Vétiver
Christian Dior (2010)

A deconstructed, elegant, minimalist, and superb take on vetiver. And by far, my favorite.
The effervescence and tartness of grapefruit gives the fragrance a youthful and fresh opening and tempers vetiver's inherent earthiness and medicinal green-ness.
While the coffee note at the base adds a complexity and heft to it without weighing it down.
Seamless and superbly blended, it beguiles.

Definitely unisex and a good introduction to those that generally feel vetiver is not to their liking.

Sadly discontinued. I wish Maison Dior would have the good sense to bring this back, instead of their current pale and aquarelle offerings that are wan and bloodless.

A masterpiece in my book, and highly recommended!

All over vetiver

The opening somehow turns the smell of grapefruit green, but that bitter citrus never smells too much or takes over the opening to smell like a citrus scent. In its heart is displays different aspects of vetiver. It has the earthy reedyness, slight smoke, and peaking soapiness all swirling around. It feels like a study in vetiver. I would have sworn there were multiple different vetiver oils in here blended together, though I see nothing of that in the note range. I found it to be pretty strong for the first hour or so, almost feeling heavier than I usually prefer a vetiver frag to be. Doesn't smell harsh are chemically. For me, it is not something I would track down and pay drastic money for. It is competent, and well done, and I don't really get why it would be axed. Maybe those who are in the market for vetiver are generally looking for something less present and/or expensive. I'm grading this based on the fragrance as a thumbs up. In a retail setting at normal retail price it seems about right. Unicorn status, eh.

A great ode to another ubiquitous fragrance note, the legendary vetiver.

This isn't anything complicated: Vétiver by Christian Dior is quite a simple formulation. It starts out with grapefruit that flows immediately into the characteristically musty, dry, and woody vetiver in the heart; this gets deftly accented by a tasteful sprinkle of coffee, which pairs nicely with the chocolate-like facet of the vetiver.

The result is a brighter, fresher rendition of vetiver than I've experienced in a while. Doubtless, one could find variations on the vetiver theme - more earthy, more grassy, more smoky, more woody - in other fragrances that are still in production and cost WAY less than what you'd have to pay for full bottles of Vétiver nowadays.

But in its own right, Vétiver is a solidly constructed, credible nod out to the vetiver mystique, though it's not a referent one.

A marginal thumbs up. I was disappointed in the opening, but it has developed nicely. The coffee seems to somewhat cancel out the brightness of the other notes. It might be something I enjoy more with additional wearings now that I know what to expect, but overall I'm torn between neutral and thumbs up.

The known vetiverse
Is greatly enriched by this
Silk-smooth masterpiece.

Dior's Vetiver is another quality, minimalistic vetiver scent, clean and crisp, slightly soapy and delicate. A brief uplifting tangy fruity top leads to a pleasant vetiver drydown cemented with iso E super. The vetiver note is grassy, slightly smoky and bitter but it softens with time becoming sweeter with the gentlest coffee note added to dress its solo with a nutty accent. Truth to be told none of the La Collection Privée has been a major release and although well-executed and masterfully blended the compositions are somewhat uninspiring. Vetiver doesn't fly over the clouds either and is more or less a flawless but timid treatment of this majestic note. Thence it is a reliable and agreeable fragrance in a mundane way overall.