Parfum d'Empire Vetiver Bourbon Eau de Parfum

Fragrance Family:
Woods

Notes:
Angelica Root, Ambrette Seed, Haitian Vetiver, Iris Butter, Clove, Bourbon Vetiver

Concentration:
Eau de Parfum

Occasion:
Raw and sophisticated - for those who crave vetiver richly dosed and noble. A woody fragrance of great proportion: a brilliant signature.

Perfumer’s Inspiration:
“With Lucien Acquarone, my companion from the maquis and the bush, a wizard distiller who could draw the best from perfume plants, we often stopped in La Réunion on the way to or from Madagascar. There, we bought essential oils of vetiver Bourbon and often, at the break of dawn, we went to see its exhausting harvest on the island’s plantations. This impressively robust grass, capable of resisting cyclones, provides protection against soil erosion and its crops consolidate fragile economies. This gave us the idea of growing vetiver in Madagascar from parent-roots brought over from La Réunion. The venture made us realise how hard it was to grow the crop. It also inspired me to work on all the facets and contrasts of vetiver Bourbon. Its rawness as well as its sophistication" (Marc-Antoine Corticchiato)

Made in France

Vetiver from La Reunion - formerly known as Ile Bourbon, hence Vetiver Bourbon - has long held its place as the gold standard, the benchmark for perfumers the world over. But that benchmark is now more memory than material: true Bourbon vetiver is no longer cultivated on the island. In response, Marc-Antoine constructs this perfume as both homage and resurrection, built around an overdose of vetiver essential oils from La Réunion and Haiti to evoke that earthy, mossy, almost volcanic richness. These are deepened by two other noble roots: green, peppery angelica and the woody-powdery elegance of iris. Vetiver Bourbon captures both the rugged wildness and the cultivated dignity of the root. It is undeniably earthy: reminiscent of soil and grasses, with a spicy intensity thanks to clove.