June 7, 2024
V FOR VETIVER
(theme: Vetiver You Want)
- Brush: Black & Yellow Merit 99-5 by Heritage Collection Shaving / AP Shave Faux Boar Synthetic 24mm
- Razor: Muhle - Hexagon DE89
- Blade: Treet - Carbon Steel #STAINLESSLESS
- Lather: Cyril L. Salter - French Vetiver Shaving Cream
- Post Shave: Catie's Bubbles - 322 After Shave
- Fragrance: Heeley - Vetiver Veritas
WHY I LOVE IT
Just like Haitian spirits (rhum agricole and Clairin, a "no-filter" distillate full of rough edges), Vetiver walks the the fine line between smooth and wild, bright and dark, the tension between being a boasting crowd pleaser and an idiosyncratic loner with a truthful story to tell.
TODAY'S SPECIAL CHALLENGE: A GRASSROOTS SHAVE
ATG as first and only pass. Just as I did when I was an impatient teen in high school. Today's throwback shave with a DE was also my first time using a Carbon Steel blade. It went all fine, with the exception of the Danger Zone on the right side of my neck, where I couldn't get as clean as I wished. But well, there's always tomorrow.
AS TRUE AND AUTHENTIC AS IT GETS
On day 7, I feel it's time to open up and share some real truth.
In this fake digital world, we all struggle for a spark of authenticity.
To me, Vetiver is the olfactory equivalent of that spark.
The following two little chapters are like my bottles of Vetiver essential oil: just pure truth, distilled.
MY QUEST FOR TRUE VETIVER
My quest for True Vetiver started in the world of fragrances.
From the respected French classics (Guerlain, Givenchy, Dior) to the British reinterpretations, I was trying out anything that claimed to be the definitive answer to The Question About Vetiver.
Then I turned to Essential Oils: as I wanted to better understand Haitian Vetiver, during a trip to Paris I thought: "well, France made Vetiver a hero of male perfumery, and Haiti is a former French colony; as I have no chances to physically visit Haiti, let's see what the French can teach me about Vetiver". I went to stores specialized in herbalist products, and purchased a couple of essential oils made with the actual plant.
Their smell felt so great, that my perspective on Vetiver fragrances shifted drastically: as the real thing smelled so great, the biggest challenge for perfumers is, in my opinion, to find a way to elevate the ingredient without betraying it, the way that the best chefs can make a refined meal with even the most humble ingredient.
TODAY'S FEATS OF FRAGRANCE WITH VETIVER
I decided to start with Salter's French Vetiver, one the most "truthful" vetiver soap I could find here in the Old World (more authentic, to me, than MdC or LPL). It does remind of the root notes of the essential oils I tried, but without the fresh aromatic complexity I expected. From this honest but underwhelming base, I leapt into the understated complexity of CB's 322: if you smell it on its own, you could even be tempted to say that it's a simple scent that just smells like, well, good vetiver. But the comparison with French Vetiver reveals that 322 is actually a well blended accord, where the smooth yet fragrant (not overripe) black currant note acts like a prism to multiply the facets of this beauty.
Heeley's Vetiver Veritas takes me back to the canonic accord with a citrus and a green element, but with an inversion that makes it way more enjoyable than heavy-handed alternatives like Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire (whose drydown for me is just bad).
FOF
THE QUEST IS OVER, AT LAST!
As an uncanny coincidence, today I went to the market and found a new stand with exotic fruits and vegetables. Next to the cash register, some green stems put there for decoration looked somewhat familiar. Hesitantly, I asked: "Is that...".
"C'est du Vetiver!" replied the vendor, a lean guy with Afro-Caribbean traits.
Filled with joy, I thanked him and bought some of it to bring it home, and add it to my SOTD pic.
THE TRUTH LIES IN THE BIGGER PICTURE
"Do you hear amidst the vetiver the loud cry of sweat?"
This quote from Afro-Caribbean poet Aimé Cesaire helps me shift the perspective and reveal some less-appealing truths beyond the comfort of the carefully selected frame.
While I did respect my promise for two little chapters of truth, I then embellished it with the inauthentic anecdote about the market vendor. A cheap trick to remind us all to remain vigilant and pay attention to the bigger picture.
Seduced by the stories of sophistication woven by perfume brands, we could easily forget that most of the world's Vetiver is harvested thanks to the hard labor of Haitian workers, on an island that has faced countless crises since it became the first Caribbean independent state, and the first Black republic. Foreign powers (mostly France and the US) kept trying to exploit it for decades. Today, the "Pearl of the Caribbean" is one of the poorest countries in the world, torn by a political and humanitarian emergency.
My little onion trick intends to be a reminder - first of all to myself - to not take out of the picture the hard sweat-smelling truths that make possible our daily comforts.
photocontest
ROTY