Reviews of Vetiver 
Lorenzo Villoresi (1994)

During the opening 20 minutes, Villoresi Vetiver has a menthol / Vicks Vap-o-Rub smell, which isn't a problem, but I don't think it's gripping enough to be something I would want to wear regularly. After some development, it's a nice, soft, agreeable perfume.

Thrillingly butch to begin – humid, inky and quinine bitter woody tones pierced by the sharp saltiness of celery and dry cumin. It's an enlivening mix, where the assertive main players are wrapped in a halo of freshness – the latter in part deriving from aspects of the sweet and dusky vetiver itself, but there are also lifting elements like lavender, herbal notes and citruses all unobtrusively incorporated. The perfume seems to be straining between suave slickness and a kind of pants-popping vigour, a tension that is rather fun to be part of.
Once it has settled into the drydown some hours in, it becomes much more centred on vetiver – but fortunately it's a broad spectrum incarnation with the dank, earthy side of the root getting as much play as the barbershop one. Lovely, if a bit modest in terms of its trail.

The opening is just great: a powerful, invigorating, super-classic vetiver, harsh and savage, with a bold and earthy patchouli-oakmoss accord (I also feel some cocoa beans dusty sweetness), some delicate floral notes (lavender, neroli) which shape and restrain the rawness of the green/woody notes, and a refreshing accord of bergamot and citrus which then sweetens progressively. Straightforward, earthy and dense: a beauty. After a while you also feel some spicy/peppery notes, and the oak moss note emerges more clearly in all its barn-like splendor, together with a really pleasant salty note. But then, all of a sudden, here comes the downpart: it all sags down a bit. Too soon. It still remains great, pleasant, natural, vibrant, with a superb balance of components; but still, all just "tones down" far before you expected – and wanted, since as I said, it smells gorgeous, so you wouldn't really want it to wash away so quickly. This is the only "con"; apart from this I really like this scent. A pleasant, vibrant, elegant and persistent "eau de cologne" which deserves its place in the "classic heritage" side of vetiver fragrances.

8/10

Very true to its name, this one is certainly vetiver through and through, the very dark and earthy kind for real vetiver lovers. Intensely rooty and almost bitter, that note dominates everything in this fascinating composition. Off-set primarily by a prominent rosewood and austere green notes of celery, patchouli, and a typical Villoresi potpourri of wild herbs (here, mostly sage), the insistent vetiver remains the single central focus throughout. The overall effect is one of damp fertile soil shaded by thick tropical vegetation. There is very little development or variation, except maybe for the steady expansion of the monumental vetiver which intensifies even further in the later stages.
Villoresi's Vetiver is undeniably a wonderful and very worthwhile fragrance, but its almost fundamentalist reliance on the darker aspects of vetiver also makes it very linear and, before long, quite monotonous. For that reason, it is not the easiest wear and probably only for true vetiver fans. But if you really like vetiver, this one is a must-try.

Probably one of the most difficult vetivers out there. It explodes out with a mix of fetid musty bergamot and fetid musty celery over a pool of leathery old man stink. Over time, the celery smell morphs into something akin to warm lettuce going bad in the sun, while the actual vetiver takes its time arriving. The leathery man odor stays around all day, while the vetiver and vegetables slowly fade into a base of mossy geranium.

I'm fully aware that I'm making this sound pretty awful, and I can absolutely see how many people could hate this, but I've found its resolute lack of prettiness to be fascinating, if not endearing. For something with a similar funk but without the vegetable weirdness, I personally prefer Le Labo's Vetiver 46, which I actually find quite sexy.

An extremely sophisticated and very different interpretation of the vetiver idea. It is evocative of piney woods and lavender with a whiff of nutty character from time to time. There is nothing sweet, citrusy, spicey or powdery to upset the mix. And then there is the celery, which may seem stronger than its actual proportion in the mix. It is really quite unique. The whole thing comes off as mysterious and masculine. It is long lasting on me, and I find myself returning to sniff my arm as the hours go on.

A hat tip to Lorenzo Villoresi. This is pure artistry. Five stars out of five.

What a magnificent fragrance is it! This is a complex fougere with a multifaceted soul and a vetiver aftertaste swirling around silently, a typical Villoresi's magistrally appointed olfactory orchestra. The time places each element in the right location. The first blast is an harsh (tea kind) infusion of roots, peppery bergamot, woods, smoke and herbs, with a marked lemony-orangy feel. This kind of opening is very natural, tart, grassy and boisterous, turning out as the challenging part of the work, so compelling and virile. I catch some pine in the blend or may be is simply the windy-aromatic effect of the lavender in the air. As well as some other reviewers underlined, sliding  the time the rustic opening leaves the stage to a more (ostensibly) linear and peaceful aqueous (almost salty-iodate) and woodsy vetiver-cedar with a smoky and slightly bitter masculine temperament and a marked final sandalwood. Finally another great fragrance from Monsieur Villoresi (the lord of the olfactory balanced complexity), well balanced, cleverly mossy, delicately airy and rosey,  slightly exotic (citrus-lavender-tonka), with a background of vetiver and a bitter undertone. Each element has its own personality but is currently flanked  by a bashful vetiver.

It smells very natural and is used in a way that actually feels like it was unleashed in this creation.
It is not the restrained and l reserved vetiver that we know and are used to.
It is the vetiver pumped with horomones - so to speak - type .

