Vetiver des Sables
Montale (2006)

Tiny vetiver at first. It becomes a little stronger, mixed with sea notes, marine notes. A whisper of sweet. It's a tricky note, this sweet note - I can't pinpoint it. I'm guessing it's the spice blend that begins to appear a bit later. There is an almost licorice note here. It all turns into a cabinet of Indian spices which stay awhile. Not too obnoxious. Kind of earthy. Old wood smell later.

I do not smell vetiver in Vetiver Des Sables. I do smell lots of spices and wood, which should be the main notes. Perfect for the Fall. It's very long lasting on me.

Let's get one thing out of the way: this is not a vetiver fragrance. Sure, it perhaps does contain a smidgen of vetiver, but so does at least 40% of fragrances, as vetiver is often used as a fixative in compositions according to perfumers. Now, coming to Vetiver des Sables: this is primarily a fresh-woody composition with a generous dose of spices - precisely the basic spice marinade used in a chicken curry preparation, including Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric, and ground coriander and cumin. This spice blend forms the counterpoint to the fresh-marine notes, and they together rest on a bed of nondescript woody notes (that may include vetiver). Over time the freshness subsides as the spiciness becomes more prominent, and later on the woody dry down prevails, which does roughly approximate the smell of mahogany furniture.

Vetiver des Sables posseses good village and longevity. It also never smells agreeable, is too unbalanced with spices in the middle, and exhibits a grating synthetic demeanour from start to finish.

2/5

Not a lot of actual vetiver here. Am I the only one who smells burnt sugar? I get a sharp vetiver top placed precariously over an ultra-warm, sweet wood scent. Quite masculine. Extremely loud. DH calls it "a punch in the face." Aquatic notes appear after a few minutes, if you get that far.

Vetiver dries down to marine smelling aquatic. Not anything that stands out, nothing noteworthy. Has decent longevity.

A vetiver disaster! A generic, derivative and undefined fresh composition of absolutely no interest. Hints of vetiver on a loud mahogany base. Vetiver Des Sables moves in a very crowded territory without the ability to stand out. Unneeded.