Scented candles often come with a description of an ingredient list. Unusual spices, oils, and ingredients that you may have never heard of, may not know, yet reading them feels seductively mysterious and sophisticated as they roll off your tongue – a sense of class and faraway lands.
Vetiver, bergamot, coumarin, linalool, tolu basalm, neroli… these ingredients have been key notes of top-selling fragrances you’ve come to know of including Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Guerlain and among those found in Osmothèque in Versaille – the largest fragrance archive in the world. Vetiver in particular has enamored some of the world's largest perfumeries: Tom Ford Grey Vetiver, Guerlain Vetiver are two that immediately come to mind.
Below we quickly dive into Vetiver, one of the most popular masculine parfum of the past century and a key note within the Fyrian scented candle range.
Vetiver Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn) Nash
Vetiver is no new ingredient to the perfumery world. A tall perennial, it originally hails from warmer climates and wetlands such as India and Africa, South America and areas of Asia.
If you happened to stroll past Vetiver (let us say that you do enjoy strolling through wetlands of foreign countries) you would see a tall and reedy plant protruding from the water or cultivated on steep hills. Unlike other known scents such as rose, lavender, geranium, Vetiver doesn’t aim to impress with petals and colour. It’s plain and unassuming and grows in tall, wild green grass-like tufts – like wild lawn along the fence line you’ve neglected to mow all summer.
Unknown to the eye, Vetiver hides a long, very thick braid of pale brown roots that stretch (sometimes many meters) deep into the soil. It’s within these roots that the alluring scent is found, extracted through a detailed process of drying, splitting and purifying.
Now breathe in Vetiver’s aroma - it’s warm, woody, earthy and rich. It can conjure up a sense of woodlands of a faraway land.
Vetiver has been used since as early as the 12th Century and has not only been popular in scents and soaps but known for medicinal properties. Skin ailments, headaches, fevers, arthritis, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, depression, agitation… it seems Vetiver has been the hero ‘all-rounder’ for physical and psychosomatic ailments. This has led Vetiver to be referred to in Sri Lanka and India as the "Oil of Tranquility". Vetiver oil is currently used widely for aromatherapy.
Today, Vetiver is a note found in luxury fragrances and popular for its distinctly warm smell and mens candles. It is typically classified in the woody fragrance family and is though to add depth and strength to a scent. While perfumery trends come and go (often with clever marketing and celebrity ambassadors) Vetiver has sustained the essence of the gentleman - sophisticated and stylish - so is a perfect addition to our Fyrian range of candles.