Neutral
Vince Camuto Terra by Vince Camuto (2017) youthfully follows on the heels of the previous Vince Camuto Solare by Vince Camuto (2015), a mostly-orange summery fragrance; and Vince Camuto Eterno by Vince Camuto (2016), a mature peppery mint and wood fragrance. When I say youthful, I don’t necessarily mean bubblegummy or clubber-centric, but I won’t say this isn’t sweet nor can’t be used in a night-out context. Mostly, Terra treads in a green resinous woody citric direction, with patchouli and a then-fashionable note of rhubarb in the heart. Sitting somewhere between Terre d’Hermes by Hermes (2006) and the following year’s Bvlgari Man Wood Essence (2018), Vince Camuto Eterno wants to see itself as a slightly sweeter and younger woody chypre sort of thing that feels perhaps more unique and generalist in nature than anything the brand had done up until that point. Does this succeed at finding such an odd middle ground? Maybe, but at least we know it sold well enough to earn Vince Camuto it’s first standard-line flanker in the form of Vince Camuto Tera Extreme (2020). This stuff almost writes itself with brands like Vince Camuto, but here we go.
The scent opens with what smells like bergamot and citron over geranium and rhubarb. There is a bit of benzoin and vanilla smoothness that creates the sweetness, which is a far cry better than the usual ethyl maltol blast we find, and then the geranium leads us into woody territory dominated by Iso E Super. The Terre d’Hermes comparison is strongest here, thanks to the way patchouli interacts with the cedar notes here, although it all gets disrupted by the vanilla and benzoin feel that is soon joined by tonka. By this point, there is no mistaking this scent for anything else really, although I understand why some think this was Vince Camuto running up against Paco Rabanne 1 Million (2008), since that too had mostly tonka in the base under vanilla and citruses. The woody profile. and patchouli here are what prevent Terra from feeling “full clubber” in my eyes, even if the result of this mixture is a bit confusing. My guess is this became a dumb-reach discount gem for the Men’s Wharehouse guy I keep mentioning that this line seems meant for; and hurray, no juvenile “sexy” musk profile this time. Best use is whenever you don’t want to think about how you smell, although likely fall is the best season overall for a smell like this.
I’m still not quite sold on the brand, and therefore not really sold on this fragrance, just like I wasn’t sold on the others from the line I’ve tested. With John Vincent Camuto himself two years departed from the land of the living, we’ll not really know how much this or any other Vince Camuto fragrances really register with his self-made New York socialite style. One thing is for sure, the brand has more or less ditched the whole fake Cosa Nostra vibe and keeps its nose clean with fragrances and fashions that don’t look destined to wind up ill-fitting on your local Bronx neighborhood enforcer looking to collect his protection money from the area shops. Instead, we replace track suits and black BMWs for entry-level white collar world that leads me back to that slicked-hair fellow still trying to hand you his overpriced business cards with his own personal cell number on them, for “after-hours” engagements; nevermind that he’s the paralegal nose-deep in case research and not the guy whose name in on the sign, but whatever. Look for this at a Big Lots or Perfumania, priced accordingly. If only the juice inside was nice like the leather-bound bottles that carry it. Neutral