If there were ever to be a Perfumista Parade in Paris and Now Smell This were invited to attend, I visualize our long float thus:
Front — Angie, dressed in Ziegfield showgirl style, wearing a feather headdress in the shape of a classic Shalimar parfum bottle, wafting aldehydes and oak moss for blocks, her area adorned with sparkling, large-scale vintage perfume bottles;
Next, on the highest platform — Robin, gardenias in her hair, holding tall sprigs of blossoming tuberose like scepters, sitting amidst a green-and-white extravaganza, created with banks of crisp, shiny green leaves interspersed with jasmine flowers;
Followed by — Jessica, spinning round and round, only her head showing atop a mountain of trembling rose blossoms in every color and variety...and
Bringing up the rear — moi, sitting "cowboy style" on bales of vetiver roots.
Vetiver is one of my favorite perfume materials, and it's presented in all shades and styles: rough/tough and dark (Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Route du Vetiver), "sweaty" (Kenzo Air), woody (Frédéric Malle Vétiver Extraordinaire), sophisticated/classic (Guerlain Vetiver), pale/scrubbed clean (Prada Infusion de Vétiver) or "basic" unadorned vetiver (I could go on and on...so many wonderful vetiver perfumes exist). After wearing Carven Pour Homme, I was anxious to try the new(ish) 2014 version of Carven Vétiver.1
Carven (and its license holder Groupe Jacques Bogart) claims Carven Vétiver2 is an exact reissue of its 1957 fragrance of the same name; supposedly, that Vétiver was created by perfumer Edouard Hache working alongside Carven's founder Carmen de Tommaso ("Madame Carven"...who died at age 105 on Monday.) Carven Vétiver 2014 is most definitely NOT Carven Vétiver 1957. I've worn the 1957 version of Vétiver and new Carven Vétiver smells nothing like it. As Robin noted recently, beauty editors rarely engage in research (an unglamorous and tiresome activity); Carven (or any other powerful advertiser) speaks and beauty editors take dictation, or copy and paste press materials into their articles.
New Carven Vétiver opens "green" with a tropical accord that smells of yuzu-grapefruit with a tingle of tomato leaf...or what Carven may be calling "lemongrass." A rich rose geranium leaf note appears next and lasts for the duration of the perfume: the floral "rose" aspect of geranium leaf is noticeable and becomes a bit soapy as the fragrance dries down. In the heart notes, a smooth, tender/clean vetiver aroma joins the pungent rose geranium; the vetiver slowly intensifies and melds with geranium leaf to produce an almost-smoky rose-vetiver accord. Only in the extreme dry down did I detect almost-solo, light-as-air vetiver mixing with barely-there sandalwood.
Carven Vétiver could have easily been (should have been?) called Carven Géranium (and might have garnered more interest with that name). I tried Carven Pour Homme and Carven Vétiver the same day and...almost...bought a bottle of Carven Vétiver on the spot. I love rose geranium and use it often in food: I make rose geranium syrup and add it to berry jams and jellies; glaze pound cakes with it; add it to cocktails. You can also make tea from rose geranium leaves or scent black tea with them. I don't own a rose geranium perfume, so Carven Vétiver went on my to-buy list (where it will no doubt be lost amidst the other hundred or so perfumes noted there).
Carven Vétiver smells sunny, fresh and summery; it has great lasting power and good sillage (if generously applied).
Carven's two 2014 men's fragrances deserve some attention, but they seem lost and ignored on perfume counters (maybe Americans are not very familiar with the brand?)
The quick poll: what interesting perfumes of the last year do you feel are "hidden in plain sight"...deserving respect and brisk sales, but languishing instead?
Carven Vétiver Eau de Toilette is available in 50 ml ($80) and 100 ml ($102); in the US it can currently be found at Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.
1. Perfumer unknown (unfair!); listed notes of grapefruit, lemongrass, bergamot, orange, lavender, geranium, sandalwood, cedar, benzoin, vetiver.
2. To make things even more confusing, Carven Le Vétiver (2009) was a reinterpretation of the 1957 Carven Vétiver; Le Vétiver has been discontinued.
Note to self to seek out rose geranium. Need to give some thought to hidden in plain sight good releases…have to say I’d love to see your imaginary NST float! I bet you could still enroll in my town’s 4th of July parade, as an addendum to the garden club!
galbanum: rose geranium is easy to grow, too…just need a sunny spot.
