Description
Serge Lutens continues to delights us with scents of nature. Vetiver Oriental is rare and mysterious woodsy nectar with domination of vetiver, created for fans of classic woody fragrances. In oriental surrounding vetiver gets unusual and daring interpretation. The fragrance contains only high quality components, one of the characteristics of Serge Lutens fragrances in general: smoky-floral scent of Guaiac wood, cold powdery iris, and calming warm sandalwood are excellent and unusual companions to vetiver. The top notes feature herbal green juices, iris and woodsy notes of branches; the heart introduces vetiver root, Guaiac wood, and chocolate; the drydown reveals musk, amber, sandalwood and labdanum. The fragrance was created in 2004 by Christopher Sheldrake.
step-aleksej – :
Amaziiiiing fragrance, the opening is like this bitter, smoky, really high quality vetiver with some creamy not too overpowering nice chocolate note with some sweetness, really wearable in my opinion and really expensive smelling scent
madbobr – :
Opens with the sharp astringency of iris and wet-paint vetiver, but soon smooths out beneath a veil of sweet, balsamic powder, with dark tinges of leathery labdanum and moss. The dry down reminds me of “Shalimar” in its latter stages of wear. “Vetiver Oriental” is more brittle overall than Shalimar, less powdery and vanillic but still quite feminine and alluring.
One for elegant evening occasions.
autodilleryga – :
This reminds me of a more unisex, maybe a tad masculine, version of Mugler’s Muse. It’s a lot smoother and refined, not as loud as Muse, but similar due to the chocolate and vetiver note. The chocolate is more of the dark type, not very sweet. The coolness of the iris balances out the warmth of the other ingredients, especially the amber.
Would be nice to wear in the coming colder months while curled up with a book next to the fireplace. Slightly masculine, but would still be interesting on a woman. I like it but not enough to try to find a bottle and pay what I’m sure would be a high price.
naxon – :
In spite of its name, this is a very sophisticated Parisian style “Oriental” take on the vetiver note. The perfume sweetens the traditionally masculine considered vetiver note to the point that it becomes really feminine. To achieve this result, the perfume opens with the rooty vetiver with a lovely iris and guaiac wood transitioning to a heart that reveals more vetiver this time with notes of chocolate and finally drying down to powdery labdanum, amber, musk and sandalwood with the vetiver beautifully enveloping the background. Beautifully blended, unisex, with moderate to strong sillage and projection and good longevity. This is a textbook case for true perfume blending mastery. Enjoy!
Xeroxmyyax – :
This is so rich and warm, perfect for evening. The vetiver has that fresh hay smell I like, blended with amber and a medicinal touch of oakmoss for the opening. You start to inhale deeply looking for chocolate, chocolate, chocolate…but it never shows up. Why are there so many votes for chocolate? Either I am anosmic to it or it’s not there in the batch I have. No chocolate.
But after this warms up, suddenly the most gorgeous iris appears like a rainbow. My skin magnifies the iris in this to the point where it smells like a masculine version of L’Heure Bleu! Not what I expected, but I love it.
Still no chocolate, and my husband can’t smell chocolate in this either. Weird.
Serge Lutens fragrances have no longevity on me; I am lucky to get 3 hours out of them, no matter the type – oriental or floral. Beautiful but fleeting.
ринат – :
Surprisingly soft and floral after the first burst of Vetiver. Not the cold, wet, somehow enjoyable moss that it was on the tester, although there’s a little bit of “swamp” that does come through.
Two hours later, I was tired of smelling this. It had good throw and it’s beautifully made, but it’s ultimately not my thing.
Washed it off at 3 hour mark.
Deepesseswero – :
floppy vetiver
and
shadows of cocoa
light and lazy
Ryjkoff – :
i love this, it’s so warm. i literally said ‘oh!!’ out loud when i first smelt it. but it just turns to some kind of weak leather on me. super sad about it.
demaTeams76 – :
I have already written a review based on a sample bought online and feel obliged to write another based on a decant taken from the new 100ml bottles. This is way better.
It is perfectly balanced and has the power I was hoping for. Wonderful vetiver, chocolate and oakmoss. Perfectly unisex. I get some warmth from the amber and coolness from the iris. If there is oud then it is very low key.
I find the oakmoss and iris become a little more prominent with time and has less warmth.
