.

 

Wet - Man, this is a mess. I’m really not a vetiver fan, and this is the vetiver-est vetiver in the history of vetiver. I smell like an oil spot in a parking lot -- a little dirt, a little gravel, some exhaust fumes, and a toxic slickness that is best avoided.

 

Drydown - Still vetiver. I don’t know what to say about this. I’m SO not a vetiver person, and having it this close to me is making me wince.

 

Verdict - Get it off.

[Upstart Crow]

I passed this up in 2012 but picked it up for the 2016 charity event.

 

I only regret waiting so long. Vetiver is a favorite note of mine that I've sought out less over the years for some reason, and this gorgeous bottle reminds me why I shouldn't do that ;3. It's smoky, slightly greenish, woody, heavy, pungent, and "gritty" as a few people have said. Nice long staying power too.

 

This smells like the same vetiver used in Bluebeard too, which makes it an instant winner for me.

[AirimirOfGondor]

Snagged a bottle of this from a fairy during the 2016 charity event.

 

Wet, it's extremely strong. It's dark, deep, smokey, and just slightly sweet. It's almost overpowering though, a kind of motor oil, charred-pan kind of thing. If it remained like that the whole time, I probably wouldn't like it.

 

But as it dries, it thankfully lightens up a lot; it gets brighter, with some green notes, and quite a bit more of a dried-grasses/hay quality.

 

After it's been dry for a while, it's wonderful! All the notes meld together, and it is smokey, spicy, sweet, and woody, with an underlying comforting heaviness - I think it's amazingly grounding. I'm glad I can stick it out to this point, because it's wonderful!

 

Since it's so strong, it has suuuuper long throw, and lasts forever. A little bit goes an extremely long way, so I consider this a really smart buy.

Edited November 1, 2016 by AirimirOfGondor

[Aveya]

Source: Forum sale

Preconception: I hate vetiver. I have never smelled raw on-it's-own vetiver but in every single scent with it, I swear it smells like musty damp basement. Hate it. hate it. So naturally I need to try it, understand it, and see if I hate it or am confused by it. Challenge for my nose.

 

Bottle: OH god. Yeah. So I hate vetiver. Musty basement kicking me over the head. However - I sniffed deep as I read the first review in this thread - and I would say it's spot on. "it smells like the supplest suede and the richest soil, like sacred smoke and lime zest."

Skin: Interesting. I'm thinking the Vetiver is like patchouli. In that you literally love or hate it. And if you love it, you LOVE it. You want everyone in the world to love it. You try to convince others to think of it differently. To try it differently. To put preconceptions aside and just EMBRACE it. (Or is that just me? ). As I smell vetiver I can sense it. There's a depth to this that is ... captivating. Bonfires and magic. "Sacred Smoke" is the most perfect description. There's soul in this.

 

But it's also dirty, dark, bitter. Oil spills on dirt floors under old radiators in creepy basements. Roots coming in through the walls in the cellar. It's alive where it shouldn't be. It's beautiful and sacred yet unsettling and raw.

 

Drydown: It loses a bit of the dark-depth, and instead gains a sort of grassy dusty vibe. It's this stage of vetiver I truly despise. If it always smelled like the first apply on skin, I could certainly learn to love it. The DEPTH early on is unmistakably breathtaking. But it sort of adjusts into burning herb satchels and oil spills, instead of all the depth. The high notes are a bit assaulting to me and overpowering.

 

Verdict: Dirty, earthy, smoky, grassy. Oil slicks, dirt floors, burning grasses. Masculine to me, but wearable by all.

[aphrodisms]

I loove vetiver and have some blends made by the Lab that feature it gorgeously, but this went so horribly wrong. It's all very savoury dark bbq sauce somehow.