Guerlain Vetiver: Three-dux

adrianbaugh.org.uk

Given that this is third go round with this tropic, I couldn't resist the photo above. The others, however, might take some explaining...

kigg.in

But first, go check out Suzanne's take on the vintage Guerlain Vetiver over at her Perfume Journal.  For Suzanne, this vetiver came off as more roaring lion than purring kitten. And now, since she's found a 1950s Quadrilobe bottle  with a label that looks nearly identical to my so-called 'ancient' vetiver, there may be good reason to doubt the age and provenance of Guerlain Vetiver's ancien.

Does it still deserve the tag ancien? Maybe, maybe not...

 Una and the Lion

In defense of the question still being a valid one, I'll throw this out there: What about the Guerlain New Mown Hay? Since the bottles and labels for the Vetiver and New Mown Hay are identical, if the Guerlain Vetiver is a 1950s vintage then the Guerlain New Mown Hay would also have to be a 1950s thing. Is it? Do we know or can we find out if Guerlain made or reissued New Mown Hay during the 1950s?

postcardsworld

I will further stoke the imagination, and fill in additional details, to also say that the bottle has an applied top with no mold marks, which fade at the neck, as you'd expect on an older bottle. Now what I know about glass I learned crash course style, when we inherited a large lot of antique bottles several years back. The oldest piece we had was a Connecticut flask from the 1750s (the glass looked plenty ripply!), and we had several 1800s bitter's and poison bottles, and plenty of 1900s drug store, medicine, food and whiskey bottles. In the process of identifying, cataloging and selling quite a few of those bottles -- and whew! let me interject, that most of that old glass stuff was way too valuable and way, way too fragile to hang on to! -- I definitely only scratched the surface on the practice of dating old glass, labels and the like; but...

lookingformabel.webs.com

I picked up enough experience to say that the labels on the Guerlain New Mown Hay and Vetiver are really old looking. The paper has aged to a color of weak tea when you examine the labels under 10X, and you can see the extent of extreme wear, the little chips, the eveness and diffuse nature of the wear etc... which you can't see from a photograph. They really look much, much older than any of the labels on my other older perfumes in my collection (mostly 1950s-1930s) and look more similar to other early 1920s-1880's bottles I've examined.

atomicmall

On the other hand, and moving somewhat more out into left field, I think I may have also mentioned in the original blog on this topic, that I was bothered that the look and quality of the glass used for the New Mown Hay and Vetiver bottles. It just wasn't as fine as I might have expected. The glass on those bottles has an almost rippled quality, and it does not match the quality of glass used (for example) on the Kadine bottle (1911-1930s), which is the oldest Guerlain bottle I have to compare these with. The Kadine bottle was obviously hand cut, polished etc... and I see no signs of cut and polish on the vetiver/nmh. The label on the Kadine bottle also looks much fresher, the clay coating on the paper is still intact and there is far less oxidation than what I see on the Vetiver and New Mown Hay labels.

 majorlycool.com

So has the question been answered? In the end, I don't suppose it much matters. Not only did I find a vintage vetiver that pleases me nearly as much as Frederic Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire, which I didn't think was possible, but I'm also quite happy to have found a perfume friend like Suzanne. And after reading her amazing ode to Guerlain's Vetiver, it might even be turning into a perfume crush:)

barnaclepress

image notes: I'm not really sure about what captured me about the theme of the lion and the girl, other than picturing myself, wearing a manly thing like Guerlain's Vetiver and finding it 'fits' me better than most of the stuff I sniff! My husband got a kick out these pictures, and deemed them OK to use... so putting my concerns for all the poor lions aside, I hope you see the humor there, too. Site credits for the pictures are pasted just below the photos.

The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.

Vintage Perfume Materials: Vetiver; Guerlain Vetiver ancien

image: Indianvintage.blogspot

Soothing, meditative, cold/warm vetiver is a complex material rich in history and interest. Records of its trade exist from the 1500s. Vetiver is hardy and grows well in many places where introduced. It has been used for perfumery, woven goods and as a medicine since those times and likely well before. In 1809 the first chemical analysis of vetiver oil was accomplished in France using extracts of roots imported from the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. In 1843, a American vetiver perfume called Kus Kus was first produced in New Orleans, Louisiana. The vetiver used for it was almost certainly locally grown from an earlier-recorded 1803 purchase of vetiver plants from the perfume-loving French. All of this lore is according to American vetiver expert Mark Dafforn.

