Vétiver (original)
Carven (1957)

Vétiver by Carven (1957) is the first commercially-available vetiver "single subject" fragrance released exclusively for men, and started a trend continued by Guerlain, Givenchy, Lanvin, D'Orsay, and many others thereafter. Vetiver as a material dilution for use on its own had been incredibly popular to use around the equatorial regions of the world; people in South America, The Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Africa all loved the material in dilution, and various species of the nutgrass grows in these places, with the most-prized being from Haiti in The Caribbean, and Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. What makes Carven's original entry so special, aside from it being the first of its kind, is how not terribly focused on the vetiver it is, compared to the others. Now I don't mean vetiver isn't the star of the show here, because it absolutely is, but Carven went to lengths surrounding that vetiver in choice wood materials, incense, and aromatics like oakmoss and clary sage.

Vetiver's nuttiness and earthiness define this perfume, but it isn't afraid to reign that vetiver back and let the myrrh, sandalwood, oakmoss, and sage do the talking in the dry down. Likewise, you get a great sense of the lemon and petitgrain in the opening, both popular top notes for men's aromatic citrus chypres of the day, found in things like Chanel pour Monsieur (1955) and future contemporaries like Monsieur de Givenchy (1959). Therefore, this feels less like a vetiver fragrance and more like a classic citrus aromatic where the existing vetiver is dosed much higher than it normally would be. Other later vetiver fragrances would either try to get even closer than this does to being a citrus aromatic cologne-style vetiver like Givenchy Vetyver (1959), or closer to a pure representation of the material like Guerlain Vetiver (1961), and still others such as D'Orsay with their Eau Fringante (1969) would try to make a more-complex aromatic composition out of it.

Lanvin would look over at Carven, copy its homework, and spit out their own vetiver scent as part of the Monsieur Lanvin (1964) range. Between Carven and Lanvin's near-copy, the only real difference is a thicker oakmoss and dose of civet musk in the Lanvin fragrance. For me personally, I understand the veneration Vétiver by Carven receives, as it is an exercise in balance that sits happily between others from the era which would come later; it isn't too grassy or dirty, and doesn't embellish too much with amber notes or whatever like many modern vetivers. Vétiver by Carven is in effect "just right", but still may not be the best for everyone. That it died long ago and remains among the rarest of the classic vetivers from the period unfortunately adds disproportionately to its appeal, while later flankers and reboots were so ill-met that it just made demand for the discontinued 1957 version grow even more. Undeniably classic. Thumbs up

Not a bad Vetiver based fragrance but there are others that are way superior. Cool looking bottle though

The bottle under review is the one pictured, vintage bake-o-lite dark green plastic with the 'C' cap.

Simply the classiest 'dirty' vetiver I've sampled.

The every so slightly, 'rooty' or 'earthy' aspect of Carven Vetiver is absolutely dressed to the nines. The 'B.O.' feel is not there at all, yet the dry, rooty presentation is there.

This feels like the vintage Armani Eau Pour Homme of classic vetivers; tuxedo ready, bright, dry, and classy.

Thumbs up for the accord, but longevity is really terrible; just as with vintage Armani Eau Pour Homme....

This is older classic formulation (I got myself the handsome wooden cap version) is hardcore vetiver, no embellishment, no sweetening, no gussying up, it is dry, smoky, musty, earthy, and just wow...

The vetiver combined with the petitgrain and aromatics remind me of the smell of an arid summer day, with the sun beating down on field of long grasses, dry wind carrying the fragrance through the air. For some reason, Plum Island or the Cape Cod National Seashore come to mind.

It wears light, isn't overbearing at all, and lasts several hours. Carven Vetiver is a great yang to Guerlain Vetiver's yin.

A very nice vetiver, closest to Lanvin's in my collection, but without the massive civet that makes the Lanvin such a gem. Here it is a dryer and more properly chypresque (as in citrus chypre). I really like it, however the longevity is sadly absolutely dismal... Still worth it if found at a real bargain, since the Lanvin is so rare. Maybe the Givenchy which I smelled long ago is a better choice, but true vintages are hard to come by too. I should still get it to complete the old classic vetivers.

Carven – Vetiver

I have no way of knowing which of the versions of this scent I am reviewing. The sample card is dark green with a silver pencil tip chevron in the middle and three notes (vetiver, citron de Grasse, lavender) listed inside. It is an edt concentration.

The scent opens with prominent vetiver leaf (as opposed to vetiver root), dry and true, surrounded by a medley of other dry notes, somewhat resembling a cardboard box into which oils have been spilled and evaporated. There is the indication of some citrus in the beginning (this could be lemon, petitgrain and mandarin of the original note tree).

I don't get any other wood or moss notes, just the dry vetiver as the scent unfolds. My spouse can detect a green lavender, as well. For him, it is a sweet lavender leaf scent, supported by vetiver leaf, not the other way around. There is in the dry down the slightest touch of myrrh.

This is a perfectly pleasant vetiver, reminiscent of the Guerlain and Givenchy takes, but in no way as rich or opulent. Its only drawback is its weakness. Ten minutes into the wearing, it has faded so much that one has to bring hand to nose to detect it.

In summary, a light green leaf vetiver and lavender edt. Not great, just average. Decent, but not outstanding.