Garut & Khus

Sometimes, you just have to put things down. Things that don't work anymore, ideas and plans that once seemed infinitely important, but in reality just cause stress and anxiety and don't reap enough reward to be sustainable, or that even bring joy. I am working in an unsustainable way. I have been for some time. I'm restructuring how to reach the goals I've had all along, taking a slightly more tangly, narrower path than before. The way I've been working has lost its adventurous spirit, and I can't do it anymore.

Going on an adventure. 

So I ordered a wee bottle of that 2022 Garut vetiver from Rising Phoenix and I don't regret it one single bit. Outta the bottle, it's brash, something I missed the first go-round with the sample. It's not offensively brash, it just kind of hits you upside the head, stings the eyes a bit, and then comes all of the molasses and dust and honey and dirt, like a warm, earthy wave. Still, the best I've smelled in years. With this order came a wee-er bottle of 2004 Wild Khus. It is super green and sparkly and fresh -- a bit of a sprite compared to the heavy wave of the Garut. On the drydown, the Khus takes on this really deliciously refined and elegant note that reminds me of Tom Ford's Grey Vetiver, but only just a little. It has the same polish, a delightful shimmer of pastel green top notes that persists for hours. It is, quite literally, a perfume on its own merit. They're both distinctly vetyvers, but in such vastly different ways. It's these nuances that make working with natural raw materials both a delight and a royal pain in the ass.