Until recently, green style fragrances were relegated to a bygone era. And now, it's the return of the retro. Green represents boundless freshness and inspiration from nature, from inky and dark sylvan themes to crunchy and bright hues full of herbs. And whether it’s the central aspect of a composition or an intriguing injection, green fragrances always have something impactful to say.
Fragrance is like fashion, and green is (back) in. It offers freshness and purity that is neither simply floral or citric, and even the darkest greens have a discernible point of light, even if it is underneath a blanket of shadows.
Green notes are gloriously textural - ranging from the lightest and most scintillating herbs that seem to shine like glass in the sunlight, to resin, pine, and moss notes with tremendous impact, not achievable in any other way. And as popular tastes endlessly seek new sensations, it's of little surprise that the generous and endlessly surprising green category has been rediscovered. In this article, we voyage through the many forms of green found in perfumery.
Visions of Nature: Realistic Greens
It is of little surprise that Zoologist have a healthy assortment of greens in their range. An animal is inextricable from its habitat, and many of Zoologist's creatures move through paddy fields, grassy pastures, and rainforests.
Dragonfly is an aqueous green, a dream of jade-coloured tones filled with aromatic effects and sunlight filtered through the rain. Its heart is unmistakably but not overpoweringly floral, with rich jasmine sambac in the centre, touched with zesty grapefruit and fiery ginger, rustling reeds and grains, and a flavoursome bouquet of rose, iris, and mimosa. The green of dragonfly buttresses all of its sides, the snappiness of basil, geranium, and angelic mimic the gossamer wings of this fascinating creature. It zips through folds of patchouli, vetiver, and moss - all green inflected, furthered with the potent touch of ultra green violet leaf, which crosses ozone and cucumber notes alike.
Move squarely into grassy fields with Cow, which mixes splotches of blue sky, milky white clouds, and vernal green grass and wildflowers in its composition. Cow is a perfected bucolic fantasy, leaning on the pronounced greens of a sharp yet comforting green apple note, and the rising tone of lily of the valley. All of this rests amongst blooming flowers in the grass, dotted with tender flowers, as well as powdery ones, and restorative ones. The background of cow is textured like cream and velvet - a lactonic flight of milk, white musk and almond – it softens the impact of the greens in this scent.
Zoologist's range of greens demonstrate the sheer stylistic diversity of the note, which operates alongside and within the most beloved and established categories. Elephant marches through a discernible woody body and core, made up primarily of sandalwood with a dark and dry shading. It is the scent of a rainforest full of life, canopies of lush and damp foliage, a thicket of trees. Sandalwood is drenched in leafy green air, concentrated with herbal and floral intensity, including mint, coconut, and violet leaf, shading into black tea, dark chocolate, and incense.
Deep in the Forest: Mossy Greens
Mossy Green fragrances are traditionally the most popular category of green for men, offering a bitter and shady edge typical of many eternally beloved masculine fragrances. Mossy greens are the perfect staple in the perfumed wardrobe, and are especially wonderful dressed up. The notes responsible for this effect include oakmoss, artemisia (wormwood), and patchouli - lending length and substance, and a depth that fills the space of a composition with rich scent. To deepen the woody aspect, conifer and pine notes form an essential part of this style.
Hinoki Shower from BTSO is the breath of the forest: a cool exhalation of mosses, herbs, and leaves after the rain. Like a cigarette butt out on the damp earth, its fatal smoke mingles with the verdant air, heavy with ozone. The woodiness grows in Hinoki Shower, the initial freshness of camphor and the balsamic and resinous turpentine frames the arboreal medley of cypress, pine, and cedar wood notes, lending a soft and viscous touch. BTSO dares to desecrate, juxtaposing nature with ash from a cigarette – like an atmosphere of smell, Hinoki Shower is a naturalistic fragrance with a subtle irreverent tilt.
Northern Cardinal (Zoologist) is modern masculine retro, assembling its ingredients that leave no traces of doubt. Its dark heart consists of leather, oakmoss, and patchouli, which recalls the giants of masculine perfumery, emphasising a captivating bitterness against an earthy floor. This is brightened with green notes fused with sunlight, including the pure balsamic breath of clary sage and a lingering rose note as green as it is red.
For a mossy green that dispenses of all of the retro associations, Etat Libre d’Orange’s Hermann a Mes Cotes achieves this by swapping out the old with the new in the form of clever synthetics. Its Geosmin touch evokes petrichor, or, freshly rained on earth, standing in for oakmoss. And then, a dose of Pepperwood creates an aroma of slinky pepper with a present woody line running through it. A modern and dark verdant wood, Hermann is shadowy and nocturnal, a fragrance that wears like a shadow tinted green by your side.
Fresh and Vibrant Greens
Fresh greens are tonics for the soul; scented pick-me-ups. They’re refreshing, bright, and perfect for the daytime. Make note of herbal notes such as basil, mint, and wormwood, the unmistakable citrusy green of zesty lime, and the deep earthy supporting note of patchouli.
You or Someone Like You (Etat Libre d’Orange) is like warm diffusive light on freshly cut grass, combining this distinctive aroma of green with the energetic freshness of glorious, and often tenacious, mint. This is extended with grapefruit, rose, anise, and cassis: altogether a bursting medley of immanent and triumphant clean green purity.
In Mon Vetiver (Essential Parfums), green is the colour of this extraordinary and effervescent cocktail - which begins with a woody, vegetal, and crisp vetiver note that sizzles amongst an exhilarating blend of juniper berry, gentian, lavender, and lime. The glorious charge of lime is unmissable, its spicy and peppery undertones drawn out here. The overall fragrance has a citric and herbal feeling - its spiciness producing a dynamism – softened in the base with long lasting musks.
Viride (Orto Parisi) is Latin for ‘green’, and true to the maximalist style of the house, Viride is pushed to its limits, where the characteristically herbal, zingy, and woody-inflected green bounty of rosemary, thyme, sage, mint, and aniseed are made strong, and fortified with a heavy dose of ambery musky woods, notably including patchouli. Fresh and long-lasting, Viride is a cooling and radiant woody clean with a serious side. Viride reminds us that even underneath calm purity is sublime violence and rupture. A statement fragrance.
Expressive Green Florals
Green is the colour of an abundant nature, and the most floral-smelling fragrances rely upon green ingredients for their complexity and intensity. As a central note, the green floral is daring and highly distinctive, often reserved for the uncompromising connoisseur.
Take the first step into true green with the familiar comfort of neroli in Special Reserve Neroli (Castle Forbes). From the abundant orange tree, the trio of fruit, leaves, and blossoms come together and shines. An initial citrus burst trails into a crunchy and peppery green typical of neroli flower and petitgrain. It is brimming with energy, and this fragrance leans on spices and woods to create a long sensation of freshness. Bitterness draws out sweetness, which redoubles the complexity of green at the heart of this scent.
For the greenest of greens, turn to the award-winning Nuit de Bakélite (Naomi Goodsir). It is an obsessively green tuberose - sap, stem, petal, and all made larger-than-life, intensified with the bracingly intense green of galbanum, bitter artemisia, and peppery herbal angelica - a whirl of retro greens. This is fractured with the deep notes of leather, immortelle and styrax: drenching the composition in the heat of raw sunlight.