Turtle Vetiver Back by LesNez

*****

Year: 2013

Notes: pea pods, violet, mimosa, coconut lactone, vetiver, musk

Comment: Turtle Vetiver Back is a limited edition release

Turtle Vetiver Back is the third instalment in LesNez's Turtle Vetiver series. Where Turtle Vetiver Front anchored the vetiver more at the front end, Turtle Vetiver Back utilises the vetiver more as a base note.

The opening is unequivocally dark, smoky and rooty, with the pea pod lending a moist vegetal aroma. The violet isn't particularly sweet but adds an extra verdant dimension the composition. Like Turtle Vetiver Front, a serving of some coconut lactone is also evident. However, one wonders if it was really necessary to re-use this accord, as that's what made Turtle Vetiver Back's predecessor so special. Eliciting powdery nuances from the mimosa, the proceedings soon develop into something lighter and muskier.

Like parting dark clouds, the vetiver finally shimmers unobstructed at this stage. The florals faintly pop-up every so often, but the creamy woodiness of the vetiver is temporarily on full display. With just a hint of castoreum in the base, the muted drydown exhibits a grassy, floral and animalic vetiver aura.

With low sillage and modest lasting power, Turtle Vetiver Back is actually more of a hybrid of the first two Turtle Vetivers – the dark earthiness of Turtle Vetiver Exercise 1 in the first half, and the smooth grassy creaminess of Turtle Vetiver Front in the second. Also, with the vetiver relegated to the background, its lack of presence may disappoint some vetiver diehards.

Ultimately, it isn't as original, distinctive or satisfying as the first two, but it still comes recommended.

Turtle Vetiver Front by LesNez

*****

Year: 2012

Notes: Haitian vetiver, coconut lactone, moss, ambergris

Comment: Turtle Vetiver Front is a limited edition release

The name, Turtle Vetiver Front, depicts the order in which the vetiver is discernible, in relation to the other notes – in this case, first or at the forefront.

Created by Isabelle Doyen, it also comprises of coconut lactone, moss and ambergris, but these aren't merely decorative components. What makes Turtle Vetiver Front an intriguing creation is how, with the aid of the extra notes, the olfactory profile of the Haitian vetiver is kept relatively intact, while being enhanced.

With a short-lived nutty nuance, the opening possesses an inky smokiness that's not too overwhelming. When the smoky aspect subsides, it reveals a milky core, courtesy of the lactone fleshing out the creamy element of the vetiver. As the lactone increases its presence, the mild earthiness of the vetiver dwindles even further.

During the drydown, vetiver remnants come into contact with the ambergris and hay-like moss, complementing the grassy and ethereal demeanour of the Haitian vetiver. After a while, what's left are these two tertiary chords, plus faint traces of lactone and vetiver, tenderly emitting sweet, salty and earthy murmurs.

Mostly remaining close the skin, with good longevity, it doesn't possess the rawness or density of other vetiver offerings. However, for an Eau de Parfum, it's still quite substantial. Furthermore, it isn't as dark, earthy or edgy as its predecessor, Turtle Vetiver Exercise 1, noticeably coming across as more unisex. One would even go so far to say that Turtle Vetiver Front would make a splendid contemporary substitute for Guerlain's Djedi.

Although one no longer has any interest in wearing vetiver fragrances (as one feels that vetiver essential oils are more rewarding to wear), Turtle Vetiver Front makes an excellent compromise.

Turtle Vetiver Exercise 1 by LesNez

*****

Year: 2009

Notes: citrus, vetiver

Comment: Turtle Vetiver Exercise 1 is a limited edition release

Limited to 80 bottles, the Turtle Vetiver series began with Turtle Vetiver Exercise 1. Created by Isabelle Doyen, each consecutive batch, or new release, conveys a different perspective on the vetiver theme.

Featuring a bright citrus accord, it's a bold, damp and earthy vetiver devoid of any sweetness. Any added notes are minimal and, like vetiver essential oil, it possesses a rooty green complexity. There's also a mineral nuance that, when fused with the dampness of the vetiver, imparts an aura not too dissimilar from moist granite covered in soil and foliage.

As the mineral aspect eventually dissipates, the vetiver becomes softer and woodier, while still retaining its raw earthy depth. The darkness of the vetiver still resides but is less commanding – revealing a more approachable side to its down-to-earth demeanour. And when things finally draw to a close, the persisting traces of vetiver are cleaner, clearer and somewhat brighter.

