Perfume Review: Wickle Chestnut & Vetiver and i Profumi di Firenze Fresco di Vetiver

You may or may not have noticed that I have been obsessed with vetiver scents lately. I promise that this post will conclude this week’s vetiver madness …conclude for now that is, since there are many more vetiver fragrances to be explored. I decided to review Fresco di Vetiver and Chestnut & Vetiver together, because both are simple, straightforward scents and there isn’t all that much to say about them apart from that they are very easy to wear and (in the case of Chestnut & Vetiver) very enjoyable. Fresco di Vetiver by i Profumi di Firenze blends Javanese Vetiver with citrus (Sicilian lemon and, according to some sources, Calabrian grapefruit). It starts rather sharp, with a piercing note that I cannot identify. Just when I am ready to give up on Fresco di Vetiver having deemed it to be too harsh and too fresh for my taste, the fragrance becomes much softer, a little sweeter and all in all much more wearable. I believe that this subtle, refreshing scent would be quite lovely in summer; however I do not foresee buying a bottle both due to the unappealing top notes of Fresco di Vetiver and its price, which is rather high for such a very linear, very basic vetiver and citrus composition. Of all the vetiver fragrances that I have sampled, this is perhaps my least favorite. Chestnut & Vetiver by Wickle on the other hand is good, no, make it great, from start to finish. As Katie pointed out in her review, it smells as simple as it sounds. There are warm, sweetly-woody chestnuts and there is fresh, green vetiver with just a hint of a soft citrus-floral note (perhaps orange blossom?). Whoever is the Wickle’s perfumer who decided to blend chestnuts and vetiver, he or she is a genius, since the two notes are wonderful together, the greenness balances the nuttiness and vice versa and the result is fresh and scrumptious and a little earthy and raw. This is not a longlasting scent and the price (and the shipping cost) is not exactly right either, but Chestnut & Vetiver is such a comfortable, charming little scent, I might eventually buy a bottle. Fresco di Vetiver is available at Beautyhabit, $79.00 for 50 ml. Chestnut & Vetiver is sold by Wickle, £39.50 for 50ml. On Monday, Guerlain L’Instant d’Un Ete and L’Instant d’Un Ete Pour Homme.