Closest match for L'Occitane Vetiver

[carbide]

L'Occitane's Vetyver eau de toilette is my absolute favourite scent, one of those that smells phenomenal to me and also gets compliments all the time. Unfortunately, they discontinued it a few years ago and I flew through my hoarded bottles.

 

(They brought it back as a men's fragrance but the blend is different, something very distinctly aftershavey kills the good stuff.)

 

The basenotes.net reviews mention nutmeg, macis, cypress, bergamot and rosemary as well as vetiver - it's not overtly any of these, although the cypress was definitely present and good on me. I thought Sloth smelled somewhat similar but my ex-boyfriend (who loved Vetyver) said it was nowhere close. Vetiver and I get on well so I am trying all BPAL scents featuring it, but hints would be appreciated.

 

Any suggestions? I'd be very grateful!

Edited August 30, 2007 by carbide

[t_for_tau]

L'Occitane's Vetyver eau de toilette is my absolute favourite scent, one of those that smells phenomenal to me and also gets compliments all the time. Unfortunately, they discontinued it a few years ago and I flew through my hoarded bottles.

 

(They brought it back as a men's fragrance but the blend is different, something very distinctly aftershavey kills the good stuff.)

 

The basenotes.net reviews mention nutmeg, macis, cypress, bergamot and rosemary as well as vetiver - it's not overtly any of these, although the cypress was definitely present and good on me. I thought Sloth smelled somewhat similar but my ex-boyfriend (who loved Vetyver) said it was nowhere close. Vetiver and I get on well so I am trying all BPAL scents featuring it, but hints would be appreciated.

 

Any suggestions? I'd be very grateful!

 

 

I don't have a helpful answer, but as this is one of my all-time favourites I'm hoping someone else does! I *do* like the men's fragrance version, though, even though it's not quite the same. That whole range of scents was fantastic, and I wish they'd bring them back.

[minilux]

I've never tried L'Occitane's Vetyver, but I have tried many other commercial vetiver variations and don't think I've ever found a BPAL that focuses on vetiver in the same way. Though, I'm also thinking that if it stands out, the nutmeg alone in the L'Occitaine is going to make it different from most commercial vetivers. I perused the various BPAL vetiver scents and based on the notes, you might want to try Nephilim or Muladhara. I also have to say that if you like the nutmeg aspect, you might want to try one of my favorite commercial men's (though I would say unisex) scents, Cacharel pour l'homme (Top Notes: Lavender, Lemon, Bergamot , Middle Notes: Nutmeg, Geranium, Carnation, Base Notes: Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Musk). Good luck!

[Miss Lynx]

Ooh ooh, I know this one! I used to have a bottle of L'Occitane Vetiver, and the first time I tried BPAL's Azathoth, from the Picnic in Arkham (formerly Springtime in Arkham) collection, it was a dead ringer for it. At least on my skin...

[forspecial_plate]

I haven't tried the L'Occitane scent you're talking about. However, bpal's Spider (from the Carousel) has notes of "White ginger, artemesia, vetiver, nutmeg, King mandarin, bergamot, and lime". Might be worth tracking down a decant.

[somnambular]

Having never tried the perfume you speak of, I'm probably just pulling this out of my ass, but I might try Lex Talionis.

 

LEX TALIONIS -- The law of retaliation and perfect reciprocity: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an arm for an arm, a life for a life. The essence of blunt justice: dark myrrh, vetiver, cardamom, violet, black pepper, sage, cedarwood and black patchouli with a clarion note of sharp white grapefruit.

 

It has cardamom and cedar in it, which might recreate the nutmeg and cypress... sort of. I don't get grapefruit from it at all, or black pepper, sadly. On me it is just vetiver, cardamom, myrrh and violet, which is too heavy for me but sounds like it might be right up your alley.

 

It also just so happens that I have an imp of it I'd be glad to swap away, if you're interested.

[feather333]

L'Occitane's Vetyver eau de toilette is my absolute favourite scent, one of those that smells phenomenal to me and also gets compliments all the time. Unfortunately, they discontinued it a few years ago and I flew through my hoarded bottles.

 

(They brought it back as a men's fragrance but the blend is different, something very distinctly aftershavey kills the good stuff.)

 

The basenotes.net reviews mention nutmeg, macis, cypress, bergamot and rosemary as well as vetiver - it's not overtly any of these, although the cypress was definitely present and good on me. I thought Sloth smelled somewhat similar but my ex-boyfriend (who loved Vetyver) said it was nowhere close. Vetiver and I get on well so I am trying all BPAL scents featuring it, but hints would be appreciated.

 

Any suggestions? I'd be very grateful!

 

wow, i used to work at L'Occitane, and i never knew that they had an older Vetyver scent! i wish i could have smelled it when it was still around.

how is it different than the current version?

i love this version, and even though it does seem rather aftershave-y in the bottle and wet on the skin (that put some people off when i was trying to sell them some), it really calms down and becomes a delicious, warm, friendly scent once it dries down.

i recently discovered BPAL and have not ordered anything yet, but am also checking out their vetiver scents. are there any you could recommend to a fellow L'Occitane fan? :-)

[ivyandpeony]

Vetiver is a note that is usually really bad on me - and I can still recommend Azathoth to people. Ultimately it was too masculine for me (I'm mostly a girly-scents kind of person), but the tangerine and saffron give it a brightness that really brought out the fresh grassy qualities of the vetiver. I haven't smelled any of the L'Occitane versions mentioned here, but since Azathoth's now a GC blend it's a low-risk recommendation, no stalking of eBay or selling of kidneys required to give it a try.