Lorenzo Villoresi's Vetiver is probably one of the most intriguing vetivers I have ever experienced. I greatly admire its austerity, and beyond a slightly medicinal opening, it evolves into a hauntingly dry echo. The unsentimental theme is maintained throughout, and on occasions it seems to adopt an almost medicinal piety in its pursuit of ingredient and concept integrity. For those that enjoy their poison without prevarication, LVV will illuminate you; everyone else may find this a distinctly bitter pill to swallow. One might regard the four hours it lasted on my skin as a short lifespan, but it was certainly a life well lived.

Now I finally know what all the fuss is about!. This scent held my attention for so long that I finally had to break down and purchase some. Well it is probably one of the best decisions ever made as this vetiver is is a class of its own. LV vetiver offers turns and twists in its development that makes one think that LV himself must have so much fun making and formulating his perfumes.
This one is a celebration of all things earthly and still manages to have a sober sombre side in the personality. Like a great holiday recipe that has something for everybody, LV Vetiver should appeal to a whole myriad of tastes.
My initial impression was honestly this "SEX IN A BOTTLE" ....And no other fragrance has that same visceral reaction on me. In fact I was doing a blind test of a few bottles I purchased and honeslty thought LV Vetiver was something else i.e TDC Sel de Vetivber in fact. I reviewed my bottles and found that is was in fact LV Vetiver.
Word of caution: a little goes a long way with this brew and it can go from appealing and intriguing to downright in your face macho with one too many squirts of the bottle.
Wonderful stuff that now has my unreserved respect and admiration.

This was love at first sniff. Vetiver can sometimes lack of personality and smell a bit flat if it is not in good company. What makes a great vetiver scent is not vetiver but the background notes: incense, citrus, rosewood, tobacco, woods, tune them right and you get the perfect vetiver. At last a vetiver that is nor shy nor heady. I get notes of varnished luxury antiques in the galleria of a Tuscan villa, with its windows open over the countryside and wind blowing whiffs of cypresses…

For now Lorenzo Villoresi has achieved what I could not get from my other best vetivers and that includes Guerlain, Lubin and Malle: longevity, character and imagination. It smells quite masculine, green and aromatic, in the vein of Patricia de Nicolai's Patchouli Homme (Patchouli Intense). I get pine notes that are not listed here, at the same time the cumin and celery notes are subdued enough not to repel anybody.

Once again a must have for vetiver lovers.

Villoresi's Vetiver reminds me of Etro's Vetiver: smoky and harsh. I admire it, but it isn't for me. I wonder if I would like it on someone else? (Perhaps an experiment to consider in the future). I think I prefer Etro's version, but the LV version merits consideration if vetiver with an edge is your cup of tea . I prefer LVs Uomo for its presentation and integration of vetiver.

This vetiver soliflor starts out extremely smoky, smoked sausage style, in the vein of Profumum Fumidus. Shortly after application there's a stage where it thins out and becomes cold and almost aquatic, still with the heavy smokiness besides. Not my favourite stage! After that, however, it warms up to a lovely, juicy green with a more subdued, though still prominent, smoke note. Vetiver fragrances are beginning to bore me a bit now that I've got over my initial resistance to the note and tried out a lot of different takes on it, but this one ain't half bad.

Even if the full duration of Villoresi Vetiver had remained as punchy as it did at the start I'd still adore it. Out of the bottle it was raw, bitter and earthy. It's all about vetiver, bergamot, lavender and with a distinct nuttiness and very obvious celery note. It does soften over time but still remains as bold throughout, giving off a strong and continual earthy and smoky woods aroma.Vetiver is wild enough to make noses around stand up and pay attention. It's never beautiful but certainly not ugly. Imbues the wearer with a sense of sophistication and masculinity.

Perfect. Creme de la creme. One of the best frags on the market. The best dry-down ever. Not very long lasting though. One just can't have it all.

This is an edit of my original review, which was also Thumbs Up.

I wear Villoresi's "Vetiver" more often than any other vetiver fragrance in my wardrobe. I discovered it on my first trip to New York City at Bergdorf Goodman, in the Menswear (formal) area. Looking back on it now it seems a bit odd that this niche line was sold there, alongside *much* more popular offerings like Creed. But it makes sense to me that this scent was being offered for sale in one of the most luxurious department stores in the world!

The opening is vetiver and bourbon - very dry and smokey. The dry-down highlights the many high quality essences that Villoresi uses. There are notes of lavender, sandalwood and sage as it dries down. There are quite a few similarities to Villoresi's Uomo, another favorite of mine.

Vetiver stays close to the skin and the smokey, raw aspects of it fade rapidly. The Villoresi complexity shines through and one can tell there are lots of natural ingredients being used. It really is quite a dark, almost damp scent - but one that I've even layered with Uomo to give it a sparkling eau de cologne feel and temper the smoke a bit.

I find layering fragrances is very tricky, unless they are comprised of mostly natural essences that are (of course) compatible. Hopefully Villoresi continues to use such high quality naturals, as I will always have a place in my wardrobe for these incredible compositions.

One thing I'll say about the Villoresi line - it's not the same on everyone. Which can be fine.I tried the Vetiver today. Initially, it was great: vetiver and neroli and sage and sandalwood and spice all nicely mixed and all playing together beautifully.Alas, the drydown on me was all lavender in the sillage (against the skin, it still had the same fantastic beauty as the start did). But the lavender sillage just made me nuts. It's a very nice lavender. It's just not a scent I like on me.While this is another Villoresi I won't be buying, it is beautiful and well done. Five LV samples down, 11 to go.