Coeur de Vétiver Sacré fragrance notes
- bergamot, black tea, date, dried fruits, saffron, ginger, pink berries, vanilla, incense, musks
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Latest Reviews of Coeur de Vétiver Sacré

Back to the fragrance however; and for the folks out there who somehow have the Bohemian taste to appreciate artistic perfumes while also having the fiduciary means to purchase niche perfumes in the first place, you'll find an assemblage of dried fruits and incense piled on top of a soft woody-vetiver base with a fruity-floral chypre template. In execution, this means notes like orange rind, dates, and fig come forward in the opening, alongside a black tea note and some spices. The spices here are smooth and not of the piquant variety, with some vanilla to smooth it all out. Osmanthus, iris, violet leaf, and rose comprise the heart, while a mix of cedar, labdanum, and sandalwood notes lay over the aforementioned tonka and vanilla in the base. Vetiver plays a surprisingly small role in Coeur de Vétiver Sacré, so small you may actually miss it and wonder how this is a vetiver fragrance at all. Some folks may go "oh isn't that what Le Labo does?" and yes, I suppose it is. In this case though, the material is actually there not just compiled from adjacent materials into a shambling horror that doesn't really resemble it, as with most Le Labo fragrances. Performance is perhaps another big ding on Coeur de Vétiver Sacré , as a lot of people claim poor performance when wearing it, although I don't think a fragrance with such a gentle blending is meant to rustle anyone's jimmies to begin with, although that's just me. Best use is probably spring although summer isn't out of the question either.
As for who can wear Coeur de Vétiver Sacré , I'd say most likely women will enjoy this one, particularly because of the fruit and vanilla tones. Guys into vetiver will expect more of the nutgrass itself to turn up with its rooty/nutty/smoky qualities they've come to love in things like Guerlain Vetiver (1961), so they might not be so keen to a fruity floral near-chypre presentation coded as a vetiver fragrance. Seems it would hardly matter now, with this hitting the firing squad alongside a disturbing number of L'Artisan greats as owner Puig hollows it out into just another shallow fragrant bauble to fill the vanities of the detached haute-bourgeois, much as they did with Penhaligon's. Open-minded folks who love that "golden era" 90's and 00's niche will of course enjoy Coeur de Vétiver Sacré as being a release right at the tail-end of the era, before brands like Byredo and Parfums de Marly set the new, slicker and more-commercial standard for the niche market. Once again though, a vetiver fragrance that really isn't about vetiver is something somewhat doomed to be an obscure cult sort of shindig in the first place, although that's hardly unusual with a brand like L'Artisan Parfumeur. I really wish it was still the case with the brand; but time sadly marches on, and as I alluded too earlier in the review, things will get much worse before they get better. If you can afford seeking a bottle and like pleasant oddities, Coeur de Vétiver Sacré certainly won't be a disappointing acquisition. Thumbs up

The dried, and chewy fruits return [appear], blend in, with an added touch of ginger -- then, pink berry clouds of fun and frivolity take over. Kind of flowery. Stays buzzy with an addition of incense. Vanilla dances about. Musk moves in later. It's a lovely perfume that has been done and redone in recent years, however...
If the date note and dried fruits were more pronounced, and lasted longer, I'd love this even more. I would not turn a free bottle, to be sure! I enjoy its gentleness.
As more time passes I am reminded of a vetiver-like note. It actually gets better and better in time. Great scent!!!
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CDVS has a dried fruit vibe but it isn't about being a gourmand. It's more a part of the ambiance. Vetiver takes it into black tea territory and out of the dense hole dried fruit chords can go. As it ages it starts drying to a smoky green vetiver, dry spice, incense and tea.
It's an evocative fragrance, not abstract, so it's about where it takes me - this is in the Eastern fantasy vein. This is the meditation hut, the simplicity of smoky tea, incense and dried fruits. Rain on the roof intensifies the dry, still space inside, supporting an inward journey. It's surprising a fragrance with fruit would do that, but there it is. I love this space.
There's a certain amount of nitpicking about this fragrance, over the name (which works for me), about what's expected of it. Sometimes perfume lovers can be too much in their heads and miss the point of a fragrance. Especially evocative ones. Just go with this one. It's too bad it got discontinued, as it's more complex than what it might seem.





Notes: Bergamot, black tea, date, dried fruit, saffron, ginger, pink berries, vanilla, incense, musk.
Short-lived cardamom and bergamot top notes introduce a heart of spiced dried fruit, chai, vanilla, and frankincense, in what I've come to think of as the standard issue niche oriental gemisch. Toss together equal parts of this house's previous orientals Tea for Two, Saffran Toublant, and Vanilia, add a pinch of Passaage d'Enfer (frankincense), a dash of Timbuktu (pink berries), then dilute the resulting hodgepodge by 50%, and you might wind up with something much like Coeur de Vétiver Sacré.
You've no doubt noticed by now that neither the scent pyramid above nor I make any mention of vetiver. That's probably because there isn't much vetiver here to speak of. Oh yes, I can smell vetiver in the drydown, but putting vetiver on this scent's label is a bit like calling Opium a rose scent. Sure, there's vetiver in there, but it's not the first (or even the fifth or sixth,) thing you notice. There's a much greater role for vetiver in Habanita or Bandit, for example, than in Coeur de Vétiver Sacré.
Not that I hold the odd choice of name against the scent I've enjoyed fragrances with far sillier or misleading labels. What leaves me disappointed here is a sense of tired routine about the composition. I feel I've smelled it all before, but in more interesting or stimulating contexts. If this fruit and frankincense woody oriental style strikes your fancy, you'll find it better executed in the likes of Parfum d'Empire Wazamba, Amouage Jubilation XXV, or Comme des Garçons Jaisalmer; if the marriage of vanilla and vetiver sounds interesting, go get Habanita; and if it's really vetiver you're after, look elsewhere altogether.



