Vent Vert

I’ve gatekeeped the house of Balmain for some time now. They used to produce niche quality perfumes at affordable prices. But now that they discontinued such beauties, reinterpreted many of them. Repackaged and offer them at exorbitant prices beyond my means, there is no point of staying quiet. Vent Vert is truly a niche quality green fragrance. As green as green can get. I have not graced my nose with the original Germaine Cellier iteration or any other reformulation than this in the cube bottle with the silver round cap. Galbanum: an intense, bitter, green resin Hyacinth: an intense, sharp green floral Oakmoss: an inky, bitter forest, green lichen Basil: a fresh aromatic green herb Vetiver: an earthy woody green dry grass Neroli: a slightly bitter citrus oil with aromatic green nuances. Did I say green enough? Green gorgeousness in a bottle.

This is a vintage redone right! I never smelled the original, but the vintage roots of this are very clear. Soapy and substantial. But wow, what a beauty! I'm almost frustrated at all the gorgeous fresh scents I've been finding. Then again, people "in the know" have been sending me the samples, and they chose extremely well! I'm finding this one to be addictive. This could be the perfect hot weather fresh scent. I know I've said that before . . . But I really want this one! Unlike anything else I have!

Nathalie Feisthauer's iteration of 1999 is my most favourite of the Vent Vert reformulations... it's hyacinth/galbanum pairing elevates this scent into the register of the divine. As a male, I enjoy wearing this to usher in a sense of perpetual summer. Magical!

Il est bien agréable ce nouveau Vent Vert mais alors quelle déception : au bout d'1/2 heure, il s'est littéralement volatilisé .... sûrement emporté par le vent ... frais celui- là.

Alas, I’ve had the extreme pleasure of owning and wearing many bottles of the original, my signature scent, until one day I couldn’t find it! So I purchased this disco ball and the windy-capped formulation thinking they’d simply changed the bottle. Was I ever wrong! At first sniff it was blatantly obvious that this wasn’t the same Vent Vert, so much so that I even checked the label. I didn’t know why it was different, just that it was...and what a disappointment. Much like the passion of my first real love affair, I regret not realizing what I had when I had it until years later, happily married and content. I continue to wear Vent Vert now and then but the passion has left me and I pine for what once was but can never be again.

The bottle totally caught my attention, but it's not for me. I'd classify it as a unisex perfume.. Simply because it smells very.. Grassy :-)

I have the modern "disco ball" version, and I'll take the unusual stance that this fourth reformulation was overdue and an improvement in overall wearability. I love the original (Germaine Cellier, 1947) and the first big reno (Calice Becker, 1990), but neither is especially wearable in the modern day. There was also that unfortunate 1999 version by Nathalie Feisthauer which is better off forgotten. The modern disco ball version is still a forceful aromatic green, but not the unrelentingly bitter asafoetida of the earlier versions. The modern version is slimmed down, but still a bracing green scent. It opens with a one-two punch of bitter galbanum and hyacinth. That's rapidly followed by basil and lemon. Next are some floral middle notes layer into the mix. Those florals were missing in the prior version and it's a great addition of clean rose and lily of the valley. It's still incredibly green, but the floral gives some softness. Dry down, which lasts for hours, finally adds some wood notes and moss. It's very clean, not soapy, just clean, freshly washed skin. This isn't a tiny breeze; this is a wind . If you are lamenting the reformulation, I totally understand. The first two versions were brilliant, but this one is Vent Vert for the modern era.

I am a vintage lover, but retired and hard to find vintages aren't always within reach, so when I saw this 2.5 oz for $25, I grabbed it. (exactly as pictured) It's as expected. A clean/fresh green floral. Great lasting power with one shot on my inner arm skin. Great sillage too from just that. Have I smelled the original? No. And I'm pretty sure this will be very disappointing for those who have. This is pretty basic/generic, along the lines of the current Chanel No. 19 and Silences. Very clean and fresh, like Ivory/Dove soap. I wouldn't even put a gender on this. Great for summer, even tho my test was winter. (Perhaps the amazing lasting power is because of my climate right now, I find that to be true with several fragrances)

It starts with very sharp green grass with prominent galbanum. In 10 min sharpness slightly turns off (what a pity!) and soft creaminess (still green, but not that sharp any longer) takes over. With time it gets warmer and softer, still creamy, but keeping green note, like you put hand cream on hands and then pluck and crush in hands grass, herbs and flowers. Overall I would describe it as discreet, a bit distancing, cooling in hot weather but still a bit feminine due to that creaminess. I assume skin type can make a bad joke with you, and if you have hot one - you might be left with sweet cream in a drydown, as some reviewers mention. And I think that green notes which follow whole Vent Vert development are essential...

I just received the set of Balmain samples from the house. I was keen to try Rouge more than anything, but it looks like this one is my favourite green fragrance, although I don't really wear this perfume profile. Usually, I do enjoy vetiver, though it is so gentle and not as strong as others I tried. I prefer it to Rouge, to be honest.

Just trialing this a the moment. It reminds of Carven's Ma Griffe which I used to wear and liked. Can smell the hyacinth initially and the citrus, but is mellowing to a powdery green note. I'm not that fond of galbanum, and you can definitely catch a whiff of it, but it is not overpowering. So far.

I really like Vent Vert. For me, she is the embodiment of freedom, independence, I feel as if I have wings. I never had the oldest version, but I have the version with the metal ball, and I also had the version with the green plume, which is said to represent the wind!

The bottle shown, with the spherical top, is not the 1990 reformulation by Calice Becker described in this entry, but a later reformulation. The Calice Becker version has the "windy" green top that is shown in the listing for Vent Vert Original.