Not much to say about Guerlain's Vetiver as it's possibly the most popular and seminal vetiver based fragrance ever created. The vintage formula was loaded with oakmoss and tobacco that together with the main element created a deep and incredibly satisfying blend. Fresh yet somewhat dirty with the typical, slightly rough, barbershop vibe of certain fragrances of the same period. Always stated as the reference vetiver. Mandatory!
Rating: 10/10
Vetiver EDC
Quite rare. This was a lighter version of the original Vetiver emphasized on the citruses. Still plenty of oakmoss and with a strong "Eau De Guerlain" type of vibe. Perfect for anyone who enjoys heavy applications.
Rating: 8/10
Vetiver EDT (Current Formulation)
Re-launched in 2000. A "no spurprise" linear composition that's at the same time classy, versatile, outstandingly wearable, contemporary, honest and solidly crafted. A great all-rounder. The current formulation is kinda polished and toned down on both the oakmoss and the tobacco with an overall effect that's at the same time fresher but less distinctive than the vintage. Said that, this is still pretty darn good. Not exactly long lasting, though.
Rating: 7/10
Givenchy Vetyver
Surely not among the most easiest to find. Another no-surpise type of vetiver that's classic, simple and realiable! If you like it nutty and treated to a slight dose of aldehydes on top, this is possibly one of the best around. "Pur Excellance". Finally reissued in the Les Parfums Mythiques series together with a bunch of other classics from this marvellous house.
No desctription needed!
Rating: 9.5/10
Maitre Parfumeur Et Gantier Route Du Vetiver
As a vetiver lover I've been encouraged many times to try Route De Vetiver (Vintage) and when I finally decided to face it I discovered an extremely compelling fragrance. RDV's opening is possibly one of the best representation of vetiver available on the market. Earthy, extremely bitter, wet. I never smelled vetiver's roots myself but I have the feeling that if you'd extract them from the ground after a couple of rainy days, they would smell exactly like RDV's opening. The drydown is incredibly woody and earthy, bold but not overpowering yet extremely masculine. Surely among the most uncompromising iterations of the rooty vetiver accord.
My little "disappointment" (not exactly the right word) comes with the refurmulated version that tends to be similar to other masterpieces of the same family such as Sycomore. Don't get me wrong, the current Route De Vetiver is still an outstanding scent, but if you're already familiar with Sycomore or with the vintage formula, it may result somehow disappointing.
Rating: 9/10 (Vintage) 8/10 (Current)
Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire
Well, this is the apotheosis of the "masculine vetiver fragrance" concept! A SUBLIME composition that immediately jumps at the top of its genre together with other masterpieces such as Sycomore, Route Du Vetiver, vintage Guerlain and the Givenchy's. Vetiver Extraordinaire is a stark and edgy composition where the usual bergamot/citrus opening is dried to the bone by sharp woody notes and a massive dose of dry leafy and sort of green vetiver. Add a nice quasi-soapy twist and here's a masterpiece. For hardcore vetiver lovers only. One of my favourites.
Rating: 9.5/10
Chanel Sycomore
I won't spend many words on Sycomore as it deserves at least a try. This is an absolute masterpiece, one of a kind type of fragrance and should be a mandatory purchase for any true fragrance lover. An outstanding and superbly crafted, smoky yet fresh vetiver centered composition enriched by hints of incense and a considerable dose of sandalwood. The usual aldehydes/iris roots "signature" by Chanel is there but works subtly to provide the right amount of sophistication. Dry yet plush, immensely satisfying. Possibly the best.
Music for tripping, for relaxing, or for making us uneasy and challenging us with a new perspective.
At the start of the third millennium music to chill-out to makes perfect sense. As the Western world becomes faster, more complex, more rife with nervous energy, the joy of listening to instrumental music that expresses both our external environment (both man-made and natural) and our inner spaces (both emotional and mental) is now more popular than at any other time in the history of recorded sound.
Play at maximum volume...
