Common name: Vetiver Coeur (a vetiver essential oil fraction), Vetiver, Vetivert, Khus

Botanical name: Vetiveria Zizanoid

Supplier: Hermitage

Odour Note: Woody

Pyramid Note: Base

Diffusion: Medium

Dilution: 10%

Blends well with: agarwood eo and co2; allspice berry eo, co2 and abs; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; amyris eo; angelica seed eo; angelica root eo, co2 and abs; beeswax abs; benzoin abs; bergamot eo; bois de rose eo; cananga eo; carnation abs; cassia eo and co2; cinnamon bark eo, co2 and abs; cistus eo and abs; clary   sage eo and abs; cassie abs; clove bud eo, co2 and abs, coriander eo and co2; costus root eo and abs; fir balsam abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; genet abs; ginger root eo, co2 and abs; guiacawood eo;  gurjun balsam eo; ho wood eo; juniper berry eo, co2 and abs; labdanum eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lavandin eo and ab; mimosa abs; myrrh eo, co2 and abs; patchouli eo, co2 and abs; oakmoss abs; opoponax eo and abs; orange flower abs; orris root eo, co2 and abs; pepper eo, co2 and abs; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; tonka bean absolute. vanilla abs; violet leaf absolute (White Lotus Aromatics)

Cassie, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Clary Sage, Clove, Cocao Absolute, Coffee Bean, Frankincense, Galbanum, Geranium, Grapefruit, Jasmine, Lavender, Oakmoss, Patchouli, Rose, Sandalwood, Tobacco Absolute, Violet Leaf, Ylang Ylang.  We also recommend blending the different types of Vetiver oils we carry to create a unique, complex Vetiver accord. (Eden Botanicals)

Both vetiverols and acetates have softer odours and fixative qualities, and are used as blender with high-class perfumery products. They blend well with ionone, linalool, cinnamic alcohol, oakmoss, vanila, sandalwood, patchouli and rose bases, and are frequently used in western type of fragrances having chypre, fougere, rose, violet and amber aldehyde base, and oriental fragrances and floral compounds. (Fragrantica)

Chemical components: benzoic acid, vetiverol, furfurol, a and b-vetivone, vetivene and vetivenyl vetivenate

Their nose: “…alluring and seductive scent that can range from smoked grasses, China caravan tea and monsoon rain gardens to sweet stripped willow, aged leather, freshly turned earth, gardening gloves, candied lemon peel, marijuana and cinnamon spiced apples.” (A Scent of Excellence)

Vetiver essential oil from Haiti is a golden viscous liquid displaying a warm, a balanced sweet, earthy, mossy, rooty bouquet with a fine precious woods undertone of great tenacity. (WLA)

Our organic Haitian Vetiver is deep and slightly sweet, with light smoky undertones. Its pronounced earth and root notes are well-balanced with its somewhat resinous character. (Eden Botanicals)

My nose: Vetiver Coeur opens soft, warm, grassy and very subtle. Even though I can perceive that it is a much thinner version of the essential oil it’s still very suggestive of Vetiver eo., low in projection, with a hint of leather and I am overwhelmed by the maleness of it. My nose and brain associate this note with the essence of masculinity. 15min: now it’s waking up! Fully grassy, to me uplifting, to another nose maybe not, but I am lifted off my feet and feel reassured! To me this is a timeless scent, discrete, tough and earthy. 30min: Smokey, hint of woodiness, it throbs and like a big yawn when you awake up slowly, stretching, it too eases you into the day. Narcotic, distinct, plump, nutty attributes. 45min: still warm, deep, plush, very down-to-earth, elementary and completely absorbing the senses with its round, fullness. I find it utterly bewitching and enigmatic. 1hr: grassy, root-y, and wet! How did I miss that before? Smells of nature, outdoors, sensual, of arousal, masculine and confident. 2hrs: Vetiver Coeur has no intentions of fading any time soon as it clings madly to the strip, lavish, stylish and damp without being cloying, but also very pensive. 3hrs: it’s now darker, recalling deep woods, now it’s even more enigmatic and brooding. I feel as though I’m being firmly led by the hand and heart down a lush path, entwining and binding together with each step. 7hrs: more dense if that’s at all possible, planted firmly, drier, displaying a strong character, bolder and heavier than in the opening. 10hrs: dry, grassy, thick still very intimate as it meanders along unhurriedly . This is where I feel the feminine quality express itself, revealing a soft, subtly, whereas in the beginning it was more unabashedly male. 24hrs: much darker and more dramatic, deeper and woodier, more grassy, too. The nuances have evaporated leaving a more stripped, naked scent.

I have got to find a better way to end these letters less abruptly, at times it feels like I’m just jumping right off the side of cliff saying “see ya later!” But I guess that’s the way it is sometimes. There are moments when it’s like, here’s the stuff you asked for, gotta run! and other times it’s more, let’s sit down and catch up over a cuppa :). Today is more the former — gotta run! Love ya and have a great weekend!

MC