Oliver & Co - Vetiverus EDP

VETIVERUS EDP

Photo Credit: OLIVER & CO

Olfactive Notes: VETIVER, OSMANTHUS FLOWER, Labdanum, styrax, ambergris, orange peel, patchouli, musk, coriander seed, clove bud.

Described by the brand as: Warm, intimate, dark, autumnal, velvety, deep and erotic.

Size and concentration: 50ml bottle/EDP

To purchase this fragrance click on the name VETIVERUS (to OLIVER & CO Online store)

Before reading my review on this perfume, please kindly read my past review of SYCOMORE EDP by Chanel. In that post I raised a question one year ago and finally today VETIVERUS came as an answer. But hold a thought till the end of this present post - we will go back to it later.

VETIVERUS EDP strikes at first as a leathery, soapy and slightly flowery fragrance, perfectly wearable and suitable for both genders. As the brand cleverly describes, it is warm, fall-ish and sophisticated.  A different vetiver perfume, exploring different facets of this worn out masculine raw material which happens to be presented in many male fragrances. Here perfumer Oliver Valverde combined the note with Osmanthus, a fragrance compound presenting milky, apricot, gardenia and ylang like undertones. Also in its composition, features labdanum and coriander seeds, bringing a greeny - soapy touch for the fragrance, while added musk, patchouli and ambergris brought such a voluptuous sensuality to the perfume, and in such intensity, that you will feel liquid passion, spreading warmly and rapidly on the skin, reminding us why Spanish man are intense, complexed and driven by passions, and Oliver Valverde is no exception!
VETIVERUS EDP is not salty like the vetiver explored in Sel de Vetiver or Terre D'Hermes which are my favorites; but as dangerously sensual as they both are.
Although Oliver has perfectly described his own fragrance, I would add the words MODERN or HIP to the list. It is a very urban, up-to-date vetiver fragrance, containing the same elegance of classic vetiver fragrances for men, but with a whiff of urbanity and youth.

Back to my review of Sycomore, Chanel in 2008 launched this perfume attempting to bring a different woody - vetiver option for women. As I said back then, the fragrance is nice, but failed to succeed as a feminine vetiver perfume.
In my opinion, VETIVERUS EDP is a great option for women who like to wear something different than florals and orientals.  In this case, Oliver & Co succeeded doing what Chanel didn't. 
Back then I blew a question to my readers: "Once upon a time someone created a pepper-citrus-vetiver combo. Since that day perfumers are reinventing it. Besides Encre Noir by Lalique, have you seen anything, anything at all that you can say it is exquisite, when Vetiver is the main note???". 
Well, now I guess I can say I have the answer: VETIVERUS EDP by OLIVER & CO.
One additional comment: Although I love Ormonde Jayne fragrances  I had a hard time wearing her Osmanthus EDP. In a way VETIVERUS EDP reminds me of it, but this time I can wear it because it is more delicate, more intimate. It doesn't shout OSMANTHUS!

I leave you with a bit of the Spanish passion of Carlos Montoya:

Oliver & Co

This blog was on a pause for such a long time for one very simple reason: lack of inspiration. I could give many excuses like being very busy at work and with my projects, with my family, my company...but the truth is, they were always there, and I have always succeed to juggle with my time. 
Having a writer's block is a complete nightmare. You feel no joy in writing anymore. You feel obliged to feed your blog not to disappoint readers, as if it became an obligation, not a passion anymore. You feel that you are simply out of words. Blocked!

Perfumes are about inspiration, about emotions, and if you are not inspired, you don't have what to write about. Since I never had sponsors, or make any money out of this blog, I began to wonder if I really HAD to write anything, at all.

I went on a journey of reading past articles to try to relight that first sparkle. I opened my boxes of samples looking for a hidden treasure...I found some, but not enough to whiff me out of my block. I was really giving in when last week I opened my mail and found this amazing surprise coming from Spain: A DISCOVER SET (collection of fragrances) of the  ILLUSTRATED SERIES by OLIVER & CO.

OLIVER & CO FRAGRANCES

Photo credit: + Q Perfume Blog

OLIVER & CO is a niche brand based in Madrid - Spain handcrafting fragrances and candles that are developed by self-taught perfumer OLIVER VALVERDE RISQUEZ, a young Andalusian who uses the process of abstraction to create his fragrances. As he explains so well in his also amazing website, the process is impulsive, where already-know formulas and preconceived notions are rejected. He relies only in his intuition and the high quality of carefully selected raw materials. The perfumes are passionate, intuitive and hip, where you won't find olfactive pyramids or a list of olfactive notes. They are indeed surprisingly radical and as I told him with smile on my face, they moved me. His passion brought my passion to perfume writing back. 

Photo Credit: Oliver & CO

I decided to dedicate the next posts to this amazing brand as a way of thanking Oliver for bringing the passion back to my heart, as well as thanking my readers for being patient and worried about me!
I will start with VETIVERUS EDP

TO BE CONTINUED...