Coeur de Vetiver Sacre L'Artisan Parfumeur for women and men

I am not a big vetiver or tea note person but since this is Karine Vinchon Spehner’s, who made the superlative Batucada, I had to give this a try. Coeur du Vetiver Sacre is a very rich, deep vetiver with the scent of dates and spices running through it. It feels very warming, for me this is a cold weather issue when I want something to boost me and nourish me. So many notes listed but they seem to merge together so much its difficult to pinpoint them. I continue to explore this one.

I love this fragrance it is so nice so cosy tea with that vetiver just awsome blend one of the best from the house. So relaxing smell i always spray this on when it is time for relaxing :) i give this 9/10

i love this one.. its really relaxing and lifts up my mood.. a fairly sweet tea smell in the beginning but it feels natural, not candy or sickly sweet, refreshingly sweet. not really vetiver centric IMO. this is more light fruits light woods and tea. not really smoky more 'humid'

unique vibes for sure imo.. i like :)

A fair amount of notes but the most prominent to me are date and tea. There is also an underlying woody accord which blends out the composition nicely. In the middle is where it kind of falls apart for me. The dates take a very sour turn on my skin which is not very pleasing. At this point is has sweetened a bit but the sourness continues to linger on for a few hours until the late drydown. It could very well be a case of skin chemistry but the sourness definitely takes away from the rest of the composition. I'd enjoy this a lot more if somehow the dates had been alleviated slightly.

I feel this is a more masculine release and even though it's discontinued, for any real tea and vetiver fans perhaps one to seek out. Otherwise I'd say you're not missing out too much. Apart from that, it's highly versatile and the performance is around 4 to 5 hours with restrained projection.

6,5/10

This along with Timbuktu are my two favorite from the house.
I sold my back up bottle and regret it now, seeing the prices and availability are putting it out of reach.

Just a very enjoyable fragrance for all seasons.
I hope they bring it back.

i smell tea, woods and incense at first, along with some floral and fruit notes that are a bit difficult to pick out...maybe osmanthus and rose? after a few more minutes the scent sweetens up even more with the dates. it remains primarily a tea scent with hints of woods and fruit. it isn't what i expected at all from a vetiver scent-it's quite light and pretty. i think it'd be great in spring and summer.

Love love love the smell.

I'm going to be one of those people who shouts, "what were they thinking when they discontinued this masterpiece!?" I'm a little upset about this one. It is the BEST unisex vetiver fragrance to ever grace my nose. It suits all seasons, but especially spring and summer. The woods, dried fruit and incense gives it depth and character, the vetiver is light and bright but not sharp. I would call this a complex tea scent with spices, woods and a little bit of fruit and smoke. A very wearable vetiver scent, or a great introductory vetiver for those who don't usually care for it. I will miss this fragrance and forever wonder why they chose to do away with it. There is no substitute in my opinion.

This is the most beautiful vetiver based scent I've ever tried. Fruity, slightly smoky, with woods, musk and spices. Just beautiful. Suitable for year round use especially for warm weather, very gentle and delicate scent, totally unisex.

It opens with beautiful dates, faint apricot, strong black tea and a little smoke from the incense. It is very subtle, soft, elegant and discreet scent. The sweetness from the dates is very tamed and distinctive. Then comes the strong and dominant earthy vetiver which blends perfectly with the rest notes. There's also noticeable gentle osmanthus, faint rose, short lived black pepper, mild labdanum and mild to faint saffron. Overall I get vetiver, black tea, dates and smoke.

The longevity is good moderate but the projection could be better.. The sillage is moderate.

Highly recommended for vetiver lovers who want something more delicate and classy than the average vetiver based scent.

I do get some similarity with Gucci Pour Homme II Gucci but Coeur de Vetiver Sacre is far more complex and deeper.

I'm pretty gun-shy when it comes to vetiver dominant scents - vetiver often smells like bugspray on me. But luckily for me, Coeur de Vetiver Sacre is a bit of a misnomer, and the vetiver plays a supporting role. The opening is all about tea, with a mix of smoky/dried fruit/spicy notes (lots of black pepper) in the background. Vetiver adds a nice green rooty scent that balances the sweetness of the dates and apricot. As the scent develops, it becomes less green and sharp, with the central tea note now supported by osmanthus and dates. I love it! It's a rare scent that can be worn year round - the tea keeps it fresh enough for summer and the spices keep it warm enough for winter. Despite the long note list, the notes blend nicely to create a beautiful scent. Good longevity and good sillage. I've found that the green notes / citrus appear more when sprayed on clothing rather than on skin.

A very sweet and dry fruit Timbuktu. Plus earthy vetiver. A must.

I feel like this is a vetiver for people who say they don't even like vetiver- that's how multi dimensional Vetiver Sacre is. There's something for everyone, from the chewy sweet gourmand fruits, the smooth, elegantly rich black tea right down to the earthy, resinous finish. The infused tea I feel is my favourite stage, it's like burying your nose in freshly cured ground leaves.

looks like it is no longer available on ebay either. and out of stock everywhere else! such a SHAME they discontinued this. it is an incredible scent, alas, no back up bottles for me. gotta cherish the one i have :*(

Upon first try I found it too... much, I guess, but upon second application a few days later it revealed its beauty to me. "Beauty" is indeed the best word for me to use to describe it, it smells beautiful, it's like getting a sparkling smile fired at you from across a room. I'm getting vibes of - bear with me now - forest fruit juice concentrate, tea, dates and rose incense. Best enjoyed dispersed in my opinion.

