Vetivers Pt.3 (The Lightest)

Christian Dior La Collection Couturier Parfumeur Vetiver

Dior's interpretation of vetiver is essential, fresh, minimalistic, no-surprise and leaves vetiver to speak by itself. Opens with a zingy green citrus accord and evolves into an incredibly satisfying, high-quality multi-facets woody/earthy/rooty vetiver with a nice projection and a good lasting power. An incredibly simple composition that sounds more like a tribute to this fascinating root. 

I still prefer the complexity of Sycomore or the green edges of Vetiver Extraordinaire, but Dior Vetiver is surely another great high-end vetiver to add to my list of favorites.

No coffee detected, sorry.

Rating: 8/10

The Different Company Sel De Vetiver 

Another top notch in this genre. Quite simple yet incredibly satisfying. The usual sharp and rooty vetiver is joined by a iodine, sort of salty, note. Probably not among the most complex in this genre but still pretty darn good in its minimalistic interation of the accord. Very moderately powerful.

Rating: 7.5/10

Mona Di Orio Vetyver

Mona Di Orio's Vetyver, together with Vetiver Pour Elle, is probably one of the most sophisticated interpretation of this root. Don't get me wrong, the Guerlain and the MdO don't share almost any similarity but they're still both great examples of perfect unisex elegance. Where Vetiver Pour Elle achives elegance by introducing white floral patterns, the MdO plays on subtle undertones and details with an overall result that is far from being complex yet incredibly sophisticated.

Vetyver opens with ginger and bourbon vetiver that immediately give the fragrance a fresh, fizzy, sort of zing-y quality. The ginger starts to fade while the fragrance "morphes" into a resenous and woody middle phase and drydown subtly enriched by a soft violet note while labdanum and tonka beans provide a tad of sweetness. Amazing exectution.

Overall, Vetyver would make an hell of a fragrance for any vetiver lover but, most of all, could represent a terrific alternative to anyone who's looking for a vetiver-centered composition that takes the distance from the straight forward and hardcore types of stuff a-là Vetiver Extraordinaire or Route Du Vetiver.

Just beautiful.

Downside: weak projection.

Rating: 8/10

Santa Maria Novella Eva

Earthy and fresh! A simple (almost simplicistic) and very easy to wear citrusy vetiver with peppery undertones. Unpretentious, modern, pleasant and very natural yet not particularly interesting. Definitely unisex.

Good if you don't know any better.





Rating: 6.5/10

Lubin Le Vetyver

Among the good vetivers this is my least favourite which means that is good but not exactly up my alley.  Loads of citruses (mainly grapefruit) and some "green" tobacco bring Le Vetiver towards the fresh-woody territory. The fragrance has good depth due to the presence of a remarkable frankincense note but, unfortunately, it suffers from a few stereotyped aspects (mainly concerning its strong classic masculine vibe). Yes, this is an old-fashioned type of fragrance which is usually a "pro" for me, but in this case turns to be a "con". It smells sort of Guerlain wannabe (expecially the grapefruit-centered opening which reminds me of Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune). Whenever I look for a classic masculine in the same vein I directly go for Tuscany Per Uomo.

Moderate lasting power.

Rating: 6.5/10

L.T. Piver Vetiver

A vetiver in which freshness is achived with an unripe green apple note in the opneing. It dries down to a retrò woody-nutty fragrance that's still pretty likeable but, maybe, not as interesting as it is during the opening. Nice and inexpensive.

Rating: 6.5/10

Incredibly Strange Perfumes Pt.2 (The Smell of Music: Industrial)

From Wikipedia...

Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the style is harsh and challenging. Allmusic defines industrial as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music"; "initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments (tape music, musique concrète, white noise, synthesizers, sequencers, etc.) and punk provocation".

The first industrial artists experimented with noise and aesthetically controversial topics, musically and visually, such as fascism, serial killers and the occult. Their production was not limited to music, but included mail art, performance art, installation pieces and other art forms. Prominent industrial musicians include Throbbing Gristle, SPK, Boyd Rice, Cabaret Voltaire, and Z'EV. The precursors that influenced the development of the genre included acts such as electronic group Kraftwerk, experimental rock acts Killing Joke, The Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa, psychedelic rock artists such as Jimi Hendrix, composers such as John Cage, writers such as William S. Burroughs, and philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche.

Read while playing the following videos at maximum volume.

Santa Maria Novella Nostalgia

If you'll ever have the chance to visit Florence don't miss the opportunity to go to the Santa Maria Novella's museum / shop / headquarter located in an ancient chapel from 1200 that's absolutely breathtaking for its beauty and majesty. 

