Spiced Citrus Vetiver
Sonoma Scent Studio (2013)

The citrus here is evanescent and robust: pulpy, pithy, overwhelming, to be frank. Then it's gone. Vetiver can go in so many directions but here is muddled, aimless, generic, even. Between the alto and basso, the citrus and the vetiver, there isn't any profundo or depth to carry the rest of the fragrance. Piquant to be sure, good for a lark but really incoherent except as a showcase for the limits of what naturals can and can't do.

"Citrus top notes" and “all natural” doesn't bode well for the lifespan of a fragrance, and there are really only a couple of trick available for perfumers to keep such a scent from going pear-shaped in minutes. This usually involves a bright opening over an oriental base that compliments the citrus rather than dominating it. It's part of a popular genre in which variation isn't all that common. Spiced Citrus Vetiver suffers from many of the standard issues involved with the genre, but it sets itself apart through the vetiver that thickens up the citrus and supports the overall structure, but fails to keep it stabilized.

Yet, because this is a natural composition, there's a greater dimension and body in the time it's around. The vetiver is relatively clean and thin as opposed to the meaty, gourmand style vetivers that are available. Upfront is the powerful white floral / citrus combo, shaded with jasmine to provide a more rounded sweetness. A slightly amber-y vanillic base serves as the foundation, but what's odd is just how dialed back the vetiver actually is. Clearly this is to showcase the citrus, but it feels gaunt given its namesake. The base lends the composition some heft, but it seems a little contradictory given the freshness of the opening.

But these are traits of the genre that are hard to bypass–especially without the use of synthetics to carry the natural components. And so the result is a very nice, bright, refreshing blast that becomes a relatively characterless base a bit too fast. In this sense, it's a good "freshening up” kind of a scent that is arguably on par with others like it. Fans of Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino and even Xerjoff's Kobe will find an all-natural alternative here that adds a degree of character to the genre, but ultimately succumbs to a similar fate of lackluster lasting power. If a pleasant, bright citrus is what you seek, this is a good option. But if it's the vetiver that draws you in, I might look elsewhere.