I think this is one of the very best L Artisan fragrances. It is disscontinued, but still available on eBay.
I think it may have been too modern for it's time. Some of the now greatest classics like Givenchy Insense, where disscontinued after a few years for that reason.
It is a light fruity vetiver, with many floral and spicy notes well blended, but it is mostly vetiver and date fragrance. Date as in fruit:)

I found a great and popular current vetiver that may have the same vetiver and fruit vib...
It is Atelier Cologne Vetiver Fatal.
Check it out, vetiver and plum are dominant, stays light and fresh.

Not sure where the "darkness" is here, nor do I get much if any vetiver or incense. There's a dried fruit type quality and a curry-ish spice element, and then a kind of clean smoke, and possibly a hint of tea, but I get little of anything else. I sprayed once to the chest, high up so that I would be able to smell it well, but perhaps this requires at least 3 or 4 sprays. If try it again I'll report back but I don't have much interest in it. Even Magman, which cost me about $5.50 for 100 ml, was much better, also with one spray.

l'ho comprato a scatola chiusa sul web, pensando si trattasse di una fragranza centrata sul vetiver. invece è un bel profumo camaleontico, basato, nelle note di testa, su tè verde e iris, che evolvono verso il vetiver, certo, ma anche sull'incenso (da qui un bell'effetto "dark"), sul pepe nero e il cuoio, e un che di fruttato (i datteri, forse?). ogni volta che lo spruzzo colgo qualcosa di nuovo: zafferano, rosa, fave di tonka, arancia etc etc. bellissimo e sì, il cuore è di sacro vetiver.

There is a group of L'Artisan fragrances that share a similar vibe. Vetiver Sacre, Traverse, Al Oudh... the common denominator is the inclusion of dried fruits with more "standard" notes in perfumery. They are all wonderful, but I digress.
The beauty of Vetiver Sacre is that, much like Timbuktu, they are vetiver fragrances that are not vetiver centric. I love vetiver, but your "standard" fare and even some of the gold standards like Guerlain's usually pair vetiver with herbs, more woods and citruses. Vetiver sacre, on the other hand pairs it with those dried fruits I just mentioned, creating what I thought it was impossible. A gourmand vetiver? Hell no. Vetiver has too much balls to be gourmandish. But it compliments vetiver beautifully, because it enhances the aromatic aspect. It's fresh, it's sweet, it's aromatic, you know it's vetiver but not right off the bat.
Worth searching, and unfortunately discontinued it seems.
Smell great, my friends.

Mi spiace ma questo prodotto mi rende all'olfatto un balsamo per fare vapori quando si è chiusi con il raffreddore! Sembra un medicamento erboristico, peccato avevo grandi aspettative quando avevo visto la composizione olfattiva! In questa fragranza le note di legno e vetiver sovrastano tutto il resto e solamente qualche folata di foglie di tè prendono corpo di tanto in tanto. In apertura leggere note di zafferano aumentano il sapore amaro ed il bergamotte punge. Penso che ci sia olio di eucalipto ma tra le note non è menzionato.
Profumo 1/10
Longevità 7/10
Sillage 7/10

I am wearing this, this bright and Sunny New Year's day morning, i'ts warming, yet very bright and uplifting with the great fruity notes of dates primarily, apricot and orange.
I realized this is very much the same vib as Creed Aventus, maybe better than Aventus.
People, including myself love the smoky pineapple in Aventus. Vetiver Sacre has a smoky, incense fruit, a smoky date, and many great fresh herbs and spices, warm woody notes, supremely enjoyable!

This is a gorgeous, meditative, relaxing yet seductive, mysterious and dark vetiver scent. I am having a particularly horrid week and I drenched myself in this scent for two days in a row. I am instantly transported to a place of calm, a serene temple in some fantastical land where the weather is mild and the people are genuinely kind. A whiff of this and I am grounded. I am happy.

Vetiver is so special - I used to dab the oil on myself whenever I needed to relax. It doesn't project very well, thus sillage can always be an issue unless you're blending it with something powerful. But I like it this way, I don't need to be smothered in loud patchouli everyday. Sometimes I just need to step back and be at peace.

I am beyond myself as to WHY this fragrance is no longer in production. It is one of l'artisan's gems that many don't seem to want to touch. The vetiver here reminds me of fat electrician by ELdO but calmer. There is a distinct smokiness that reminds me of another l'artisan offering: tea for two. It's that black tea, caravan vibe but much creamier and greener.

There is a lot going on here even though it feels very subdued. Woods, smoke, cream, fruits, musk, spices. Blended masterfully and radiating like a slice of heaven off my skin. It's crazy people perceive different things in this fragrance- tar soap, leather, rubber, temples, mystics, tea, forests and so on and so on. What do I perceive? Definitely something mystical, something occult, temple offerings YES, rituals... magic.

10/10

I actually find this to be one of L'Artisan's more successful attempts at making a lofty idea a wearable concept, one that translates as interesting but still perfumic rather than walking around smelling like a candle.

