Best vetiver?

kingfisher said:

Michelle has already addressed this very well, but I thought I'd add my two cents.

I agree with you entirely that some vetivers smell really good and others are gag-worthy. I have tried vetivers that ran the gamut from actually almost floral, to grassy/green, to grassy/earthy, to earthy/dirt, to earthy/smoky, to pretty much straight-up smoke. The Salter cream you mentioned is the worst one, IMO. Smells like a swamp fire to me.

Differences are based quite a bit on what type of vetiver and the soil/rainfall/etc conditions where it is grown and how it is processed, along with other added scents, as Michelle said.


Having said all that, I have also discovered that different noses perceive scents differently. I have tried two quality vetiver shaving soaps that I thought smelled kind of smoky. When I asked my wife and my son to smell them, they disagreed. The first of these was B&M's Vetiver, Heather, and Clary Sage, which to my nose had a floral top over a campfire bottom, but to the other members of my family smelled like a nice floral scent. Even when I told them to think about smoke and smell it again, they could not detect the smoke at all. I found this baffling. Recently I received a sample of another quality soap scented mostly with vetiver. To my nose it was quite smoky, but to my wife and son, it did not smell like smoke. If I asked them to concentrate hard on smoke, they admitted perhaps a touch of smoke. This was in a scent that smelled MOSTLY like smoke to me.

So I submit to you that, while it is certainly true that there is a wide variety of scents that are called "vetiver," it appears that there is also a wide variety of ways in which the human nose interprets said smells. Maybe your sense of smell and mine are fairly closely aligned.

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TropicalHotDogNight said:

Thanks to you, and Michelle, for your responses.

The next question on my mind is which vetivers I would like, and which I would dislike. I am intrigued by CRSW and Mike's vetivers, but at this point, trying either sounds like a gamble. Are there any good vetiver soaps that are similar to Fine Fresh Vetiver aftershave, and not similar to Cyril R. Salter?

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bobmsp said:

@Claudel Xerxes and others:

Barrister & Mann has announced that it will have no more production runs of their Vetyver Santal, so you may want to stock up.

They're having a one-day sale on 12/16. More info here: http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2f5c007ccabd7876e48860c02&id=6b089640d4

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malarcus said:

Henri et Victoria bergamot-vetiver.

I like the soap performance, one of the best. The smell is a little tame on this soap but I like it a lot.

Marc

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Mostho said:

I have PannaCrema Vetiver and I'm pretty happy with it.

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doc47 said:

The 6 I own and use listed by fragerance preference:
Saponificio Varesino: Aromatic Fern
Martin De Candre Fougere
Wholly Kaw: Fougère Bouquet
WSP Rustic Shaving Soap: Fougere Noire
Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements - Deja Fouger The Obsessive Soap Perfectionist (OSP): Fougere

No particular order:
Guerlain Jicky EDT
Yves Saint Laurent Jazz
Houbigant Fougère Royale

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doc47 said:

L'Occitane Vétiver is one of my favorites as well. Unfortunately it is discontinued. I am holding my last 100 spritz from the bottle for special times.

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