House  Masque
Released  2018
Perfumer  Fanny Bal
Fragrance Family  Leather
Notes  ginger, rhubarb, vetiver, Haitian vetiver, Java vetiver, cedar, leather, patchouli, cashmeran

Description  Hemingway is a work of art and one of the finest vetiver fragrances on the market. Vetiver-centric fragrances have been a staple of the fragrance industry since the 1950s. For the most part, they smell nice but they rarely manage to move me. Much of this is due to the gravitas of the raw material and its ability to eclipse everything in its vicinity. As a result, most vetiver fragrances smell alike—that is, they smell like vetiver oil.

Then along comes Fanny Bal’s magnificent Hemingway. After smelling the fragrance for the first time, I remarked that it smelled like vetiver dressed to the nines, and I stand by that statement. Here we have a painstakingly composed portrait of the raw material that manages to capture all aspects of vetiver, simultaneously. A combination of Haitian and Java vetiver allows for the incorporation of both Haitian vetiver’s earthy, smokiness and Java vetiver’s subtle greens and sweet woods. Smelling Hemingway, you get the sense that you are in the presence of something truly special. While it’s clear that much time and attention went into the fragrance’s composition, it feels like Bal was constantly striving to streamline and simplify the structure. The result it truly magnificent and gets my vote for the best modern vetiver fragrance.

35 ml eau de parfum spray
$160.00

1 ml eau de parfum sample
$6.00