This is one to wear on days when you just want to chill. Very unisex but possibly smell a tad masculine after an hour or so.
Moderate sillage and longevity
cardo_9 – :
1. History
I first encountered Serge Lutens in the early 2000s in Beirut: a friend had Vetiver Oriental sitting on a shelf in his bathroom. I am extremely picky when it comes to fragrance – extremely. Worse, I cannot wear anything that is even slightly chemical. When Vetiver Oriental struck my senses I was transported. For several years that was all I wore – until Serge Lutens discontinued it except in the Paris store, which was inaccessible to me. Now I’m in Hong Kong, and yesterday I found a big 100 ml bottle of Vetiver Oriental sitting like a vision in the Lane Crawford boutique. I couldn’t believe it. And the price was far less than I expected: 1500 hkd ($190 US). Sold! My only concern: has the formula changed, or my sense of smell altered as I’ve grown older? I think both may be true, but not enough to be significant. I know I have the same relationship with this fragrance as in the 2000s. When I forget it, become absorbed in my work, and then resurface, I find myself thinking, “What a wonderful scent that is,” which is exactly my habitual thinking in the old days.
2. Investigate
A word of caution: When first trying this fragrance be patient; the scent after the dry down is dramatically different. Patience is rewarded.
3. Impressions
I’m not versed in the vocabulary of the perfume world, but I can say that Vetiver Oriental is one of those precious scents that crosses cultures and times. It is definitely on the spice side; there is no clear floral note, in my opinion. My impression is of bags of spice in a grand bazaar in Istanbul or Damascus, or in a backstreet shop in Singapore – somewhere along the fault line where East meets West.
4. Comparison and Contrast
Until yesterday I had been relying on other Serge Lutens fragrances, and my favorite of those is Arabie. I plan to alternate between Vetiver and Arabie for the coming year. Two years ago I bit the bullet and bought Amouage Jubilation for men. After reading many reviews on this website I suspect the company altered the formula (there’s no clear evidence that this is the so) and I wonder if I would have been happy with the first edition. In any case, I found Jubilation far too strong for me, overpowering really, and I could not solve the problem because even the tiniest spray or dab set the world spinning round. Vetiver can also be overpowering, but I give it a half spray at most (the 100ml spray delivers much more than the 50ml), and that works just fine. Finally I should add that I tried the Ambre Sultan yesterday in comparing it to the Vetiver; it is a beautiful, rich, complex, strong scent, but leaning more toward the exaggerated posture of Jubilation, so I gave it a pass with all due respect. Maybe I’ll come back to it later.
5. Happiness?
I thought Vetiver Oriental from Serge Lutens was gone for good, or at least out of my reach and budget in Paris. I thought it might have changed formula and been a love passing in a crowded train station never to be seen again. Reunion could not be sweeter, and my only concern now is that I must continue being detached from this earthly existence. No doubt the purest, most elegant and transporting scents in this world are but pale shadows of those in the next.
6. One week later:
It was too good to be true.I’m getting a consistent reaction in my sinuses when I use this fragrance, and the sillage is far stronger than the original that I remember from the early 2000s. I’m fairly sure now that SL changed the formula, and that’s a shame. I will experiment further with much smaller amounts and see if that solves the problem, but if not, I’ll have to give it up. I end here to go wash it off, something I never did with the original Vetiver.
Xeroxxfqqz – :
Upon first smell Vetiver Oriental smelled familiar. The treatment of vetiver which instead of drying it out and thinning it focuses on adding volume was something I had experienced before. In a way it is like taking a vetiver root and injecting it with balsamic elements that are coherent with vetiver’s nature allowing the perfume to smell as a splendid unnatural vetiver. A new, improved, rehabilitated, reassimilated and reinvigorated vetiver smell. These types of vetivers are opulent and wholesome compositions and most of them abide to abstract rules hence are easily propelled to high altitudes. When the decided concoction is inserted in the vetiver the result hangs upon the sustainability of the structure. The latter I presume relies on the nature and volume of the mix and its quality. Like an emulsion there is a point where either too much of a material or the wrong material may lead to a separation of the phases which in the case of a vetiver based fragrance may lead to a drydown that smells, in the good scenario, like the mix and the vetiver. Depending on volume, the mix or the vetiver note will prevail but in either case the smell of vetiver won’t be a new smell but rather the classic vetiver smell. Here Sheldrake uses an injection with sap, moss, amber, labdanum, gaiac, sandalwood, iris and cocoa to connect with two natural aspects of vetiver this of nutty licorice and that of smoky forest bark. As a result, VO smells fresh and crisp but also plush and dense. The quality of materials is great but the oriental structure collapses rather fast although ideal if it could hold. I don’t know who’s to blame here the nature of the mix or its volume but this is academic. The genius of Sheldrake perfected this idea some years later for Chanel with Sycomore. The two fragrances share in principle an identical treatment; balsams and smoke infusing a vetiver form. However, in Sycomore the redacted structure is held effectively and the composition remains always balanced in its abstraction, leading to a drydown of immense beauty. Vetiver Oriental comes close but falls short. An adventurous and rule-breaking scent nonetheless.
