Heeley Vetiver Véritas

by: Serguey Borisov

The first all-natural fragrance from Heeley Paris, Heeley Vetiver Véritas was presented in Florence at Pitti Fragranze last year. James Heeley decided to follow the eco-style of Honoré des Prés, Undergreen and Aftelier brands, and start a new eco-friendly “100% Natural” collection, playing the environmental card. Against the background of the previous Heeley Paris perfumes—bright and mannered fantasies Agarwoud,Bubblegum Chic, L'Amandière and Phoenicia in the form of extraits de parfum—the natural fragrance looks like a messenger from the other planet.

I'm not a big fan of organic-botanical-natural fragrances, as Mother Nature, with all her richness and generosity, did not create all those natural smells to delight the human noses. In the case of roses, ylang-ylang or vetiver, a Miracle of Evolution must have happened which enabled us to fall in love with these plants' smells. Some enjoy these smells so much that they take some favorite essential oils, diluted with alcohol for ease of use and make it their secret fragrance. The same thing happened with British designer James Heeley—at some point he had an affair with vetiver oil. He was wearing the diluted essential oil long enough to be imbued with the Rasta spirit of vetiver, and last year he decided to make his brand more simple.

Ripened by a long summer's sun, the golden rhizomes of the grass penetrate deeper and deeper into the soil of Haiti, taking the water and any pollutants out of earth before being excavated—Vetiver Véritas by 90% consists of Haitian vetiver oil. This sort from Haiti differs from the others (Bourbon, Indian, Javanese, Sri Lankan) by the shades of the smell that make it special: the accents of dry grass, wet earth, burning autumn leaves ... The remaining 10% consists of lavender, grapefruit and mint oils, added to lift the fragrance up and give some freshness.

Grapefruit is the perfect companion for the Haitian vetiver: whenever I start to peel grapefruit or pomelo, I am reminded of this chic woody chord of freshness and smoke, earth and wood, milk and citrus fruits. Making Vetiver Véritas, James Heeley stretched Haitian vetiver oil along the principal axes of development: herbal and green, wood and smoke, and milky ripe sunflowers. The only thing that was in abundance in this oil already: the solidity of an old wooden whiskey barrel, with woody-leathery tones. There was no need to emphasize it, as it smells of Lagavulin or some other peaty drink.

I would say that Vetiver Véritas is a 100% natural fragrance standing on its head and built upside down. A conventional masculine cologne is fresh and bright at first, and then becomes warm, sweet, resinous and smoky in the drydown. Vetiver Véritasshows its smoky dark side first, then gradually the wind carries the smoke away and leaves the sulfuric grapefruit shades first, and then the green lawn with Vetiver grass bundles and sunbeams of grapefruit peel. The citrus part of the drydown can be perceived even better than in the start, but it is a merit of Haitian vetiver that it shares the citrus part of its aromatic profile with grapefruit. In general, the main service of James Heeley is in the choice of the right material. And a little bit in choosing the right partners for it.

(A full 72% of the substances in the composition have proven organic status, if that's important for you. Even the alcohol which was used for dilution of the concentrate was made from the organic rye and lavender! If you have no time yourself to buy vetiver essential oil, some proof alcohol and nice bottles with sprayers, Vetiver Véritas is an excellent replacement for your first school experiments with perfume. Or, together withIsabelle Doyen Vetiver Turtle, the first landmark in the self-taught perfumer's school).

I would recommend this fragrance to all readers who are starting to explore and appreciate the perfume field, who have read the text to the end and still do not understand what the smell of vetiver is. Other Vetiver scent versions—Carven andGuerlain, Givenchy and Lubin—do not give such a clear understanding of this note, making it sheer by aldehydes, enlarging its masculinity with tobacco and relaxing it with sandalwood. Heeley Vetiver Véritas is a true vetiver. Well, maybe that's flattering it a little.

Heeley Vetiver Véritas: Lavender, Mint, Haitian Vetiver, Grapefruit.