Guerlain Apres L'Ondée
Anybody looking for a light, gentle and heavenly floral fragrance should definitely smell Apres L'Ondée. This "piece of art" from the past century can be considered as one of the greatest, if not the best, creations in its genre. A delicate, almost fragile, composition made of heliotrope, violette and iris that gently touches your skin as a slim and smooth female's hand and sings to your ears a sad but reassuring melody with a faint voice that's almost a whisper. The usual Guerlain's baritone chorus (vanilla / musk / amber) is there to add consistency and depth to this very ethereal melody, but it's drastically muted to leave space to the celestial solo voice.
Apres L'Omdée is tremendously familiar, comfortable, reliable. Someone says it smells like clean skin, someone else associates it with his / her mother's smell, a beloved aunt, talcum powder, childhood, romance...As a matter of fact Apres L'Ondée is a smell that everybody knows, consciously or unwittingly. Mandatory!
"Luxury is something pretty and discreet. Luxury must not be something brash".
Rating: 10/10
Andy Tauer L'Air Du Desert Marocain
The smell of silence. Meditation incense, deep amber, spices. Isolationism, immense desertic landscapes, silence. An extremely rich oriental composition that is incredibly able to mantain a perfect balance between deepness and lightness, opulence and wearability. An intense blend that smells like a successful levitation phenomenon by a trascendental meditation master.
Not the masterpiece I expected but surely an evocative fragrance. No more words, enjoy the silcence.
Rating: 8.5/10
Parfumerie Generale Papyrus De Ciane
Many Guillame's perfumes are basically like movies trailers. They show in 3 minutes all their best, so you get hooked. But the whole film is often (not always) different. When I tested Papyrus De Ciane on paper I was totally impressed." Oh finally, the green scent I was looking for"... I was ready to buy a FB then a tiny little voice pushed me to sample it first. Thanx, I can only say thanx to that tiny voice. After the amazing opening with dry green notes, galbanum and a super fresh cut-grass / cactus effect, the fragrance turns incredibly soapy, green flowery and a tad too "pretty" (at least on my skin). Don't get me wrong, this is not a generic fresh-and-clean composition but more of a dry-green, meditative frankincense that while being very distinctive and intriguing it's a tad too mannered and affected to my taste.
That being said, if you're into transparent incenses you should definitely give Papyrus de Ciane a chance. Well done.
Rating: 7.5-8/10
Divine L'Homme Sage
L'Homme Sage opens like a firework. A tiny and barely perceptible (mandarine) shot towards the dark sky that explodes with a magnificent and stunning effect (saffron). Wow! At this point the firework usually starts to fade out but with L'Homme Sage it's like witnessing to the "gran finale" as smoky frankincense, cardamom and woods immediately start to shine surrounded by a consistent dose of sweet amber and achieving an incredible lasting power.
Overall, after the sparkling opening, L'Homme Sage has a warm character, It's comfortable, deep, velvety and kinda meditative. A bold (but not loud) composition that has a solid structure and some weight and remarks its presence with a very distinctive allure.
L'Homme Sage is here to prove that in modern perfumery is still possible to produce a concoction of ingredients that deserves to be called a FRAGRANCE! Very Good!
Have you ever wondered how heliotrope smells like? Here it is in all its glory with just a little addition of other flowers and white musk. Not my cup of tea but I can't deny this iteraton of the heliotrope is terrific. Just next to Apres L'Ondèe.
Rating: 8/10
Comme Des Garcons 2 Man
This is very easy for me, beeing in the past my signature fragrance for quite a while. What really compells me about CDG2M is Buxton's ability to give it an overall incensey waxy feeling that's at the same time very realistic and completely synthetic. Let me put it in a different way. CDG2M smells like smoky-frankincense but it's clearly not made out from frankinense. It has the same astringent citrusy feeling but it's somehow smothered by a large dose of aldheydes that add an odd and barely sweet touch to the overall effect. Unique, abstract and very distinctive.
In my opinion, they just made one mistake at CDG, they should have named it Odeur 72!
Rating: 8.5/10
Other fragrances you might want to check:
Lorenzo Villoresi Sandalo Lorenzo Villoresi Piper Nigrum Comme Des Garcons Avignon (Review) Comme Des Garcons Kyoto Armani Privè Bois D'Encens (Review) Heeley Esprit Du Tigre Calè Mistero Calè Fulgor Miller Et Bretaux #2 Spiritus/Land Les Nez L'Antimatiere (Review) Lush Exhale Le Labo Vetyver 46 (Review) Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan S-ex (Review)
Hardcore punk (sometimes referred to simply as hardcore) is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A. may have helped to popularize the term with the title of their 1981 album, Hardcore '81.
