100th post musings, a tribute to Ambre Sultan and Vetiver Extraordinaire and a giveaway

Ok, so this is my 100th post. In a way I am almost surprised that I got here. When I first started blogging back in March this year I started with some trepidation. My main stumbling block was the nagging thought of how self-indulgent blogging can be, and I think I actually made mention of this in my 1st post. Thinking of where I am now, I still think my perfume musings are somewhat self-indulgent, but I can also honestly state that I love doing this. I try not to take myself too seriously - after all, I'm a bean counter, not Bertrand Duchafour. One thing that still worries me a little bit after six months of blogging is whether I am truly objective and unbiased, or for that matter, should I be? It's not as if I am a reviewer for the New York Times, with a paying audience. Having said this, I honestly do try to give every perfume I try a fair go, and to write about it as objectively as I can. Touching on that point in the first sentence of this post, I am a little surprised  I've stuck it out thus far. In this busy world, blogging is really quite low on my list of priorities, and I never wanted to get to the point where I felt anxious if I didn't manage to post an article each day, or something like it. In fact, I told myself that if I ever reach that state, I will pack it in, because this is not a job, it's recreation. And I'm not aiming for world peace (just a nice-smelling world ;-) ).

Moving on, I can't get this far and not make mention of two perfumes that changed my perfume life, and helped me experience a paradigm shift from simply viewing fragrance as something I wear to something I live. At the risk of coming across a bit melodramatic, Serge Luten's Ambre Sultan and Frederic Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire revolutionised the concept of perfume and perfumery for me, making me realise that perfume is truly an art form, and that like any art, can lead you down a path of amazing discovery and self-realisation. I don't aim to review either of these perfumes today, but they both represent for me an ideal in perfume. I was thinking about this and realised that after 100 posts, I haven't reviewed either before. At first I was surprised, but after some reflection I realised that for me to reduce these two masterpieces to mere sentences would not do them justice. For me, to try and analyse these too much would be to risk spoiling their magic. Ambre Sultan and Vetiver Extraordinaire take me on a journey when I wear them and represent to me all that is good and magical and transcendent about perfume, a rare occurrence let it be said. Perfumes like these is one of the reasons I chose to start a perfume blog and this post is my chance to pay homage to them and their creators, Dominic Ropion and Christopher Sheldrake and to people like Frederic Malle and Serge Lutens, who have helped enable them.

I also want to say thank you to those of you who visit my blog, be it regularly or infrequently, and especially the kind comments I have received. I don't have a huge following and it is not my intention or drive to achieve this anyway. However, it is still gratifying to have built up some online contact with a few fellow perfume lovers out there in the ether and I love visiting your blogs too. 

Ok, so now for my giveaway. It's nothing stupendous, but I'd like you to mention two (or one, if you only have one) perfumes that transcend your concept or understanding of perfume, that induces in you some sort of profound emotion. The giveaway will be a small set of samples (about 5 -7, I haven't quite decided yet), covering hopefully a range of styles and houses. I'd prefer not to mention what the samples are, as I am not affiliated to any perfume house. The winner will be chosen randomly by a member of my household (probably excluding pets) and announced this coming Friday. The winner can then send me an email with their personal details.

A post about vetiver

Vetiver was one of the first perfume notes I fell in love with. When I first smelled its use in Guerlain Vetiver, I was shocked by its smell, but in a good way; I had never smelled anything like it before and I was smitten. I went on a bit of a vetiver bender for a while after that, gradually acquiring samples of Vetiver Extraordinaire by Editions De Parfums Frederic Malle, Route de Vetiver by Maitre Parfumeur Gantier and Turtle Vetiver by Les Nez. I have a number of other vetivers in my collection, but the ones I've mentioned here are probably my favourites. You'll notice that these ones are all better examples of the strength of the vetiver roots, rather than the grassiness or nuttiness that this plant can also convey and for me is my favourite manifestation of the note. Hermes Vetiver Tonka is a good example of the nutty accord one can exploit, while examples of grassiness include Creed's Original Vetiver and even Guerlain's gold standard, which is bolstered by nutmeg and tobacco. Another vetiver I adore and struggle to categorise is Sel de Vetiver, by The Different Company. Try it if you haven't already.

I want to write a bit more about Turtle Vetiver (TV) and Vetiver Extraordinaire (VE). I wore them side by side, one on each wrist. I was interested in comparing them because previously I thought they smelled quite similar. VE opens with a stunning wet, dark, earthy and rooty accord. The vetiver is strong and if you aren't a fan of vetiver, this might well be too much for you. For me it is one of the most wonderful openings in a perfume, unlike anything else I have ever encountered. This is no nutty, grassy or sweet vetiver. Rather, it smells like rotting, wet leaves on a damp, misty autumn day, but rotting in a good, natural way. This perfume always evokes autumn for me and it is my preferred season for wearing this. Compared to TV, once the initial blast has worn off, the vetiver stays much softer and earthier, with more of a plush, restrained feel. It's dark and musty, but not in the sense of a mouldering building, but vegetal and organic. I always think of earth, leaves and countryside when I wear this; a true outdoor scent. VE does become fairly linear from the middle onwards, but then, I find most vetiver-centered fragrances do. VE retains a surprisingly sophisticated air for such an outdoorsy fragrance and I think this is a work of genius by Dominique Ropion.

TV opens at a much higher pitch than VE. There is also a very high concentration of vetiver in this fragrance, but I find it cleaner and less earthy, with a more watery feel to it, but not in the sense of being weak, and definitely is not a marine fragrance. Its initial feel is more like Route de Vetiver I think. The vetiver here if anything gets stronger as the fragrance progresses and is for hard-core vetiver fans. It does brighten a little and despite its strength, I'm constantly reminded of a watery theme, like I'm smelling the roots submerged in a creek, but live roots, not decaying vegetal matter. Again, the progression later on is quite linear, although it does retain that wateriness and perhaps just a touch of salt. Perhaps there is an ambergris accord in here?

Side by side then, I think both VE and TV share a similarity in as much as both are very good examples of intense, vetiver-focused fragrances and both tend towards the root, rather than the grass. However, I think overall TV has the stronger vetiver note, while VE has a bit more sophistication about it and is earthier and has its roots firmly in woodland soil, while TV is of the waterways. Both are very well done and I would definitely recommend sampling them, particularly if you are a fan of vetiver, or interested in expanding your vetiver repertoire.

Vetiver Extraordinaire is a work of genius in my opinion and this (along with Musc Ravageur possibly) is the full-bottle-worthy fragrance in the Frederic Malle line, for me. I am generally quite lukewarm about the Les Nez line but Turtle Vetiver is very good and quite out of keeping with Isabelle Doyen's general work in my opinion.

Image Credit: www.vetiver.com