While it's earthier than Guerlain's Vetiver and Frédéric Malle's Vétiver Extraordinaire, it's not as strictly hardcore as Profumum's Fumidus or Maître Parfumeur et Gantier's Route du Vétiver, but nestles somewhere in-between. Providing minimal sillage and great tenacity, an Eau de Parfum would have been even closer to perfection.

On the whole, it's an impressively gritty vetiver fragrance, which isn't afraid to reveal its true colours.

Manoumalia by LesNez

*****

Year: 2009

Notes: ylang-ylang, fagraea, tiaré, amber, vetiver, sandalwood

In contrast to other LesNez releases, Manoumalia's opening is surprisingly more opaque. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it effectually betrays the olfactory aesthetics of this Swiss niche house.

What this creation mainly conveys is a tropical floral bouquet of fagraea, ylang-ylang and tiaré, while harbouring spicy, indolic and exotically creamy flourishes that instil an element of intrigue. Its amber-infused sweetness is mitigated by an earthy and yet discreet vetiver accord, which precedes an almond-like sandalwood drydown.

While it's noticeable on the skin for longer than expected, it's rather light for an Eau de Toilette. Furthermore, when coupled with its eventual soft sillage, one admires its virtues but still finds it unrewarding to wear.

Let Me Play The Lion by LesNez

*****

Year: 2006

Notes: nutmeg, aniseed, cumin, honey, frankincense, woods, ambergris

Illustrating restraint and minimalism, Let Me Play The Lion is a dusty spicy-woody offering that's almost as soft as Jean-Claude Elléna's transparent creations, but in possession of slightly greater substance.

Starting with a refined spicy and coniferous edginess, the aniseed is more easily identifiable from the spices on display. As the aniseed recedes, there's a gradual shift to the mid notes of frankincense, cedar and honey. The cedar is quite prominent, the frankincense is both wispy and understated, while the honey momentarily exudes a urinary facet.

As the spices persistently endure well into the drydown, the weakening cedar is joined by both an ethereal and powdery sandalwood accord. With the composition's mild sweetness also largely expended, all that remains is a faint aromatic-musk skin scent of peppery woods and frankincense.

Overall, it's very well-composed with high-quality ingredients. However, like the rest of LesNez's fragrances, one particular thought constantly re-surfaces: it needs to be stronger. In all honesty, it should have been named Let Me Play The Cub instead, as it coyly whimpers rather than roars.

The Unicorn Spell by LesNez

*****

Year: 2006

Notes: berries, green notes, violet, orris, woods

Upon smelling The Unicorn Spell, one envisions the misty verdancy of woodland meadows: moist fallen leaves, moss, violets and the melancholic hush of the bleak early morning air.

The crisp, earthy and mineral opening interweaves with a concealed berry sweetness (thus never threatening to upstage the violet, nor the harsh green accords of galbanum and violet leaf), while later underscored by a gentle touch of orris. The orris is cool, ethereal and standoffish, further consolidating the desire for the composition to remain elusive and constantly beyond one's grasp.

And just like the mythical creature that inspired this creation, it's an intriguing and yet ephemeral fragrance. Its celestial charms are both mysterious and unfathomable, like the purity and grace that a unicorn is renowned to embody. But with a flaccid woody base, and longevity almost as transient as a rainbow, one personally prefers the more substantial (and cheaper) Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene.

L'Antimatière by LesNez

*****

Year: 2006

Notes: vetiver, ambergris, white musks

After roughly ten years in development, and consisting of only base notes, L'Antimatière attempts to epitomise the anti-perfume by way of an abstract / minimalist composition. When it was first released, one perceived it as merely pretentious bourgeois experimentalism. Years later, one more or less feels the same...

Released a year after Escentric Molecules' one-note trickster, Molecule 01, L'Antimatière acts like invisible ink on the skin – sometimes being detectable and sometimes not. But the thing is that it's always present, with its conceptual premise heavily reliant on induced olfactory fatigue.

Smelling like freshly cleaned laundry, the alcohol and vetiver both create a mineral or metallic aroma, against a slightly salty backdrop of ambergris and white musk. Projection is very low and it's deceptively long-lasting, but it becomes far less perceptible on the skin after an hour or so.

Although it succeeds in smelling of next to nothing, it demands too much faith from the discerning consumer in order to part with their cash. Of course, it could effectively be used as either a layering agent or intensifier but, ultimately, it fails to offer ample personal enjoyment as a standalone fragrance.

So, while one still considers rain water to possess more presence than this bizarre laboratory creation, it would also be advisable to explore the house of Gendarme (that's if a clean olfactory concept greatly appeals).