Hardcore has spawned the straight edge movement and its associated submovements, hardline and youth crew. Hardcore was heavily involved with the rise of the independent record labels in the 1980s, and with the DIY ethics in underground music scenes. It has influenced a number of music genres which have experienced mainstream success, such as alternative rock, metalcore, grunge, thrash metal, emo and post-hardcore.
Hardcore sprouted underground scenes across the United States in the early 1980s — particularly in Washington, D.C., California, New York/New Jersey, and Boston—as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom.
While traditional hardcore has never experienced mainstream commercial success, some of its early pioneers have garnered appreciation over time. Black Flag's album Damaged was included in Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003,[5] and the Dead Kennedys have seen one of their albums reach gold status over a period of 25 years. Although the music started in English-speaking western countries, scenes have also existed in Brazil, Japan, Europe and The Middle East.
Play at maximum volume...
Pascal Morabito Or Black
Possibly one of the darkest compositions I've ever experienced. A dense chyprey leather which is almost impossible to describe due to its multi-faceted nature. Smoky, leathery, mossy, incensey (resinous), herbal, old fashioned, modern, bitter, aromatic..OMG there's really a lot going on here.
I do apologize if I can't go through notes explaination but Or Black makes me feel positively "uneasy" and prefer to simply recommend it as the perfect example of a "fragrance for people who actually like fragrances" as diametrically opposed to the Turin's concept of "a fragrance for people who don't like fragrances".
On of the most assertive compositions ever. A masterpiece and a staple in my personal wardrobe.
Rating: 10/10
Etat Libre D'Orange Rien
This is one of those compositions that I had to "learn" how to appreciate it. Don't get me wrong, I haven't forced myself or something, it just took a while to appreciate its disturbing power, its extremely dry character. Here I'll report both of my reviews...
March 2011
I think a better name for "Rien" could have been "Tout" as this scent is loud, rich and very straight forward. The opening is harshing and crude with a consistent dose of aldehyde, leather (civet) and a completely desweetened rose. Almost disturbing but I like it. After a few minutes everything is joined by frankincense and the scent stays in the same mood for hours turning in the end into an extremely dry woody/leathery base. For a few aspects Rien reminded me of Knize Ten or even Bandit but it's way more uncomfortable. It's like they have tried to layer the two perfumes I mentioned with a cacophonic result. Don't get me wrong, Rien smells good but kind of unbalanced. Amazing sillage and good lasting power. Not bad but could have been a lot better.
June 2011
After several more wearings I'm addicted. Now Rien doesn't smell so rich as I used to perceived it in the past, I get it as a straight forward, uncompromising, kind of unsettling and positively crude dry leather. It's like a stilyzed dadaist portrait of Bandit after a steady diet of dryness.
Rating: 8.5/10
Lush Breath Of God
Original Review April 2011:
Everybody suggested Breath Of God as one of the weirdest fragrances around and as I'm always very curious about strange perfumes I immediatley decided to try it. A bizarre composition with mint, smoky incense/vetiver and fruits that's quite weird indeed. Linear and just a tad loud but definitely distinctive and (somehow) pleasant. It opens with incese juxtaposed to melon to then "evolve" into a smoky vetiver and a sort of woody-fruit-salad that's fresh and dark at the same time. Funny and very wearable, but far from being the masterpiece I expected.
I think I made a big mistake with Breath Of God as the first time I smelled it, I was at Lush surrounded by the loud and cacophonous chemical aroma that is typical of this kind of stores and, as the sense of smell is inarguably bounded and related to memory, my brain is no more able to dissociate the smell of BOG from the fake "natural-justmade-cosmethics&soaps" odor of Lush's points of sale. I decided to buy a 10ml vial anyway and maybe, one day, I'll be able to fully appreciate Breath Of God.
Edit July 2011:
After several wearings I can say I'm addicted. The smoky vetiver juxtaposed to the general fresh vibe is extremely compelling and absolutely unique. Kudos.