Ooh, Ooh, Ooh! Rose Geranium?! Vetiver!? OMG. This sounds awesome!! Smokey rose vetiver! Oh, you had me at hello. This is definitely going on my must smell pronto list. My only other geranium frag is the Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon. Although I have sampled the FM Geranium pour Monsieur. I’d probably have a bottle of that if it wasn’t so spendy.
I don’t know any hidden in plain sight fragrances b/c I haven’t smelled really much of anything new…. ;-(
AnnS: It’s hard to smell new releases…so many of them are hidden on those HUGE platters of tester bottles in stores.
Kevin, I want to be on your float, too! It sounds it sounds marvelous. Perhaps you could hold a raffle so that your adoring readers could have a chance to be courtiers and sit at your feet.
Thanks for your review of the new Carven; it sounds right up my alley – I hope it will come to my local Nordstrom. Tell me – is the color of the bottle the same as in the pics? I’m having a serious case of bottle lust.
I think my new bottle of Diptique Geranium Odorata is going to get a lot of wear this summer. I know you didn’t love it, and it fades disappointingly fast, but the first spritz is happiness in a bottle for me.
AnnE: good idea for a raffle! “Name who your favorite NST reviewer is and WHY” ????? HAHAHA! Then we each could choose a courtier or two?
Yes, the green color on the bottle is beautiful…it’s hard to capture in photos…if you do an image search on Google you’ll see what I mean.
Certainly Carven Vetiver will give lots more bang for your buck than Geranium Odorata…I bet your Nordstrom will get it.
I too love vetiver in all it’s shapes and forms. The one I’m most eager to try is the Givenchy. It got such a great review in the Guide.
I know you like Route du V. Do you also like Racine?
I loved the opening image of all the NST bloggers, great review!
I want to try the Givenchy too!
The Givenchy is my favorite, it’s so smooth, not an up-front assault with too much bergamot, as I find many of them to be.
austenfan: yes, the Givenchy is nice…so is Racine…but I’ve not smelled them in a long time.
Think this got a bigger push over this side of the pond as there were quite a few stands in the departments stores when It first launched in them (after its initial shoeing in selfridges and the other ‘premium’ retailers) and they pushed it quite well.
I liked it too and the price was quite cheap for what it was, especially as the store was on a 15% off fragrance days when I was there.
nathan: don’t think I’ve seen even one print ad here!
I have seen good reviews of it in Town And Country and Vanity Fair, though I haven’t ventured into a nice dept. store like Nordstrom’s since last Christmas so I haven’t seen it in person either. I love the bottle and its at top of my list to try when I do venture back in to the big city! Hopefully they will do a roll on ike they have with Carven and L’Eau Carven, which are not bad deals for 25 bucks.
chandler b: bet they won’t do a roll-on for men and it’s too bad there’s not a 30 ml!
This made my day.
J: oh, good! HA!
Kevin, I’m not sure if your pageant is reminding me more of The Faery Queen, or A Christmas Carol!
I have to admit I find your figures more intriguing than either Dickens’ or Spencer’s
Vetiver has turned into one of my favorite notes but for some reason I find some of the most venerated vetiver scents unappealing. I’v tried Sycamore and Vetiver Extraordinaire on several occasions and not really loved them. I like the licorice opening of Etro’s vetiver, but after that I lose interest. My two holy grail vetivers are the Dior Privee Vetiver and Guerlain’s vetiver, both closely followed by Ford’s Grey Vetiver.
Is there any pattern here? And if so, which group do you think the Carven fits into?
Merlin: the Carven doesn’t fit into any of them…and the bad reviews I’ve read of it point to the fact people were expecting VETIVER and got vet. i. ver (wish I could use tiny font!)
I like geranium very much too, so perhaps it will make me happy
I love your parade and especially you as a vetiver wrangler. This new vetiver sounds intriguing, and I like the amusing bottle (although I’m not sure about the font – those Es are reminding me of eye doctors’ charts). I’ll definitely try to sample this one. I’ve been enjoying Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon a lot recently.
Noz: you’re right about the Es! (But I’ve always loved the font on eye charts!) I hesitate to call this a vetiver cologne…the vetiver fights for its life against rose geranium.
Loved this review. Vetiver is one of my favorite notes as well (wafting Dior Vetiver right now) and this vetiver-geranium composition sounds very interesting. I haven’t checked out any recent launches, so no satisfactory answers for your quick poll..