SuperGoba – :
This is one that I expected to love instantly, due to the vetiver, but there’s something about this that’s making me work really hard for it. Don’t get me wrong, I love working for a fragrance until it’s ready to work for me but I’m worried that this might be a fruitless endeavour.
The dark chocolate in this really seems to be affecting my ability to mesh with this. I love dark chocolate, I love vetiver and I love every note listed. Do I love them together, or in the trademark Lutens style of blending? Maaaaybe not.
It has a similar feel to Guerlain’s Vetiver offering, but its quite dusty and void of the beautiful earthiness that Guerlain’s has. It’s soft spoken and classy… but the best part really seems to be in the opening, rather than the base which is the opposite of what’s usually true for a Lutens fragrance. Might have to meditate on this for a bit.
EnrililigeVog – :
If you have not tried a vetiver fragrance before then you must try this lovely. Perfectly unisex. Vetiver is generally seen as a masculine note. It can be a tad harsh and must be handled carefully. My fella was surprised to learn this was unisex. He thought it was soft and feminine.
VO is a delicious creamy vetiver with some chocolate, oak moss and iris. There is a little more vetiver, sandalwood and wood notes on the dry down but that’s it.
It doesn’t have a big sillage but it lasts for many hours.
roki24 – :
In the lineup of popular vetiver fragrances, this one stands in it’s own corner near the “gourmand” category. I really do pick out the chocolate note in this. And it works so well with the vetiver, oakmoss, and guaiac wood, much like the way chocolate drives a mole sauce. It’s sweeter in the start with a powdery iris garnish and then settles into the dry down. Delicious! Beautiful contrast to something salty and sour like Etro Vetiver. In fact, I’ve worn both, one on each arm, and enjoy the contrasts.
But sadly, this is one of those fragrances that wears close to the skin. Not much in projection here. Longevity is below average as well… seemingly so, until you warm up your skin with activity and catch fleeting whiffs of it still there.
Honestly, if the formulation had a stronger base to it that would project and last about 50% more, I’d be willing to spend $135 for a full 50ml bottle (about the going rate on resale). Alas… I’m not sure it is worth it. I managed to blind buy a half full 50ml bottle for a good discount, so I didn’t take a full purchase chance. But would I buy a full bottle now? Not sure… I think I’m going to sip this one… and savor it until the end and see how I feel then. I would very likely buy a full bottle if found for under $120.
Fragrance: 8.9 Longevity: 6.3 Value 7.2
Tisha270457 – :
The quality and the balance is typical Serge Lutens. The fragrance is not. It’s a modest vetiver if it’s not a shy one.
Others mentioned that Vetiver Oriental is without citrus notes. Now I’m not sure this is a good thing. Even though I’m not into the citrus fragrances and for this reason I don’t wear my Creed: Original Vetiver, if I had to choose between these two, I’d go for the latter.
For me, there is nothing unpleasant in this scent. Neither much pleasant. I have to admit that the sillage smells good, however, when I smell it close to my skin I still don’t like it.
Reading the many positive reviews made me think that people should never blind buy perfumes. However, if you do, try to find some profiles whose reviews you trust. It can’t be an accident that none of my favourite Serge Lutens reviewers told anything about this fragrance.
Update: it gets better in a couple of hours. I smell more chocolate.
TaToLLlKa – :
This creation deserves respect.
At first, the scent is so intense, that it hurts my nostrils. Smoked fruitwood, vetiver and a touch of Iris, that is what I eventually pick up. I have never encountered anything like it before. Like the smoke from an applewood fire. I am amazed that this pungent scent can be contained inside a bottle.
