Caldrea Mandarin-Vetiver Cleaning And Laundry Products

As a vetiver freak I was thrilled when Caldrea added the Mandarin-Vetiver range to their line of cleaning/laundry products and home fragrance. It's not every day that I can find one of my favorite perfume notes in household cleansers, and the idea of having my laundry smell like vetiver is beyond appealing. I don't know why no one thought of it before. Vetiver, on its sharp astringent edge has clean and green facets, making it popular in men's cologne, especially when paired with citrus notes.

Caldrea Mandarin-Vetiver countertop spray has become a staple in our house. Let's face it: the place is run by cats. Hence the need to clean and wipe various surfaces on a very frequent base. Caldrea cleansers are pretty mild and never made me cough or choke, yet they're effective for just about any spillage, paw prints and other normal household messes. It gives the kitchen a wonderful smell that is not too citrusy- it's grassy, herbal and somehow very natural.

I added the regular laundry detergent and fabric softener to my arsenal back when they were first released. The scent is very soft and doesn't linger much beyond folding, but leaves clothes and sheets simply smelling clean. I like the high concentration of the detergent and softener- perhaps it's all in my head but I prefer not to pour huge amounts of product in each load of laundry. The detergent removes normal grime. We don't have kids, so I can't testify about juice, ketchup and other substances children tend to get all over their clothes, but if you've used Caldrea laundry products in the past, Mandarin-Vetiver performs in a similar way. I can tell you that it removes makeup stains from white t-shirts (another beauty blogger professional hazard).

The last item I tried was the new dark wash detergent. I guess it was needed because of the borax in the regular detergent. The dark wash liquid is enzyme-based and I've used it on some new dark towels and black yoga pants. I haven't seen much (or any, really) color bleeding, so it's a nice and useful thing to have.

Bottom Line: Love. Now, can Caldrea please bring back the Fig & Fir Balsam scent from last year's holiday season?

Caldrea Mandarin-Vetiver cleaning and laundry products ($9-$16) are available from specialty stores and Caldrea.com. The dark wash detergent was sent for my consideration by the company's PR, everything else was purchased by me.

Photo: Ruby Aldridge by Miles Aldridge for Vogue Italia, October 2011.