I should love L’Artisan Parfumeur Couer de Vétiver Sacré but I don’t. Perhaps this is a “me dysfunction” and I will explain this later. There’s nothing wrong with the fragrance and it has many notes that I love. I’ve tried to fall in love with it, but I haven’t.
Couer de Vétiver Sacré opens with some smokiness that reminds me of gunpowder black tea with the faintest amount of sweet orange oil. I then get chewy dried fruits, especially apricot, with exotic spices like powdered ginger and a few threads of saffron. This all smells really good. It’s a spice market gourmand but the tar smoked leather is quite strong, so it isn’t overly “foody”. The tar leather is covered in brandy. I love this. The fragrance is sweet, smoky and leathery. And it’s much “thicker” than other L’Artisan perfumes. Everything that I find interesting goes too quickly in my opinion. I really do love this top-mid. With the base, I’m left with a smoky vetiver-cedar vanilla that reminds me of L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzongkha. It isn’t bad at all but it’s too familiar to be something “new”. Unfortunately, this is the stage that this fragrance stays on me for 90% of the wear.
Here’s why I’m disappointed with Couer de Vétiver Sacré:
The name – I expect vetiver, but it isn’t “there”. So I think the name gives me a false expectation. It attracts vetiver lovers who will most likely be disappointed. And the vetiver name doesn’t attract the tea lovers that will most likely love this fragrance.
It’s lunch and not a vacation. – I agree with Kevin from NST. This fragrance doesn’t transport me. I call the spices and dried fruits exotic. And they are. But, they don’t transport me to the exotic spice markets in Turkey, instead I’m transported to the Turkish lunch place downtown. It’s almost exotic but it’s still close to home.
The Base – It’s not a bad base at all. It’s smoky-sweet. A very familiar smoky-sweet. This bothers me. It seems almost “recycled” but not repurposed. If the top and mid lasted longer, I’d have a bottle of this perfume.
I know that I’m being unfair to Couer de Vétiver Sacré. I know it! Perhaps with time, I’ll forget about its launch and see it for the long-wearing smoky tea fragrance that it is. Or maybe I’ll be in the mood for something like this one day. Or maybe not.
Notes listed include Vetiver Haiti, vetiver couer, bergamot, orange, black tea, saffron, coriander, tarragon, ginger, pink bay, dates, dried apricots, rose, iris, osmanthus, sandalwood, white cedar, gaiac wood, incense, amber, cistus, tonka bean, vanilla, musk, labdanum, castoreum, and birch tar. PERFUMER – Karine Vinchon-Spehner
Give this perfume a try if you like smoky fragrances or if you are looking for the perfect smoky black tea perfume or if you like perfumes like Bvlgari Black, L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzongkha, L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzing!, or Diptyque Eau Duelle. Couer de Vétiver Sacré is easily unisex but something about the smokiness seems to be more “masculine” to me. This also makes it very nice for fall/winter.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Couer de Vétiver Sacré retails for $100-$145 depending on size. It’s available at L’Artisan Parfumeur.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – A smoky black tea with a side of chewy, dried fruits. Wears predominantly as woody-vanilla-vetiver.
Want more reviews? Try…
Now Smell This (Kevin’s review)
Basenotes (member reviews)
Ooh. I love smoky tea. I love Bvlgari Black, Dzongkha, and Dzing!. I don’t so much like vetiver. And I tend to enjoy imagining my exotic things arriving at my house in boxes, more than I enjoy imagining being at the distant market where they’re produced. Sounds like I should try both Coeur de Vetiver Sacre and, while I’m sending off for samples, Eau Duelle.
ChickenFreak recently posted..Reading: 100+ status, and a request for suggestions
I can see you liking this one for, duh, all the reasons you mentioned. Couer de Vetiver isn’t bad, I know I’m being harsh. It would be one of the best scents ever if that top and mid would wear longer on me. And I’ve heard that it does last longer on some people. if I ever want to add a smoky black tea fragrance to my collection, this will be it.
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