Green
Byredo (2008)

This starts all norsca soap and shampoo. It doesn't get better alas. Sure there's zippy citrus and galbanum, but the quality of the notes can't escape the landscape. Not a value add to anyone's life.

I think the perfumer shouldn't have called it "Green" it is a better descriptor if it had been named "Clean". It is a scent that one could associate with a variety of clean products including shampoo, soap, laundry detergent. The violet adds a clean green scent, the musk is of the nuclear "white" variety that is responsible for the clean scent. I think many of the neutral/bad reviews are because this may remind people more of the shower than of a perfume. It is nice smelling, but a bar of green soap will give the same effect.

Green has an initial zing, that is a bit sharp and citrusy involving sage and galbanum. The opening zing subsides quickly to lead into a mid phase where the white florals are more prominent. I perceive a good amount of violets, and a vague nuttiness. The dry down is more musky with a hint of sweetness and traces of the floral elements, and similar in structure to the base of many of the Le Jardin series fragrances by Hermes.

Personally one finds Green somewhat ho-hum, and not much distinctive. I consider Chanel 19 and 19 Poudre to be more interesting alternatives in roughly similar categories. Anyone contemplating Green should also try those Chanels, Misia, and some of the Le Jardin releases.

Average sillage and longevity on skin.

2.5/5

Smells like a brand new diaper. Not a bad scent, but not something I want to smell for very long.

Beyredo's Green opens on a barrage of sage, galbanum, petitgrain, and aldehydes so unrelievedly bitter and prickly they make me want to sneeze. (Marvelous!) These challenging top notes are soon joined by a crisp, yet sweet citrus and a touch of jasmine, which combine in a lovely, lively honeysuckle reconstruction reminiscent of Annick Goutal's Le Chèvrefeuille.

If Green sustained this uplifting citrusy green floral accord for more than half an hour or so, I'd consider it a triumph. Unfortunately it doesn't, devolving instead into a very ordinary soapy floral blend over a super-clean laundry detergent musk. After the promise of that bold entrance and the charming first act, the drydown is a cramped and dowdy anticlimax. A very frustrating scent.

I have had a sample of this for quite some time, and I remember doing a quick test when it first came in the mail. I had mentally bookmarked this as good one I wanted to come back to at a later date. Two days ago, I decided to do a day test in the office, not something I usually do unless I am reasonably sure my sample is not a stinker. I don't like punishing myself or my coworkers, well most of my coworkers anyway. Post morning shower, I applied 1 spray to my chest, and another tiny drop of a spritz to one wrist so I could check it out up close if it faded during the course of the day.

It smelled bright and sweet just as I remembered, with a slight flinty edge I am guessing is the sage. It was fairly strong, especially for 1 + 1/8 sprays, but I figured that would sort itself out in a half hour or so. Not so, as it turns out. This is a fairly potent fragrance that continued to project like a champ all day long. It only started to fade close to 12 hours later. I could still detect it slightly the next morning. You definitely get your money's worth with Green.

I actually really like Green. It reminds me a lot of Grey Flannel, perhaps a bit sweeter. The violet seems to be the big star of this fragrance. You had better really like that note if you try this one. It also has a similar vibe to another of my favorites, Canali Black Diamond. I think there may be some florals they share in common. I see this working on either gender equally well. The florals aren't feminine, but there's nothing here to tip the scales to the masculine side either. For me, this was a fairly linear fragrance. Only toward the 8 hour mark did the violet fade enough for the tonka /musk to come through.

This is a good one, but given the price tag and it's close similarity to Grey Flannel, I think I will stick to that one.

GRADE: A