I would recommend that if the opportunity comes along, do try this Lutens creation. It needs to be experienced.
Would I wear it? No. Can I handle it on someone else nearby, probably not, but don’t let that put you off.
ponichka1985 – :
I’m a huge fan of this scent. It was my “daily driver’ for nearly a year and I never got tired of it. Lingers nicely on scarves and coats in winter. A crisp fresh alertness with a woody, toned-down quality that I really appreciate. Not too feminine, but very appealing!
_Goblin_ – :
A different take on vetiver. I get much more oakmoss than chocolate mixed with the vetiver at the opening. But I really liked the guiac wood in the drydown. Just wish it had more punch – stays close to the skin after just 1-2 hours.
olya20 – :
I appreciate the lack of citrus in this fragrance which can make vetiver quite astringent. Instead there is iris and (bitter) chocolate which enhance it’s woody characteristics.
Vetiver Oriental is simultaneously smoky and cold. Almost a bit spooky.
andrej.x – :
Love it. This is a very exotic and peregrine vetiver. VO departs from the vetiver and citrus combos you smell in most vetiver fragrances. The vetiver is present, but it is not loud. The background woody scents suplement this vetiver well. The chocolate gives it a tinge of bitter sweetness. I don’t smell the floral notes. It may be that they are so well blended that they are not supposed to stand out, but refine the smell of vetiver to something less dryer and grassy. Very nice fragrance. 9/10
tsw_71 – :
This is pure class. Smoky with a hint of chocolate it has a comforting feel that lasts.
mypelveFape – :
Just got a new bottle. I ordered a sample from Lutens’ American rep. I loved it and thought it would work for me. It is somewhat similar to L’air du desert by Tauer, but definitely a Lutens (Sheldrake) fragrance. It’s definitely a masculine fragrance, but could be unisex. After four hours, the first spray is still going strong. Some of Lutens’ work is hard to love, but not this one. Love it!
mumumu – :
I can definetely smell the vetiver and the dark chocolate.
I find this fragrance mysterious and classy.
The thing is, that i will probably “pass V.O” to hubby’s guardarobe as it scents really masculine to me…
Injepesmems – :
Very interesting concept but a tad too sweet to my taste when played on skin. Vetiver and other woody elements laying on an ambery oriental base. Actually pretty nice but no match for, say, Vetiver Tonka or Fat Electrician.
Rating: 6.5-7/10
tema015 – :
Vetiver Oriental is a rich mossy green fragrance. Has just a hint of sweetness and I wouldn’t mind if it was sweeter. I didn’t really smell much of the sandalwood and musk. Overall, I really liked it.
HARKOW – :
I agree with armchair sailor and perfumeaficionado. This IS worth trying for people who don’t like vetiver too. Opposed to dozens of other perfumes who just bang you on the head with pure vetiver, here the vetiver is part of a whole which is fascinating.
It sounds silly, but to appreciate VO, one needs to drop the idea of just “smelling well”. This perfume is a masterpiece and its goals are way beyond this. It has a complex and somehow tortured composition. The vetiver is very smoky to start with. It allmost smells like ashes AND vetiver AND maybe some incense. The chocolate refuses to manifest itself on my skin, but others found it. The beginning has nothing sweet, it is tough, male, sure of itself, a bit unfriendly.
But drydown is surprising: it is very mild, flowery, it made me think of lilac. So almost the opposite.
Don’t want to offend anybody, but any woman wearing this dark, looming perfume, with the exception of Angelica Houston or Angela Merkel, would puzzle me.
joop – :
I don’t like vetiver.
I know, I’m the only one who doesn’t, so sue me 🙂 I think it’s dull, too aftershavey.
But here, in its complex lutensianum treatment, it becomes interesting, sweet and edgy.
Not a masterpiece, but an impressive attempt.
KAMBAS – :
Upon first wiff, Vetiver Oriental is darkly mysterious and seduces the senses making everything else around you fade away leaving only the creamy, resinous, balsamic notes wash away the hard edges of the day. The first olfactory register is how incredibly well structured and balanced this fragrance is. The symphonic harmonies between top, middle and low notes are truly breathtakingly beautiful. They each shine simultaneously with a remarkable clarity.