After wearing it for an hour or there about, is it 100% a smoky, green, vetiver perfume. There is ginger and bergamot and tea that I still get and what I noticed immediate, but somehow they all coalesce and make this very lovely rendition.

I imagine sitting in the romanticised East that L'Artisan is painting here, like from a storybook or a movie, in a bamboo hut overlooking a freshly-rained jungle. Inside the hut a cup of smoky black tea sends curls of fragrant tea in the air and bergamot incense burns on a little stand.


It really is evocative of a place and a feeling.

I am shocked by the beauty this fragrance contains every time I wear it. You step boldly into a world of mesmerizing magic - your nose is greeted by a revilatizing smoked tea and osmanthus, a lush violet and rose, an earthy cedar, guaiac and vetiver, and a mouth-watering date and green banana all touched by a quiet pepper and cumin lurking somewhere in the subconscious. This is a fully realized world where one could easily get lost in - I slipped between the real world thick with cedar and oak and wild roses, irises and berries - and the imagined world of Vetiver Sacre with its lush, smoky greenery of vetiver and tea and the eminating warmth of spiced dates and resinous amber. I was at home in the wild - the intermittent rain, the thick fog, the chill in the air, the splash of waterfalls, and the serenity of silence. Every step I took felt like I was getting closer to where I belong. Many hours later, my adventure concluded with the drive back to civilization, amazing smoked meats and tea, and my now quiet companion, Vetiver Sacre. Not much changes after the first couple of hours as this fume remains true to itself - the end of its grand adventure is marked with a gentle white musk and a touch of woody & smoky vetiver. Why must all good things come to an end? Why do we all toil endlessly to achieve peace when it already exists moments away? Ah, it is no time to wonder as I have work to do. I hope you all have found the answers to these questions - if not, let us find them together.

Day 50 - Wild at heart
Listening to: Radiohead - Daydreaming

Update: I have had this a while now, and realizing it's one of my most favorite fragrances. It has everything, great vetiver, fruits, incense, woods, greenness, balsamic richness.

This is an updated opening paragraph. Getting to know this one better. It evolves alot. This is niche perfume artistry.
I just bought a backup bottle. This is a great Springtime scent. It has a lot of similarities to my fav Timbuktu, the warm, green, exotic grassy notes, papyrus and others, then the earthy rooty Vetiver strikes a balanced accord with the slightly sweet Apricot, dates, and light citruses. The Chinese Osmanthus blossom gives it an interesting, slightly medecinal piquant note. Very wearable, enjoyable fragrance.

The opening you get a warm, sweet, cozy, woody, balsamic with the nice dried fruit/ date note, that is nicely balanced with a bit of peppery spice, and the woody Vetiver heart.
It reminds me of Lutens, how Sheldrake, their perfumer, likes to compose sweet fruity fragrances.
The nice, sweet, dried fruit opening gets quieter, and the fragrance changes to have some very nice, unique, interesting notes, along with the Vetiver.

A quality niche fragrance, my second favorite from Le Artisan after " Timbuktu", but this may be closer to a masterpiece !
I'm picking up a beautiful, natural, green grassy note, I can see this is going to be complex and full of nice surprises.
Many quality notes, masterfully blended into several beautiful accords.
I don't like sweet fragrances, but this is not to sweet, and the sweetness seems to be there to balance the sharper notes such as pepper and musc, well done.
This reminds me of a favorite "Lutens" frag, Daim Blond; the apricot, Amber, spices, but leather is at the heart vs Vetiver; Vetiver Sacre is a more complex and outstanding composition. Perfumery art ! Note: I'v seen a few reviews where people pick up leather, I agree.

The sillage is not to soft, it's in between moderate and soft.

PS: A nice surprise is that the fragrance is more green than expected. It has some nice, natural grassy note. And there are several varieties of Vetiver, the smoky rooty kind, as as in Encre Noire, or the greener milder type, which you have with Vetiver Sacre, Haitian Vetiver perhaps.
The frag has some smokiness which comes from the Incense and not the Vetiver I believe.

I think this is underated, if it had a more catchy name, like Dzing or dzong, it may get more praise. This is outstanding, into my top 5, and even better than "Timbuktu".

Thanks to Max Forti review on YouTube," The good, bad, and ugly" of Le'Artesan fragrances, where he had Vetiver Sacre as his #2 L'Artisan fragrance after "Tea for Two".

Update: I'm increasing the rating from 9.25-, 10/10.
This is phenomenal, rich balsams, green grassy notes, exotic floral nuances, apricot, dates, pepper, spices, and Vetiver, beautifully blended, delicious !
My # 1 L'Artisan fragrance.

Rating: 10/10

God bless. John 3:16

Unlike some other fellow reviewers, I smell the vetiver in here very pronounced, but it is at the scent's heart, as the name suggests, not throughout the whole development.

Coeur de vetiver sacré is a very complex scent and this is a caveat for people who prefer their scent to be straightforward and easily reliable. In this case, it is not strong, I would rather call it a shy beast. It is very exotic and close to weird for the first minutes when the mix of the +10 ingredients you see here listed vye for your attention. It brings to mind a few other offerings like Timbuktu and Un jardin en Mediterranée by Hermes but without being a copy at all. Especially the date note can lead people to feel it smells figgy and there is something fresh attached to it that I can't still figure out where is coming from.

