What does vetiver incense smell like?
Vetiver smells earthy, smoky and woody, with a fresh green edge and a nutty depth, like damp earth after rain. Here's where the smell comes from, why one vetiver differs from another, and how it smells lit in Rewild.
Vetiver smells earthy, smoky and woody, with a fresh green edge and a nutty depth, which is how the perfume house Prosody London describes it. Many people, the body care maker Mayuur Naturals says, describe it as the scent of damp earth after rain. Looshi makes artisanal incense, rolled by hand with real ingredients, with grounding scents from across the world, and one of its scents is built around vetiver.
What vetiver smells like
Vetiver smells like the ground itself: earthy and woody, with a green, grassy edge and a trace of smoke.
The candle maker LAFCO says vetiver evokes the image of dry grass uprooted on a warm day. LAFCO also says that while vetiver is usually classed as a woody scent, it carries undertones of earthiness, leather and smoke.
The perfume house Boadicea The Victorious describes it as smoky, moist, piquant, mulched, grassy, citric and damply woody. That's a lot of words for one root, and they agree on earth, wood, grass and a little smoke.
Vetiver is the smell of wet roots and soil, the same smell people look for in incense that smells like a forest after rain.
Where the smell comes from
Vetiver's smell comes from its roots. Prosody London says vetiver oil is distilled from the roots of a tall grass grown in Haiti, Java and India.
LAFCO agrees that the fragrance of vetiver comes mainly from the essential oil taken from those roots. Even the name points down: Boadicea The Victorious says the word vetiver comes from a Tamil word that translates as "root that is dug up".
Where the grass grows changes the smell, too. Prosody London says Haitian vetiver is clean and smooth, Javanese is smokier and darker, and Indian is rich and earthy, and that each gives a perfume a different character.
So a label that says vetiver names a root oil, the part of the grass that both its name and its smell come from, and the place it grew shapes how that root smells.
How vetiver smells in Rewild
Looshi Rewild is vetiver incense that smells earthy and quiet, never smoky or sharp. Its page names three notes, vetiver, musk and redwood, and they read as one scent: deep vetiver like rich soil after rain, softened by clean musk and grounded by ancient redwood.
Lit, Rewild smells of wet earth and old trees, like standing in a deep forest just after rain. If you half expect smoke from a vetiver stick, Rewild gives you soil instead, and a verified customer called it "not overwhelming or smokey."
You can see Rewild and its three notes. To smell it before a full box, the Discovery Set lets you choose four scents of eight, two sticks of each, and the Forest Edit puts Rewild beside Vivacity and Calm.
If the earthy side of vetiver is what draws you, here's which incense to buy if you like earthy scents.
Frequently asked questions
Is vetiver a feminine scent?
Vetiver isn't a feminine or a masculine scent: the perfume house Prosody London says it's used in fragrances for everyone. Its smell is earthy, woody and green, with a nutty depth, and none of that belongs to one gender. If you like the smell of damp soil and dry wood, vetiver is worth smelling for yourself, whatever you usually wear.
Is vetiver the same as patchouli?
Vetiver and patchouli are two different plants. The body care maker Mayuur Naturals says vetiver is a tall perennial grass whose roots are distilled for oil, while patchouli comes from the leaves of a different plant. So vetiver's smell is a root's smell: earthy and woody, with a green, grassy edge.
What blends well with vetiver?
Vetiver blends well with citrus, rose, sandalwood, patchouli and grapefruit, the partners the perfume house Prosody London names for it. Each gives its earthy, woody smell a different company, from bright citrus to creamy sandalwood. Looshi Rewild pairs vetiver with musk and redwood, three notes that read as one earthy, quiet scent.
Does vetiver last long?
Vetiver lasts long: the perfume house Prosody London says it's one of the natural materials that last longest. Prosody London also says vetiver gives a fragrance structure and longevity. Both points come from Prosody London's guide to vetiver as a perfume ingredient, where its smell is earthy, smoky and woody.
What else is in a Rewild stick?
Beside its three notes of vetiver, musk and redwood, a Looshi Rewild stick is a blend of tree gums and resins, bark and wood powders, the heartwood of aromatic woods, spices and wild honey, with essential oils and natural aromatic oils and no synthetic fragrance. The scent is in the paste the stick is rolled from, never a coating, and it burns on upcycled coconut shell, not coal.
Sources
The Discovery Set
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