Perfume Pen Pals: Tom Ford Grey Vetiver Part 2


Katie,

I forgot to tell you, because I had almost forgot myself, that on impulse and for a good little price, I picked up a bottle of Tom Ford Grey Vetiver from a Basenoter. And it arrived today.

Why? Because you said it was a good beginner's vetiver for people who don't love vetiver (I'm paraphrasing, of course), and while I seem to remember mocking that sentiment, it obviously stuck with me.

So that's what I'm wearing tonight. I can't quite pin down how I feel about it yet. Not that it would matter because my opinion will probably change in a week.

And in case you're wondering right about now, yes, yes, apparently I will buy anything.

Dan


Dan,

Funny, someone recently asked me about GV in the comments of my That Morning Show clip. Here’s what I wrote in response:

“Vetiver fragrances range from dirty/smoky/grassy to crisp and fresh, and Grey Vetiver is definitely the latter. It’s a light, clean, citrus-y vetiver that deepens (but not too deep) into a bit of nutmeg and other spices, and dries down to a light woodiness. [There is] smokiness and mystery, but on the whole, GV is an accessible, well-made summer vetiver.”

I’m glad that your mocking doesn't get in the way of trying. And buying.

Katie


Katie,

You're right about Grey Vetiver. And it's strange because while I find myself wishing it were deeper and less accessible, I don't appreciate deep, inaccessible vetiver fragrances.

It's the same sensation as seeing Lady Gaga and wishing she were more authentic, and then realizing there's nothing appealing about the prospect of an authentic Lady Gaga.

My assessment of Grey Vetiver is simply the reflexive reaction of someone who has smelled a million fancy niche perfumes. I can't quite shake the feeling that it's a little too conventional.

Have I ruined myself for good conventional colognes? Even George Clooney can still date cocktail waitresses. You don't see Clooney whining about depth and complexity. Will I ever be happy, KP?

Dan



Read Tom Ford Grey Vetiver Part 1 here.

8 comments:

  1. Funny thing about Grey Vetiver-- when I am spraying a lot of it at once (for samples and such) it makes me terribly thirsty. Like it's really salty or something.

    Does it seem salty to you, Katie or Dan?

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  2. There's a place in every perfumisto's wardrobe for a cocktail waitress strength of vetiver, I would have thought. Think of it as your "go-to" vetiver, instead of those tortured, rooty oddities like Miller Harris Vetiver Bourbon, now happily on its way to a new life in Bristol.

    Re Dea's comment, I don't recall GV being salty, but when I last sniffed it I had just been mainlining Lindor chocolate in a store in Zurich, which may have neutralised the savoury aspect.

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  3. dea, I've not yet hosed down sufficiently in GV to start melting like a slug under a pile of salt. Interesting observation.

    flittersniffer, "cocktail waitress strength": I like it, even though I don't really know what it means. It seems like you're saying "namby pamby", yet everyone knows cocktail waitresses are mofos when it comes right down to it.

    SoS - the line to Part One was buried in the text, but I made it more clear. I'm thinking you'll enjoy the Clooney clip I linked to on his name....

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  4. I think where I was going with the GV as cocktail waitress image was something like "what you see is what you get", or "upfront, direct, straightforward". For my part, I don't know what "mofos" are, but the image of bright and breezy waitresses is meant to evoke the opposite of introspective, tortured souls.

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  5. Flittersniffer, I think of cocktail waitresses as hardened, gravelly-voiced, seen-it-all types. "Mofos" is "motherf***ers", you delicate flower you.

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  6. Time for a boxed set of The Wire, I think!

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