I like it but can't love it (yet?).It seems to have a different performance every time and the only good thing about that is that those times when I feel it has something animalic I dislike being highlighted... not many people notice it anyway. The reaction among my friends has echoed what I just said: everyone put a different face when I spray this on them. Some show strangeness as in "do people wear this as a personal scent?" and some other try to guess the ingredients and fail in worrying "Is it vinegar?" type of comments. Don't take this too seriously as most of them wear only mainstream... but if you're the self-conscious kind of person, stay away from this.

If you like the Hermes I mentioned, this is a kind of niche(r) take on fruity exotic but subdued and more refined (which I'm afraid doesn't mean it smells better...). In the drydown the vetiver is there starring and the date adds a very close to figgy ending to it. On a last note: I think it smells just a tiny bit old school in men but gorgeously misterious and intriguing on women... give it a try!

This one has taken me some time to come to terms with. I've had samples of CdVS for a couple of years, but always found the fruitiness, particularly the date note in the opening a little off putting. But I guess as my nose has matured over the years, I can now appreciate this more as the remarkable work it truly is. To that end of course, I have owned a bottle for some time now and delight in it regularly!

But my advice? Don't set yourself up for disappointment by hoping this will scratch your every vetiver itch. The vetiver note is gorgeous of course, smoky and quite ethereal, but it's not really the main protagonist. Like many others here, I'd have to point to the tea accord as the main player, along with a subtle and mystical incense supported by labdanum. The addition of begamot leads my mind to the smell of an expensive Earl Grey tea in fact. The orange note may also lead to this end, orange and begamot are of course a little different, but not so different that one can't still make the association. It feels outdoorsy, but not in a rugged way, more in a contemplative sense. Mystical, a little timeless and very complex for my experience of L'Artisan scents.

The thing that really turned me around on this fragrance is more the artistry of its structure. This doesn't work from the basis of your classic pyramidical design to me. It's more like a genuine symphony of stunningly blended accords that are all available to your nose at once and more or less, all throughout the life of the scent (which is quite good for an EDT, around 6hrs on my skin). You might think I'm suggesting it's linear by describing it this way, but I don't think that does it justice. The magic is in the way you can use your mind to summon up any of the accords at any one time. Want to smell incense, labdanum, smoke? Imagine it as you smell and there it is. Want to smell dates, apricots, pepper and spices? Let your thoughts take you there. Want to smell the lovely, earthy, smoky vetiver? Let your mind guide your nose and you will find it!

A striking piece of work by Karine Vinchon Spehner and one which truly rewards perseverance and contemplation. It may border more on an "olfactive art work" than a wearable scent for some, but I don't count myself amongst that number. I wear it often now and am usually delighted by the interest it receives.

This fragrance is mainly an earthy dirty vetiver with a nice expensive lether blend. It lasts 8 hours easily and projecs well. This scent is not versatile as i can see it mainly worn at night or on cooler weather. To me this is one of the best vetiver that money can buy. It isnt sweet as other vetivers cause of the leather in it. The compliments i always get are " you smells nice". I will always have this on my collection.

This one has a very special place in my heart. It's not my favourite fragrance, and I don't reach for it very often. But I will always remember it as the fragrance that officially launched my "Crazy Phase", as I now refer to 2012-2013 : the first and most financially-irresponsible years of my perfume addiction.

In terms of review, I would mostly offer this word of caution : this is not a classic vetiver scent, and anyone expecting Encre Noire or Sycomore could be disappointed : the tea, dried fruit and incense notes are very present here. But as the name suggests, there is some vetiver at the heart of this fragrance, and it timidly emerges after several minutes.

To me, the overall effet is a bit more oriental than woody-spicy.

Very nice, and versatile -- I can imagine wearing it in all seasons and any occasions.

7.5/10

My oh my! Just got this one today and I have to say I'm more than happy with it. Has more than a passing similarity with Gucci pour homme II with a couple of crucial differences. This has a fearsome opening of complex notes which are sweeter, sharper and then dry. This smell of sticky dates and the overall intensity is totally different but the combination of citrus, tea, and Vetiver is very similar. The tea in this is gorgeous, metallic at first then wonderfully aromatic and slightly peppery. There's subtle stuff in this one it has the animalic qualities of tibuktu, a slightly smoky, earthy vetiver and then even a hint of violet, wormwood and maybe olibanum?
The Drydown is a much softer affair settling down to a pleasing and slightly deeper GPH II.
It's a stunning fragrance and that sweetness with the tea gives a great new dimension to a very well blended fresh fragrance.
This EDT performs okay too, nothing rather shattering but a worthy purchase.

Three word to describe this perfume : yum, yum, yum.

I always love vetiver, so I was confident when I bought it online that I will like it.

This perfume definitely deserve to be on my top 5 fragrance. First spray (on my skin), you can smell that this perfume is a vetiver base fragrance, love it. Then, I can smell a tea collaborating with vetiver in harmony. It's like you're brewing a tea in the middle of vetiver garden. (not sure if there's such thing as vetiver garden) Both of them just keep playing in my nose take turn to show off their scent. Tea, vetiver, tea, vetiver, vetiver, tea.. Beautiful!

