Green notes bring a vibrant, refreshing and energizing quality to fragrances. Revitalizing, cool and effusive, green notes unfold as top notes, lingering transitorily in both feminine and masculine accords. The fresh note is reminiscent of nature—evoking the scent of leaves, foliage or moss, among other vegetal facets. A spontaneous note used in dynamic accords.
The refreshing scents of green notes took center-stage after the Second World War, when the world was—quite literally—desperate for a breath of fresh air. Before this time, animal notes were in vogue, with the likes of civet, musk, castoreum, ambergris and hyraceum capturing our imagination. However, it was the couturier, Pierre Balmain, who was the first to popularize a more refreshing fragrance. In collaboration with French chemist and feminine perfumer, Germaine Cellier, the house signed Vent Vert in 1947—marking a cultural shift within the perfume world towards earthy, green notes. The essence of galbanum was a particular crowd favorite at this time, finding itself alongside other notes such as basil in celebrated accords.
The effusive green notes are synonymous with youth, and are often characterized as spontaneous and energizing—a true symbol of growth, renewal and rebirth. Green notes derive from plant leaves, resins or synthetic molecules. There are a large number of notes that can be classified as green notes. See, for example, angelica roots, bamboo, black currant bud, cut grass, fig leaf, galbanum, etc.
In the aftermath of the second world war, Germaine Cellier invented a new floral family: the Floral green. Vent vert contains an over-dose of 8% of galbanum, supported by the hyacinth in a sharp and very natural green freshness.
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