Said that, Nostalgia it's not the kind of scent you would expect form a company founded in 1612 as it's quite modern and somehow weird. Rubber and leather that smell exacactly like the interiors of my grandad's old FIAT 500 during the summertime, when odors are emphasized by the high temperatures of the season. A great fragrance if you like challenging smoky rubber/leather scents a-la Knize Ten / CDG's Garage / Lisa Kirk's Revolution. I do.

Downside: the drydown is quite conventional if compared to the opening, but still pleasant.

One more thing. In italy SMN is sold at a reasonable price. 100 ml for 75 euros.

Rating: 9.5/10 for the opening

              7/10 for the drydown

              8/10 overall

Nasomatto Black Afgano 

I've tried this several times as it seems to be one of the most discussed scents of the last couple of years and I can surely say it doesn't smell like hashish at all. This is simply a weird scent, made to provoke (really???) with a pretentious aim to become a trend setter, but IMO it didn't succeed in any of the above aspect. It actually stinks and very loudly. I guess this is the result of a marketing campaign based on the concept "wierd equals original - original equals personality - personality equals beeing unique"...what about taste? Sometimes the word "weird" just means weird (in all its negative senses). Never, never, never belive the hype!

Note: I usually like weird scents, but they're so hard to find, and much harder to create.

Rating: 4/10

Boadicea The Victorious Complex

BAM! This is what happen when you spray Complex on your skin. A blast of (extremely) bitter green notes on a straight forward animalic leather accord and some violet that stays quite linear for hours and hours. In the drydown I get hints of musk and some incense (labdanum?) lurking in the very back.. .Just think about a Nasomatto remix version of Bandit without flowers. Loud, overwhelming, monolitic and uncompromising. Almost disturbing yet somehow fascinating. Don't get me wrong, it takes guts to really appreciate this composition, but if you're into weird, bitter animalic leather fragrances you should give this at least a try. For trained noses only.

Complex projects for yards and has a tenacious lasting power (more than 12 hrs). 

Advice: If you decide to approach this composition be aware that you won't be able to smell anything else for hours.

Rating: 7/10

Byredo M/Mink

This is a weird one! I usually love weird scents, but with this one I can't really decide. It opens with a blast of "I don't know what the hell is that but it makes me wanna puke" (rancid adoxal?) mixed with "bodily fluids?"and "animalistic secretions?"...who knows??? I guess is the completely desweetened honey note that smells more like beeswax. Very dense, sticky, almost animalic (in a bad way). Absolutely disgusting and seriously disturbing to my nose. The weirdest part is that the drydown is simply amazing with a warm and meditative inky-frankincense note. It never happened to me that I really hated a perfume opening and totally loved the drydown. My solution could be that I spray it on my clothes and then I wait one hour before to wear them so I can avoid the initial brutal blast! BTW incredible lasting power!

Rating: 8.5/10 (for its uniqueness)

              4/10 (for my personal taste)

NOTE: This is a fragrance to experience. Love or hate type of stuff but whether you'll like it or not it deserves its status as one of the most daring compositions so far.

Olivier Durbano Black Tourmaline

This is magnific, a great scent! Here's what I mean when I say I like weird scents. Black Tourmaline has a pretty common notes list but it is so brilliantly crafted and calibrated that the effect is totally distinctive and original. Smoky, dark, deep woods (mainly oud) and leather with a tar hint somewhere and incense that makes of it a very modern composition.  

At the same time Black Tourmaline has definitely the potential to become a classic, something that will leave a trace. Absolutely addictive. I rated it 9 out of 10 just because I've a few reservations as it is not easily wearable. A masterpiece, anyway.

Rating: 9/10

Lisa Kirk Revolution 

Weird scent that smells much better than the description provided within the package. Blood? Not really no. Urine? Well, yes because of the consistent use of civet. Tar? Yes, Birch tar galore! Tear Gas? Yes, definitely and that's why I think it's a bit too similar to a couple of compositions among the CDG Synthetic Series (Garage and Tar). As said before, civet is very prominent as well as tar but IMO what really adds the challenging power to Revolution are the strong spices (could be a scary blend of cumin and thyme?)...

Anyway, it takes ages for Revolution to properly settle down and become enjoyable as the opening is seriously arresting! Once you've passed the initial brutal and claustrophobic blast, the fragrance settles down to a fascinating concoction of spicy and ambery musk. Not for everybody, definitely.

Rating: 7/10


Other fragrances you might want to check:


Tauer Lonestar Memories
Comme Des Garcons Garage
Comme Des Garcons Tar
Blood Concept 0 (Review)
Bulgari Black
Maitre Parfumeur Et Gantier Eau Des Iles