CdVS captured my soul on first spray to skin. I've been transported to a Shinto shrine. Tea, incense, gentle spices and some faint under-aroma of exotic fruit...

I never thought I could like, let alone love, a Tea-based scent. My Canadian husband, who often mocks my obsessive coffee drinking, drinks gallons of tea a day (made in the Russian manner, go figure!) Smelling his beverage does nothing for me. But this!! Enchanting!

L'Artisans tend to work well for me, I've had good luck with them and think they're mostly unique and lovely. CdVS has very good longevity and sillage on me. I'd suggest this to anyone looking for a unique, calming, and meditative fragrance. It's a keeper.

Was this discontinued? I don't find it on APs online shop...

An absolutely gorgeous, bright vetiver. I blind ordered my bottle and promptly fell in love with it head over heels.

I love how the general feel is bright and fruity even though there are loads of incence and vetiver. The bergamot and fresh apricot are obvious and though I fail to relate the "tea note" to the way tea actually smells I can identify the "tea note" as well.

Tea & vetiver.

Super nice composition, a little smoky, a little balsamic - just right.
Vetiver fragrances tend to be generally very masculine, but here it is very gender natural.

Excellent woody-green fragrance.

I've read the reviews and knew not to expect a vetiver fragrance, as the name of the perfume tends to lead you. Saying that, I don't understand why so many users voted the vetiver, it should't be in the top 3 notes of this perfume. I love vetiver, and although here is not the main player, as I've seen it heavily discounted, I've bought a 50 ml bottle.
The opening is strong incense with dried fruits and black tea. After a few minutes, the incense tames a little and the fruits begin to sweeten. Going into the dry down, what I get is a sweet fruit accord blended with sandalwood and a hint of vetiver with incense laid down in the background . It's an interesting exotic fragrance and quite unique from my point of view. I think it's more suitable for men and for cooler days. It lasts for 7 hours, projects for 1-2 hours.
I'm loving the classy look of L`Artisan bottles, they are very well made. While the sprayer is very good, it sprays less than others.

Scent: 8/10
Longevity: 7/10
Projection: 6/10

I was so excited to try this as I'm hooked on vetiver. Alas and alack, this is not my Holy Grail. Opening note is and overwhelming bitter note, reminiscent of my dad's homemade dill pickle crock in the basement. Kind of dry, not pleasant and nothing to temper it with. Within several minutes the strong bitter note is gone, replaced by a savory foody note, perhaps the date, saffron and pepper. I dislike castoreum, and I think this is what ruins this for me. This is all in under 10 minutes. The drydown is with 20 minutes and is so faint it is just a whisper of floral aromatic with a blend of perhaps something else, but by now its so faint I can't identify notes. By an hour's time, I can still detect an herbal note and not much else. Sigh* My fragrance devouring skin strikes again. Definitely test before buying.

Despite what the name might insinuate, this is not mainly a vetiver scent. The vetiver shares it's leading role with tea but it takes some time before both make their presence known. The dates and incense support this in the background and give it a sweetness, but on my skin (which is a bit dry) I get a very earthy and dry vetiver, to which the tea note contributes. I've worn this for two hours now and I have just poured some water over my skin to get it wet. Immediately the tea and the date are more pronounced, creating more freshness and sweetness. It is a very interesting and complex fragrance, but unfortunately it does not work on my skin.

With time, the tea note seems to fade away and the vetiver is what remains. I am somewhat reminded of other vetiver scents, but they seem more dedicated to vetiver than this fragrance is. However, I feel this offers more of a complex journey or discovery, especially with the abundance of notes that are present in this composition.

It is somewhat greenish, but I wouldn't call it a full blown green scent. There are probably greener scents out there. This is more earthy, dark green or perhaps a tad dark brownish. Very interesting still.

Earthy, sweet dates and smoky tea, with a lot of rooty woody vetiver.
The dates remind me somewhat of fig in a composition, however the dried fruit sweetness is a different approach to neutralising the more masculine notes, though this remains distinctly unisex. Coeur de Vetiver Sacre is a very interesting scent, it certainly smells complex and well thought out, though most of the oomph is in the opening. The softer notes in the middle stages, the flowers and fruits, do tame this a bit and the incensey notes don't quite compensate enough. If you're like me and have a fear of saffron, you don't have to worry about it here.
The staying power OK, about 7-8 hours if not too careful about applying. It has a dark, slightly mysterious feeling to it and makes me think of fallen empires and ancient trade routes. I highly recommend testing this out, but don't recommend blind buying. I like this a lot, and expected to love it, but for me it's more enjoyable to experience rather than to personally wear.

Annoying...my review didn't save.....

Opens with sweet dates and vetiver with some tea and then dries down to a sweet, sharp vetiver.

Must be an iso e vetiver because I get the same vetiver in CdG 2 Man and Encre Noir.

Very complex and a must try for vetiver and fig lovers.

A forest in song with all its promises. This is quickly becoming my favorite vetiver scent of them all. It is both an earthy vetiver and a celebration of all that vetiver can be. I could easily picture this one used by Kvothe, frolicking through the forest: in one arm, Ferulian; in the other, his lute. In this sense, it is much like Enchanted Forest in its sacred/primal festival feel.