Wild child of the 1920s and inventor of the modern bra Caresse Crosby with her whippet hound, Narcisse Noir.

 Photo taken in 1924.

image: theesotericcuriosa.blogspot

We see vetiver in many of the early great classic 20th century women's perfumes including Caron's 1911 Narcisse Noir. Since the 1920s we've seen a cavalcade of notable vetiver based perfumes including Corday's Toujours Moi and Chanels' own No 5, both released 1921.

Roots of the vetiver plant after only 6 months cultivation show why it is so important to soil retention and useful for land conservation/cultivation.

image: permaculture.org

Vetiver is one of those rare natural materials that forms a whole perfume all by itself. Some of its evocatively named chemical constituents give clues as to its varied complex nature: clovene, amorphine, aromadendrine, junipene, and vetivone. The scent of vetiver is described chemically as ranging from sweetly roseate to saffron spicy, from peppery woody to balsamic. Vetiver is of such an important material to perfumery, that along with rose and cedar it is classed as "indispensable". In fact industry experts say that vetiver is a key component in about 40% of all perfumes produced today. It's been around for a long, long time, too; the use of it's oil in perfumery predates that of rose.

Vetiver harvester...

 image: outdoors.webshots.com

Traditionally vetiver is considered as India's great contribution to perfumery. Highly viscous, slow to evaporate and with a distinct, pleasant odor there are few substances of equal utility or import. Haitian or Reunion vetiver is prized above all others for it's superior scent quality and it's sweet roseate note. Indian or Khus-Khus vetiver is renown for its balsamic woody notes. Like sandalwood, the world-wide supply of vetiver is precious and precarious. Indonesian and Chinese vetiver have begun to come into use in modern perfumery although these sources are not nearly as prized as Indian or Haitian.  As long as satisfactory synthetic substitutes are lacking, we will remain dependent on the naturally distilled oil. Haiti has long been the most important world wide source of high quality vetiver oil for perfumery. The recent earthquake there will likely have a devastating impact on supplies for many years to come.

 

Benjamins Khus-Khus triple extract perfume, circa 1930s

image: Worthpoints

You will find vetiver is "frequently used in western type of fragrances having chypre, fougere, rose, violet and amber aldehyde base,... oriental fragrances and floral compounds, after-shave lotions, air freshners and bathing purposes, as well as flavoring syrups, ice cream, cosmetic and food preservation. Khus essence is used in cool drinks, for reducing pungency of chewing tobacco preparations, providing a sweet note to other masticatories and incense sticks." (Lavania, 2003).

 This is an up-close view of Guerlain's Vetiver acien label from my own photo.

Winter is the perfect time to wear vetiver so I'm back to give Guerlain's enigmatic Vetiver ancien a proper review. I've added the term ancien to differentiate this perfume from Guerlain's modern Vetiver fragrances, the first of which was released as a mens fragrance circa 1956. But could it be a modern throw-back, something Guerlain released to commemorate some earlier time? As I mentioned in another post, the label is stamped water based paint or hand painted; it smears like crazy if it gets wet and the silvery paint lifts off easily so it sure seems old to me. 

The bottle I already described in a previous post but the juice of vetiver deserves mention here. It is a rich golden orange, amber color and not 100% clear. A fine sediment settles and swirls up like a thin trail of smoke when the liquid is agitated. As far as its scent, the perfume opens with a strong odor of wood, Eucalyptus and pine, followed by hints of sweet, rich malty grain. Notes of wet brown leaves and pepper emerge, partly aromatic, partly moldering earth. Somewhere later lighter strains of citrusy green grass and green apples appear but these recede quickly once the whisper of burning leaves introduces itself and grows into a strong clear incense note. This is a nuzzley incense- it recalls cedar and sandalwood. Well rounded with the sweetness of dry wood and later a rooter saltier driftwood; the incense stage smolders on for several hours.

