Go ahead and take away my perfume blogging license, for I do not like Santa Maria Novella Vetiver. Perhaps it would smell better on Bob. On me? Industrial strength cleanser, over a base of mildew. I swear I smell Scrubbing Bubbles. From Italy.
On the other hand (literally, I've been wearing one on the left and one on the right) I have Frederic Malle's Vetiver Extroidinaire, which, according to the FM site, is made up of 25% vetiver (That's right, folks! The highest concentration available without a prescription from a French perfumer!) and "five woody notes to play up the scent's various facets." Ever go to see a band and they sound like five or six people just standing on stage playing their instruments without much thought to anyone else on the stage? Well, this is not that band. Vetiver Extroidinaire has the same wonderful dry herbal scent as L'Artisan Vetiver, that musty incense quality that's both refreshing and cozy, yet utterly sophisticated. Full of grassy, woody harmony, this one is.
Come on. You can't be surprised I like the Malle. I never met a Malle I didn't like. (Well, okay, I met one, but it didn't like me first, so it's not my fault.)
