Ex Vetiver
One material holds the middle of Juliette Has a Gun Ex Vetiver Eau de Parfum 100ml, and it is the one in the name, which makes this about as literal as fine fragrance gets. Vetiver is a root, and it smells like one: dry, earthy, bitter, with a faint smokiness and something green and grassy over the top. Houses usually bury it or sweeten it. Here it is simply presented, with bergamot and lemon above it for a clean citrus lift and nothing else to distract from it. The name is a joke about an ex and a flat description at the same time.
That citrus opening is short and deliberate. It brightens the first ten minutes and then stands aside, leaving the vetiver exposed, which is where the fragrance either convinces you or does not. Anybody who has only met vetiver buried in a designer base will find this a useful education. There is nothing sweet anywhere in it. Ambroxan and musk sit underneath. Ambroxan is dry and mineral with a trace of salt and it gives the composition reach without adding any sweetness, while musk rounds the bitterness of the root into something comfortable against skin. Five materials in total, a genuinely short composition, and it behaves like one: no development to follow, just a slow quietening over the hours. Romano Ricci composed it. At eau de parfum strength it runs six or seven hours and sits close to the skin after the first, which makes it an easy office scent despite how uncompromising it sounds. It reads unisex and it works in any weather, with warm days suiting it best. Two sprays is the dose and the bitterness softens by the second hour without ever disappearing. It is also one of the few bottles here that reads as formal.
Romano Ricci started the house in 2006 as a French niche perfumery running between Paris and Grasse. He is the great grandson of the couturiere Nina Ricci, and the brand's first two scents, Lady Vengeance and Miss Charming, were named after Shakespearean heroines.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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