The earthy grass notes of the Vetiver melt into the layers of Benzoin, Labdanum, Sandalwood and are sweetened by Amber and Iris. The whole effect is somewhat gourmand in a superb dark bitter chocolate truffle confection. It engages with body chemistry beautifully, as it molds to the skin its depth builds and the warm Amber and Sandalwood notes come alive with oriental spice.
It transports me to the Silk Road, the exotic silk and spice trans-continental pipeline for the world’s rarest and most valuable aromatic gifts of Persia, Arabia, Somalia and Java-Indonesia. It also invokes a slight biblical cord in me of the time the Book of Esther was sent from Susa to provinces as far out as India and the Kingdom of Kush during the reign of Xerxes the Great (485-465 BC).
Vetiver Oriental is most definitely a nocturnal fragrance. It smoldering darkness should cast its spell well after the sun has set. The Empress of the Tarot also comes to mind, sweet spicy incense wafting around her throne as she wields her scepter and orb. The Empress can either represent life itself or the smothering of all living things until they succumb to the underworld. This describes Vetiver Oriental, a little goes a long way, a delicate application uplifts life although being heavy handed can choke the life right out of you.
This sophisticated fragrance is a luxurious must have for special occasions or the rare evening of solitary splendor of sitting alone gazing at the fireplace with a cognac contemplating what life must have been like along the Silk Road.
perfumeaficionado.com
JitrenStara – :
Nice oriental, smoky with a black tie feeling, but i get mostly vetiver and woods with an under note of burnt vanilla rubber. This does not happen on my sister, though, who wears woods very well. The burnt rubber note isn’t bad, in the same way it can be okay in Bvlgari Black, but it does make this one a bit of a scrubber on me, as the burning synthetic edge gets cloying after awhile. Will work very well on some and a must try if you are exploring Vetivers.
rafik – :
Vetiver Oriental was released in 2002 as an integral part of the exclusive collection (items that are not exported and arrive in Bell Jars). However, as happens regularly, some editions are sold – as limited editions – in selected distributors and in standard spray bottles (rectangular), until they sold out. In 2004, it was the turn of Vetiver Oriental.
Serge Lutens describes its concept as follows: “I’ve always yearned for change. When I was a child, I wanted to change my family, my friends and eventually my country. Not to mention my sex. Everything, even this vetiver, which here enjoys a lascivious plunge into Oriental velvet, a nice change from being an ingredient in cologne”.
Vetiver Oriental has notes of sap, iris, vetiver, guaiac wood, chocolate, musk, amber, mosses, sandalwood and labdanum.
I was astonished with it. What a class, what a delicious scent, what a beautiful evolution…everything seems perfect in this scent.
What makes this perfume so special is not just the chocolate, but the fact of owning a vetiver without having that classic nuance of vetiver with herbal aspect, which always gets that characteristic aroma of aftershave and suffocate if applied in excess. It is also not very earthy and dry. It’s discreet and well elaborated with the other notes. What I feel, with perfection, is the sandalwood.
Between green and creamy tones, sometimes with nuances of wax, others of mosses, Vetiver Oriental is extremely refined.
Without a doubt, one of the best fragrances of Serge Lutens that I’ve ever met.
gimnast – :
I agree with Zoka.This perfume is my signature scent.
zna4ok – :
I’ve just got it, smelt, ang fallen in love…
In my opinion it’s the best vetiver fragrance. On my skin it smells:
-first like smokey vetiver with black tea, and Iris
-than like a bit sweet vetiver with dark choclate
-finally oriental vetiver with labdanum, amber, musk and some guaiac and sandalwood.
It’s very special and elegant fragrance, not for everyday. I think it’s suitable for special occasions, I’ll be wearing it with suits or dinner jacket.
It’s unique and gorgeus perfumes, one of my fovourite Serge Lutence’s.
gekas3 – :
This is first time that vetiver is not rounded with citrus notes (i dont like them). Pure woody, light smokey fragrance, seems so natural, little dry, strong and powerful. I dont feel chocolate at all, just vetiver. It is on my wish list.
kuct – :
Ooooh, I shiver on how much I LOVE THIS scent! It’s spicy vetiver met w/ warm chocolate. It’s very natural and raw. You almost feel as if you are in a far away place, unfamiliar yet intrigued. Normally I’d say that SL fragrances were overdone and cloying, but this is something special and very thought out. It’s beautiful for a man or woman.
ZEV – :
I love Vetiver in all editions and this is one of the best.