It is also very aptly named. Unlike other vetivers, this one doesn't take center stage. Rather, Spehner shows how vetiver can play an important role behind the scenes, while still making its presence felt and admired. This is like casting a very capable actor in a strong supporting role. (Think Michael Caine playing Alfred.)

The scent begins with a shimmering of fruit, spice, and flowers, transitioning effortlessly into spices and woods, all glowing and orbiting around the beautiful, warm vetiver heart. One has to get close to notice this heart, but it is there and it is lovely. Yet it appears that its major use here is in enhancing the various notes of orange, apricot, date, incense and woods, aiding each one to become more than it is.

Sweet and spicy, this is excellent for nights and cooler weather, yet I've worn it in the heat and it holds up well. Projection is good, but can be cloying if overapplied.

Grab your crown of hollies, for winter is upon us and merry times await!

5/5

Basket full of dried fruits and other offerings.

CVS smells as if somebody placed a collection of dried fruits, spices, and flowers inside a whisker basket and inserted incense sticks in it. It is pleasantly sweet, smoky, and woody. Despite the name, I don't find it to be a vetiver fragrance per se. I smell more incense and papyrus than vetiver. I do smell just a little bit of it towards the end of the dry down when all the dried fruit and incense notes have calmed down.

It is however a non-linear fragrance. As it progresses other notes keep peeking it and out. Sometimes I get the creaminess of the sandalwood come out, at times I can get the violet and the Rose, and at others I get a little musc mixed with a little castoreum, nothing to make it skanky at all but to give contrast to the sweetness in this fragrance, which there is a lot of. In short, this is a kaleidoscopic composition that never gets boring.

To me CVS is like a piece of art (something to admire but with limited practical use). Interesting, unique, exotic, and pleasant. Not a love, but I do like it. However, it is not a fragrance I would wear to impress on a date or at a social event. This is a fragrance I'd wear for my own pleasure and comfort in more casual settings.

7.5/10

Ceylon tea anyone? This is it!
I can't smell much else in here, unless I am trying hard. All other notes are delicately hiding behind a strong black tea note that puts everything else in the shade. Needless to say, I would have named this perfume "Ceylon". Unisex and raw, surprisingly unrefined for a L'artisan, much more so for a L'artisan with this many notes listed. I love it.
Edit: In cold weather is smoky like burning wood! it has no sweetness... it's a big pot of black tea simmering above a camp fire.

I can see why they describe it as being like an "offering to the gods". It literally is sort of spiritual and other worldly. I have smelled this in my mind while looking at photographs of sacred temples without knowing it until I pulled the very weighty top off of this bottle and sprayed it. This was a blind buy and a very risky one considering I am 50/50 on vetiver fragrances but this truly different.

This smells like a stronger, bolder, less watery version of Parfum d'Empire Osmanthus Interdite after it dries down. Must be the tea and osmanthus and a few other shared notes. But there is a scent in OI that I can never pinpoint, can never resolve and never get enough of....and Coeur de Vetiver Sacre fulfills that craving. It is like that scent that I breathe in trying to find until I am dizzy, always trying to get more, was all gathered and poured into this bottle just for me.

There is absolutely no way to describe how this smells, you just have to smell it to appreciate and understand it.

Beginning the sweetness medical. Then turns the balancing-pole among vetiver with spice Hindu. To the end scent is come back to life by the geranium and bergamot:) for man and for woman .

Very nice, fresh, rich and deep fragrance - green and fruity, full of different trees and plants. Ancient, mysterious and mystical forest. Very relaxing.

Coeur de Vetiver Sacre is a Vetiver fragrance the way an avocado is a fruit: technically. But not so much characteristically.

I've seen other fumies compare Vetiver Sacre to other vetivers, from Maitre Parfumeur's Route du Vetiver to Chanel's Sycomore . If replication of a pure vetiver note is your standard, Vetiver Sacre bombs. But so would Guerlain Vetiver, the standard bearer of the genre. Let's open the windows a bit and air out our vetiver criteria.

Vetiver Sacre lays a musky sheen over a dry, balanced fruity tone. I don't know shit about the nuts and bolts of composition, so I'll talk about notes rather than ingredients.  This tone feels like the middle ground of musky sweetness and a fictional dry wood. The fruit is neither sweet nor tart, or better still, is equally sweet and tart and suggests the crispness of a green apple at the same time that it calls to mind a sweet honeydew melon. A black pepper notes acts just as it would in a fruit dish you would eat. It gives you a little bit of a slap and separates the woody and sweet notes that might otherwise form a monotonous tone. Smart move. This is the sort a linear fragrance that has a deliberate but diaphanous harmony that surrounds you. If the composition lacks a dynamic to offset the encompassing harmony, your sensory filters would eventually isolate it and turn it off like background noise.  The peppery note is the thin line that provides just the separation needed to keep this fragrance from falling into the hypnotic fugue perfume producers love to call radiance. Perfumer Karin Vichon Spehner appears to have tamed the woody amber.

