Diptyque Vetyverio : Perfume Review

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Vetiver

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

The classical treatment of vetiver, a fragrance note with an interesting interplay of bitter grapefruit and blond woods facets, has often seen it paired with cedarwood and citrus notes. Classical citrusy woods like Aqua Brava, Guerlain Vétiver, Givenchy Vetyver follow this model. Many modern fragrances like Frédéric Malle Vétiver Extraordinaire, Lalique Encre Noire and Ormonde Jayne Zizan take the classical woody theme as well, albeit using vetiver in the lower, more sonorous register. Even lighter, airier vetiver dominated blends like The Different Company Sel de Vétiver and Miller Harris Feuilles de Tabac do not depart radically from the classical dry woods formula. In this light, Diptyque Vetyverio, a fragrance created by perfumer Olivier Pescheux, offers an interesting discovery—a woody composition with a juicy, fruity top and a fresh green floral heart.

The burst of citrus dominated by the Concord grape sweetness of mandarin offers an uplifting prelude to Vetyverio. Lemon, bergamot and orange complete the effervescent, champagne like sensation of the top notes, which quickly soften into a creamy apricot-accented fruity accord. A green geranium note courses through the heart of the composition, lending it a crisp, rose-like effect. It manages to tone down the floralcy of Vetyverio, thus placing the composition firmly in the unisex category.

The smooth, delicately rendered drydown reminds me at one point of Guerlain Vétiver Pour Elle; however, without the latter’s beautiful white jasmine accord, Vetyverio does not quite convey the same romantic impression. In the drydown, its crisp woody character is closer to Comme des Garçons Vettiveru (Series 4 Cologne), with a stronger fruity accent and a more languid treatment of vetiver. While the die-hard vetiver fans will find Vetyverio rather light and pale, it is a very pleasant composition that presents its woods as delicate filigree. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Diptyque Vetyverio includes notes of lemon, mandarin, grapefruit, bergamot, ylang ylang, Turkish rose, geranium, vetiver, ambrette, nutmeg, apricot, clove, cedar and musk. It is available from Aedes, Beautyhabit, First in Fragrance, Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus.

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8 Comments

  • Cait: Hello,
    This sounds interesting and I like your description of Mandarin as having concord grape sweetness. By the way, I don’t know if you remember but once I blogged that I wanted to make a perfume inspired by Wide Sargasso Sea when Bertha Mason takes a red silk dress from a chest and still smells her home in the Caribbean, of jasmine, cinnamon, and vetiver. I had a perfume with these notes and others made for me by D. Dubrana. You once expressed interest in the idea so I thought I’d tell you it came to be. October 12, 2010 at 2:39am Reply

  • sweetlife: V.–what a lovely review. I look forward to smelling this one. A question for you. I met a young man yesterday who loved Creed’s vetiver–how would you say it compares on the green, airy, woody, salty spectrum up there?

    Cait–wow, that sounds fantastic! October 12, 2010 at 11:01am Reply

  • Craig: I have similar response after sniffing Vetyverio, mostly the Vettiveru part. Well from the aspect of whole picture here, I think I would choose Vettiveru instead of Vetyverio, because they stay on the airy-also-citrusy vetiver theme. Vettiveru is more light, refresh, also cheaper in my opinion. October 12, 2010 at 12:05pm Reply

  • kjanicki: You nailed it: fruity, floral, woody, unisex but delicate. I liked Vetyverio a lot. October 12, 2010 at 12:20pm Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: Cait, mandarin contains methyl anthranilate, which has a very distinctive woodland strawberry/concord grape note (in Italy, they call concord grapes strawberry grapes, uva fragola). I am very sensitive to it, so I tend to pick it out right away, especially when the accord is amplified with methyl anthranilate.
    Your fragrance sounds amazing! October 12, 2010 at 12:28pm Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: A, Creed Vetiver was more classical, deeper than Guerlain Vetiver, for instance, but richer than Sel de Vetiver. I would recommend Goutal Vetiver as well as Sel de Vetiver. While they are not identical, they offer a similar character in two different renditions. October 12, 2010 at 12:30pm Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: Craig, I liked the general airy quality of Vettiveru, whereas Vetyverio is sweeter and creamier in comparison. The most interesting part of Diptyque’s vetiver for me is the combination of lactonic notes like apricot and vetiver. October 12, 2010 at 12:31pm Reply

  • Boisdejasmin: K, I am enjoying it too. Truth be told, I was not excited about it at first, because there are so many good vetivers out there, but Vetyverio was a very good surprise! October 12, 2010 at 12:32pm Reply

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