One note, five answers. Guerlain's classic 1959 vetiver, Tom Ford's bright 2009 Grey Vetiver, the warm 2023 Grey Vetiver Parfum, Hermès' earthy 2006 Terre d'Hermès, and Frédéric Malle's rich Vetiver Extraordinaire, poured side by side at 2ml each. No clones in this one: five originals arguing about what vetiver should be, judged on your own skin.

What is in the set

• 2ml Guerlain Vetiver (the classic)
• 2ml Tom Ford Grey Vetiver Eau de Parfum (the bright one)
• 2ml Tom Ford Grey Vetiver Parfum (the warm one)
• 2ml Hermès Terre d'Hermès (the earthy one)
• 2ml Frédéric Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire (the rich one)

Every vial is hand-poured in Regina from the same bottles we sell as individual decants. Priced 10% under buying the five decants separately.

Vetiver in perfumery

Vetiver is a tall tropical grass, but the smell has nothing to do with the blades. It lives in the roots. The plant grows for a year or more, then the roots are dug up, washed, dried, and steam distilled into a thick, dark oil. That oil is one of the most useful materials a perfumer owns.

On its own, vetiver reads earthy and rooty, somewhere between fresh soil, dry wood, green stems and woodsmoke. Where it grew changes everything. Haitian vetiver is the smoother, cleaner, almost grapefruit-tinged style. Java vetiver is darker and smokier, closer to roasted nuts and leather.

Perfumers lean on it because it does two jobs at once. It carries its own instantly recognizable smell, and it is a workhorse base note that grips the skin for hours and holds lighter notes in place. That is why the same raw material can sit at the cool green top of a fresh summer scent or anchor the smoky bottom of a heavy winter one. It also wears on anyone, which is why it turns up on nearly every shelf.

This set is built to show that range: five houses, five ideas of what vetiver should be, from the polished classic to the loud and rich, all read on your own skin.