An avocado doesn't spring readily to mind when I think "fruit".  But you can't make guacamole with raspberries. Not only does Vetiver Sacre 'pass' for a Vetiver fragrance, it has its own particular place on my Vetiver shelf.

from scenthurdle

A few months ago I acquired a sample of CdVS and thought of it as “not bad” and “nothing special”. Boy, was I mistaken. I consider CdVS to be a vetiver and tea composition, but it’s mostly all about vetiver. Some reviewers have pointed out that CdVS has vetiver in it, but not as a central component. I disagree: CdVS is a vetiver-centered composition with other notes supporting and accentuating the multiple facets of vetiver. The opening has a fruit juice quality to it--mostly apple and apricot. The fruit juice immediately settles down and morphs into dried fruits; the dried fruits play up the (gasp) fruity side of vetiver and it is difficult to separate the vetiver from the fruit. The same is true for the black tea note; tannic earthiness and pepper blend effortlessly with the vetiver. There is also a beautiful smokiness permeating not only the vetiver, but also the tea and the fruit. Perhaps this seems unremarkable, but the 3D vetiver is supported by a quiet, yet persistent woody oriental base with woody notes, tonka, and musk. It's almost as though two compositions are layered together and it makes me think of bread supporting meat to make a sandwich. We could eat the bread or the meat alone, but why would we want to do that? Castoreum appears later as the condiment that ties the oriental part to the smoky vetiver/tea. The animalic component also serves to render the composition “wearable” without feeling overdone or vulgar.

Sometimes the whole composition smells like leathery tobacco and sometimes it feels “green”, but definitely not in a crushed leaves or fresh cut grass sort of way. I like to think of CdVS is as a “spiritual” retreat for vetiver, but not in a religious or hippy sense. In this case, vetiver packs a bag, travels to the mountains, stays in a log cabin (with a wood fire and maybe some incense), drinks tea, and eats simple dried food.

Projection is average, but I prefer scents that stay close to the body. Longevity was a shock: I got at least 12 hours out of CdVS. This is definitely the longest lasting LAP fragrance I’ve ever tried. This composition is truly excellent and I consider it to be elegant and underrated. On the other hand, if you are not into vetiver and tea, then CdVS might not be for you.

4.5/5

I can't say that this fragrance is all about the vetiver. And the vetiver is not impressive here. I can't call this fragrance pleasant. But it's complex.

I smell plenty of vetyver, however, I think I smell even more tea. It starts out as a dark, rich, vetyver, seemingly with a whole lot of notes. Not particularly spicy as the notes had me thinking it would be, more fruity. But all too soon it becomes a simple black tea fragrance, not at all unpleasant, but for those who are looking for a vetyver fragrance, I have better recommendations. As a tea perfume, it's better than most others, darker, and more robust. Really a beautiful unisex fragrance. However for a robust black tea I prefer Odin's Seylon.

Edit: I walked into the room, and my mother said, "You smell like TEA!"

Opened with a dark tea and incense combo and soon changed to an extremely weird heart part. I could have sworn there is leather as I can clearly feel it on my skin. Also dates and incense are still very noticeable. Unfortunately it does not go anywhere from there on my skin and stays the same until fading away completely in few hours. So out of "Coeur de vetivet sacre" I get a syrupy sweet leather. This weird combo might work on some, but unfortunately not for me. Even though I must admit that I feel tempted to sniff my wrist all the time, so I might give even a FB a try if it comes around with a big discount. As for a full price - no thanks.

A bitter-sweet vetiver, a rather toned down version compared to other classic vetiver fragrances, yet remarkable because originally constructed. All the notes are practically there from the opening, you can just tune-in to whichever ones you prefer. I can definitely smell a balsamic note (someone aptly named this a camphorous glow), which might come from a combination of guaiac wood and cedar, there is also some amber with a whiff of incense. There is a lingering sweetnes given by the dates, that is never excessive, just enough to smoulder the earthiness of the vetiver, which here is never pungent. Nicely balanced, balmy-woody-smoky and gentle, almost meditative. The moderate sillage sits fairly close to the skin, hence ending more with a subtle invitation that a bold statement. To be tried for its unassuming yet intriguing character.

Tar soap from my childhood:) Luckily, I still like how it smells...

it smells good (almoust in a gourmand way), but neither sacré nor particularly vetiver. that's disappointing. ignoring the beautiful name, it's more a juicy, cooling, spicy chai & fruit. I really enjoy wearing it, the saffron and peppery note are very present after the fruity topnotes fade. sometimes I think it's safran troublant greeting from somewhere. besides this, I miss the vetiver (there, but only a faint trace), I'd wish it had more incense/distinctive notes too, to achieve this holy thing you'd expect from a coeur sacré. and sillage is poor unless you totally overspray. I love it, though.

I must say I am pretty surprised; so many notes and such an uncomplicated scent…

I’ve heard there was much going on in this fragrance, so I was expecting to be struck by a symphony of notes and getting ready to be knocked down by a story this perfume should bring. Well, there’s no story; on my skin Coeur de Vetiver Sacre plays it very safe.

In the opening I get a few moments of aromatic, calming chamomile tea, followed by fresh vetiver. Then the frag quickly develops into slightly sweetish, rubbery–leathery base, somehow reminding me a tiny bit of Daim Blond. Nice, but nothing spectacular. I really wish I could smell all these fantastic notes listed above.

CdVS has practically no sillage - the scent sits so close to the skin that there’s no chance someone would smell it on me from a distance of 20 centimeters.

