As Jess is currently deep in her clean, fresh, citrus scents with an earthy base era, we decided to do a round-up this Fragrance Friday of her current faves. And after looking through the selection we realised that there are two common threads in all three fragrances…they all have a citrus opening but develop into a vetiver base. The perfect scent to take you from those balmy summer nights through to gorgeous autumn days and even into the start of winter.
“For me, I am loving that sparkle of citrus then the beautiful clean and fresh base that makes me feel like I’m walking outside on one of those bright and sunny, but still quite chilly mornings. They’re uplifting just like a giant breath of fresh morning air; enlivening like a shiver-inducing breeze and grounding like the soft shade of a giant cedar tree” Jess
So while we’re talking about fragrances with vetiver notes, we thought now would also be a fun time to dive a bit deeper into vetiver as a note in perfumery. We just love this earthy scent – and the fun thing with vetiver is that the note can vary so much. Essentially vetiver is a dried grass. Itss a grassy warm kind of scent, however depending on where it is from, vetiver can vary greatly as we said above. Sometimes smelling green and grassy, sometimes it can be super smoky (which is always a fun addition to a scent), sometimes it can be quite earthy and finally, it can also have a slightly soap cleanliness to it. So you can see from how much it varies that there is a reason why you’ll find vetiver in so many scents. It creates beautiful earthy body to a fragrance. Read on to find out why Jess loves the below fragrance all with vetiver in their base notes…
This is the ultimate citrus for anyone who loves earthy fragrances but wants it a little bit brighter. Tulita is a gorgeous locally owned brand and I have gradually spent a moment being obsessed with each fragrance; right now, I’m in love with Mukta.
Translating to ‘free’ in Sanskrit, this fragrance aims to enhance solar plexus chakra, and focuses on ingredients that inspire and energise the soul. For me, when I smell this scent on my skin, it absolutely does capture that essence.
I love that Mukta is all natural yet has incredible staying power and I really love the blend of citruses – grapefruit, lemon, mandarin and orange fuse with the creamy warmth of magnolia to give me my ultimate citrus fragrance. But what I really, really, really love is when the cedarwood and vetiver come alive after a few hours on my skin. It creates the most beautiful depth and the citrus notes of the opening are still present and this is the perfect scent to depict clean fresh air in the middle of nature.
Now if Mukta smelt like clean fresh air on a nature walk, Ex Vetiver is definitely the scent of joyous play and frolicking in the lush, green grass, walking barefoot, lying in the grass with your eyes closed as your face is warmed by the sun.
This fragrance by Juliette has a Gun was created to be like your boyfriend jeans, but in fragrance form. A genderless scent that a couple could share. It opens with a gorgeous citrus burst of bergamot and lemon, then quickly settles into the green grassiness of vetiver.
So while we mentioned that all three scents this week feature vetiver, this is your go-to if you also love vetiver. We get the beautiful green, freshness, but in true Juliette has a Gun style, our base is musk and ambroxan which softens the green tones and gives the fragrance a soft fluffiness that is comforting and so perfect.
FUN FACT! Ex Vetiver is also one of the fragrances that Billie Eilish purchased at Lore last month while she was touring, and popped in for a fun private shopping experience 💚
And last but not least, we have the truly unique Cactus Abduction, from one of our favourite fragrance houses at Lore, Heretic Parfum. Now this is a little more obscure but Cactus Abduction is inspired by a fever dream in the desert. And this fragrance smells kind of like how a green juice tastes on an incredibly hot day. It quenches your thirst yes, however it also makes you feel alive and full of energy.
Cactus Abduction is so fabulous in that it is quite gourmand but in a very savoury and unexpected way. It opens with citrus notes plus carrot seed and plai which create a green spiciness. Then the green pepper note, prickly pear and geranium fuse together in the most interesting way to give green, slightly sharp and spicy with juicy freshness. As the fragrance settles, we get the aloewood and vetiver which have an almost mineral-esque feel to them. All in all, this is one fever dream that we are loving!