Rating: 8.5-9/10
Etat Libre D'Orange Secretions Magnifiques
First of all I would like to express my opinion regarding all the moralistic reactions I've heard / read or even seen about this perfume. It tooks more than a year for me to simply find a retailer in Italy and germany who was stocking this product. In a couple of stores I've been told that they refused to stock SM for its nasty graphic, in other stores they simply found it disgusting and decided not to sell it, but the best I've heard was from a mid aged female clerk who refused to stock the product because she could have found herself in the situation to spray it for customers who wanted to try it. OMG!
Said that, Secretions Magnifique is far from beeing spectacular or surprising. It has a STRONG metallic note throughout, mixed with a barely sweet floral-milky accord. The overall effect is pretty weird indeed, but IMO SM is to semen as it is to blood, saliva or mucus. Honestly, we can't say blood stinks, or mucus stinks they more lay in the organic odours limbo of unpleasant almost "adourless smells". I'd say theyr're kind of cloying. And that's exactly the effect SM has on me.
I prefer to consider Secretions Magnifique as an experimental (almost situationist) piece of art realized through the sense of smell. In my vision this is not a perfume, it's an universally familiar odour and a taboo subject made to provoke reactions. In this context, Antoine Lie perfectly achived his pourpose as SM has become one of the most controversial and discussed scents of the last 20 years. I agree when someone says that perfumery is another thing, but this composition is to perfumery as Derek Jarman's Blue is to cinema. Pure experimentation.
On the skin Secretion Magnifique has a tenacious lasting power and a considerable projection but I can't stand it for more than one/two hours. Would I ever want to buy a full bottle? Maybe not, but I totally respect ELDO's choice to produce and commercialize one of the weirdest fragrance ever created.
My Rating
the concept / project: 10 out of 10
the smell: 3 out of 10
overall: 6 out of 10
Maitre Parfumeur Et Gantier Parfum D'Habit
Parfum D'Habit's extremely compelling opening has a quite distinctive "lived-in" leather note joined by pronounced earthy undertones and laying on a masterfully refined musk /sandalwood base. The coniferous (Pine?) presence adds a mysterious extra touch of extreme charme. A well balanced and highly recommended "kinda rough" fragrance.
To be completely honest I found the drydown to be slightly more conventional if compared to the outstanding opening but this may be due to the fact that I'm smelling the reformulated version. I've heard the vintage was way more unpolite and unconventional and I'll do everything is possible to put my hands on it. That being said, this is still one of those compositions you encounter every once in a blue moon...
Extremely solid, masterfully crafted and miles ahead from today's anonymous scents. Probably not a fragrance for everyone because of its unapologetic character. Me? A personal favorite, just like my old leather jacket I used to wear to go to punk/hardcore gigs.
Rating: 9.5/10
Frederic Malle French Lover (aka Bois'Dorange)
I'm convincing myself everyday more and more that EP Frederic Malle is one of the best niche houses of the last 15 years and French Lover just makes my beliefs even stronger. An incense-pepper-vetiver scent that is as dry and bitter as much your immagination can go. It opens with a bitter blast of galbanum and woods, and even if not included in the note list I also get laurel galore. After 20 / 30 minutes a strong but sophisticated vetiver shows up together with frankincense. French Lover is a completely desweetened composition that leaves nothing to prettyness but at the same time it's austerely elegant, refined and modern.
If you're into fragrances such as Sycomore, Vetiver Extraordinaire or Memoir Man, you will probably dig this. Even if they don't share many objective similarity we can say they're in the same vein, they have a similar effect. Don't get me wrong, French Lover with its bone-dry structure and the overall lived-in vibe can result disturbing to someone but its extremely sophisticated composition make this scent unique and immediately recognizable.
IMO this is an important and potentially influential release, kind of trendsetter in the modern male perfumery. After two years from its entrance on the market it already counts a few clones (i.e. Comme Des Garcons Monocle Scent # 2 Laurel).
Great projection and tremendous lasting power (12 hrs on my skin). A superb work and one of my favourite from this house.
Something to carefully avoid if you're into fresh and clean type of stuff.