I suspect this Guerlain Vetiver could be as early as 1840s also; but certainly no later than 1890s, else-wise we'd probably have some other reports of an early Guerlain vetiver in existence and I've found none... Guerlain must have been proud to offer their own version of this exotic and prized perfume to French women, considering that the French-creole ladies in America may have been wearing their own version since 1843!

What I'd be wearing in winter with Guerlain's Vetiver... if I only could! Image from Model's Own blog.

And now I have the extreme pleasure of wearing this anomaly of a vintage perfume in my own lovely winter world- amazing.

But it really only matters if other people know about it, too.

Sadly I only have enough of this Guerlain vetiver to parse out three or four 1 mls samples. Please let me know in comments of you'd like to be considered- but this isn't a contest or give-away since preference will be given to bloggers and serious Guerlain fanatics, and those who read and/or blog/post about perfumes regularly, and because I want to see more reviews and opinions about this... Like I said, leave a comment, or email me at millascent@gmail.com. I'll close the offer as soon as 3 or 4 of you speak up for what's available.

The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.

vetiver references:
HEDGE VETIVER: A GENETIC AND INTELLECTUAL HERITAGE Mark R. Dafforn, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, USA
U. C. Lavania Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow – 226 015, India

Vetivert Perfume by LaValliere New Orleans

This is a photograph of vetiver growing along Southern California coast line to retard soil erosion. Vetiver grows in discrete clumps making it ideal for this purpose but traditionally it was cultivated because the root clumps made excellent thatching for rooves. Kept moist in the home, the bundles have a pleasing scent that repels insects and rodents. Along with several other "V" herbs vetiver is known for its calming and sedative properties; add valerian , verbena, vervain and violet (petals and leaves) to dried vetiver roots and you will create a potent sleep inducing sachet pillow.

Vetiver is a favorite perfumery note of mine and I've been seeking a modern day vetiver scent to suit my tastes. Many current vetivert fragrances feature the green-fresh qualities of the grass, or the salty earthiness of the roots. BBW version was the first vetiver fragrance I experienced. I loved it so that I began to search for my ultimate vetiver scent. Ultimately Frederic Malle's Vetiver Extraordinare became my favorite, an instant classic and the vetiver by which I now measure all others. But it is undeniably robust, a big fresh modern machine of a fragrance. If you like fresh and rooty style vetiver then you should try the one by Axe; they have a very fine smelling Vetiver as part of their Proximity line. It has poor lasting but it is a bargin that actually smells great. Try it as a room/car fresher, as it lasts better on fabrics than skin.
But the perfect vetiver perfume I have in mind would be just like the one pictured above: Vetivert by La Valliere. A long exitinct perfumery shop located in New Orleans, La Valliere produced perfumes between 1914-1922. This is one of their plainer bottle designs, a flared octagonal with three larger center panels and a small hexagonal stopper. But of course my main concern is the perfume contained within called simply, VETIVERT.

The juice has achieved a beautiful cherry amber color and smells extremely well preserved. Vetivert has a naturally sweet facet to it as most grasses do, but it's more grain like than candy like, with starchy/malty notes rather than the sharper, more concentrated notes imparted by honey or sugar sweetness in perfumes and without any of the associated animal or fruity tones. This perfume plays up that mild, tranquil facet of the grass beautifully. Steeped with other dry, smooth smelling greens, clary sage, clove and patchouli leaves along with cedar wood and rounded with benzoin, La Valliere Vetivert perfume is profoundly zenish and centered, a mellow, slightly exotic but laid back vetiver perfume- imagine the scent beckoning you from a fortune teller's tent.

The vetiver is still allowed to be earthy but in a delectible smooth way that suggests chocolate, pepper and toasted coffee, as well there is a leathery, sandalwood quality. Everything here is kept very dry and there is none of the watery, briney and salty notes associated with some vetiver perfumes. Oddly, I still enjoy the brisk, marine treatment of vetiver, as in Annick Goutal's ocean-side version, different than but still in a much more masculine vein just as the afore mentioned Malle version is... The one sweeter vetiver scent I have heard of but not tried is by Hermes, the one with Tonka but it sounds much more candied than the vetiver I crave. Now if only to find a chemist perfumer friend who will concoct the Fortune Teller's version for me...

The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.