Somehow this juice reminds me of Al Oudh. Specially dates made the trick. Saffron, rose, iris, pepper, tonka, vanilla, cedar also play in both "beauty".
'Corse CdVS is a green, spicy, earthy stuff with a nice, sweet drydown, without any shocking oud-kind smell. But complexity and deep earthiness are similar somehow. I like vetiver. Sadly Guerlain Vetiver pour Elle is discontinoud, and am searching for something instead.

This perfume smells like it says in its description, all the things youd find in an offering to the gods. Its very sweet anf fruity and certainly has some nice warm spices in it but for me i find it overly sweet and fruity and a bit overpowering. However quite alot of fragrances seem to strong on my skin so it might be perfect for someone who has the right chemistry, but i would certainly try this out before buying!

This is a nice vetiver, there's alot of nice notes, it stays close to the skin and isn't obnoxious. . This is what I wish Dzongkha smelled like...why? Because I have 50 mls of it and I cant stand it. This is sort of similar, but just way better on my skin.

Unfortunately I have had to draw the conclusion that vetiver tends to give me a headache; Coeur De Vetiver Sacre certainly does. It's so dark, so heavy, so overwhelming.

Having said that this is very true to vetiver oil so you might love it for that alone. There is a hint of greeness (from the tea?). Excellent sillage but poor staying power on my skin. I should think not for the faint of heart!

This one Opens up with a light peach aroma that disappears in a twinkling of an eye , giving space to pepper followed by an herbal tone counterbalanced by delicate aroma of roses and guaiac wood, thus giving the fragrance a semi-sweet aroma.

Then, after 20 minutes, the tea kicks in followed by castoreum, giving this fragrance a complete different smell from the top notes.

Interesting fragrance, but you might wanna sample it out before a blind buy.

hmmm i'm still figure out this scent - it's very complex -deffinitely unisex (whatever it means). You can smell so many ingridients in here... In my opinion this is very good perfumery work by Karine Vinchon. It's sweet, bitter, woody - many different phases. Only minus - it could last longer.

A hard-edged, bitter, austere, herbal mixture of aggressive, peppery spices in a similar style to Malle's French Lover and the Ormande Jayne masculines. A new-age, pepper-laden fragrance, hard to love.

Smoky and dark yet not dense. Coeur de Vetiver Sacre starts out with clean, spicy herbal notes, peppered with dark, rich fruit. Coriander and tarragon are prominent, but well balanced with an obvious rose and cedar, much like a rosewood accord.

Osmanthus is beautiful in this too delivering a smoky floral and fleshy texture and complementing the spiky herb accent.

The drydown is a dark green, musky animalic wood--rooty, earthy, softly sweet with a beautiful depth and fullness. It very much feels alive with fresh forestry; very warm, animated and intriguing.

I can see this also working well for a man.

I get an opening similar to Kterhark - to me it smells most similar to a muted "Constant Comment" tea - oranges, black tea, bergamot, spices.

The hue of the opening is a golden orange with hints of brown, and it is very pleasant. Soon, some fruits join the mix, including candied ginger and the dates, and the iris manifests as a violet note. I personally love the transition into the heart.

On my skin, the violets move to the fore in the heart, along with the white cedar (a camphorous/bright and sparkling woody note). The tea is still present but subdued and in the background. At this point it smells like a more modern, woodier version of Grey Flannel with a glass of warm steaming tea on the side. It is somehow warm, woody, and aromatic and yet velvety soft - I believe the castoreum is utilized to round the edges because I detect virtually no trace of it otherwise.

There is a hint of vetiver present throughout, but it's a heavily fractionated vetiver - I suppose this is why the fragrance is named the "heart" of vetiver because it smells like the core essence of vetiver without the ancillary notes (i.e soil, smoke, etc).

The dry down is smooth and light and yet still bright and uplifting. The whole scent has this sort of radiant glow about it. The white cedar persists for a long time providing this camphorous glow throughout, and in the far dry down I even pick up a bit of a eucalyptus like note as the camphorous wood joins a green note that emerges from somewhere (perhaps it is the tarragon? Tarragon is rather green and lasts forever!).

A very interesting scent that I still don't fully understand after a couple of wearings. In some ways it seems linear - even the opening to heart shift is fairly subtle thanks to the watercolor like way the notes are rendered - and yet there is a constant and subtle shifting of the notes one can detect all throughout the dry down.

Warm, soft, radiant, casual and very peaceful. A very nice scent. Just don't go into it expecting it to be vetiver prominent and I think you'll be pleased.

I recently recieved a sample of this while visiting Barney's in San Francisco. I wore it over a two day period and here are my thoughts:

Opening was dark and earthy, and on me the black tea came through. But it wasn't the typical dry, raspy tea note, but one mixed with berries and fruits. This was my favorite phase, it's just like going to a tea store and testing all the top shelf black tea mixes.

The middle section sweetened up a bit, and this is when I thought 'hmm'. You can see that there are a lot of ingredients here, and I felt like they were competing with each other. Sometimes when I smell a perfume my nose twitches and I get a jarring sensation, this is what happened around the 1 1/2 hour mark.

I wore it a second time to see if I would get the same results, and I did. If this perfume faded out before the two hour mark I would say it was 5 stars, but as it transitions to the drydown it skids off track a bit.