Green Water

Received my big 6.65oz flacon of the new GREEN WATER parfum today. The emballage is gorgeous and, to me, sumptuous. The bottle is chunky glass, with a smart magnetic-adhering cap. GREEN WATER was a fragrance I used to wear often in the 1990's... went through two bottles of the EDT formula as it appeared in that era... It was the frosted-bottle 1991-released formula. The new 2015 parfum formula is gorgeous and I approve fully. The basic "algorithm" is the same as I remember it from the old EDT version, but everything is MUCH more refined, regal and slow-developing now than it was in the 90's: a long, brilliant tart head of crisp aldehydes, tart lemon/bergamot/lime, spearmint laced with a peppery basil unfold for a dramatically long period at opening spritz. A thrillingly authentic neroli, its clean white floral duskily inflected with an almost licorice-like tarragon/caraway, gives a soft pillow to the proceedings. As we know, despite the name, this is not really a "green" scent-- nothing here smells stemmy, grassy, leafy, weedy--- more correctly it should be called an "aromatic hesperidic floral musqué" fragrance. In 1947, Fath had originally called it a "givrée" fragrance: frosty and frozen because of the cooling mint components. After a while, the lower notes of clove, oakmoss, and ultimately a magnetic, sensual musk appear. I love that a simple skin musk is the basic underpinning of GREEN WATER, with no vanilla, sandalwood, patchouly, vetiver or other traditional basenotes stealing focus away from the bright minty/citrus/neroli song. Every note in GREEN WATER smells exceedingly natural... no trendy new faux synthetics ever appear here at all, thankfully. All in all, Ms. Zarokian's new Parfum interpretation is faultless and highly recommended. Amazing to learn she composed this with no written recipe, but rather by using her own nose alone, repeatedly visiting the Osmothèque for a sniff of the vintage formulas. Truth told, GREEN WATER is not a dazzlingly complex scent, but the utter naturalness and authenticity of the botanicals make it a gorgeous, memorable perfume. GREEN WATER is easily unisex, but some might consider the smell to be leaning slightly masculine. As it is basically a Kölnisch Wasser type of scent (but a highly refined, particular and stylish one), it is appropriate for wear at absolutely any time, any occasion, but its brilliant freshness will make it especially welcome in spring and hot summertime.

Gorgeous! Full circle. Bought Green Water Eau de Toilette as a recommendation for slightly better in your face performance over Acqua Di Parma Colonia Club Eau de cologne (my signature and fave). It is similar to Colonia Club though brighter - the mint very heavy and fresh, bright strong lime/lemon and an earthy base - almost the most simple three layered product I know. Like a simple fresh home made product - very impressive longevity and silage for an EDT. I mix it up with CC for a change occasionally. I finally found a bottle of Green Water EDP - it arrived today after such a long search. So excited - I could not wait! I didn't let me down... Wow - AMAZING - ironically this is almost EXACTLY like Colonia Club just dialled up to 11. High quality build and oils - unfortunately the longevity and silage is not as good as it should be so requires a very generous application. Still, one of my top shelf scents for a refresh, to hide the sweat or help get past the headache of the day and uplift - it will sit with Cool Water, Bulgari Aqua Marine, Heeley Menthe Fresh, Acqua Di Parma Colonia Club and Green Water EDT. VERY VERY NATURAL unlike say Pino Silvestre which is a horrid cheap synthetic that gives headaches. Its like floating in a fresh water lake with a bowl of Lime Sorbet on your chest whilst you can smell the Pine Forest nearby... I'm drifting down stream right now...

When I found out that Green Water EDT was discontinues I was mourning for so long. When I found out there was a new EDP creation my mourning was replaced with uncertainty. When I finally had a bottle in my hand I was happy but I still longed for the EDT in the Frosted bottle formula. Long one of my all time top perfumes. Given time I grew to realise I was harsh - the EDT was in fact exactly what it was supposed to be in comparison to the EDP and indeed vice versa. My Original judgement clouded by stubborn bias gave way to the realisation that whilst the EDP was a syrupy and stronger in the green darker earthier body (thanks to the tarragon, basil and mint). The citrus now much sweeter and syrupy helps provide a feel of high quality oils... clearly distancing itself from the super refreshing airiness of the EDT as it would and should. I managed to secure some more vintage bottles of the EDT which I will continue to enjoy for a while (originally this was purchase to give me a stronger alternative to Aqua Di Parma Colonia Club). When it runs out I will enjoy even more so the new EDP as I realise now it is indeed a worthy successor to the original keeping the ethos of the original but updating it to be relevant to a wider audience - thank you Cécile Zarokian...

This smells like a turkish delight. Maybe the green mint ones, the essence of sugary menthol and light freshness is definitely there. It also smells like wearing a suit on a Sunday. Then nostalgia overwhelmed me; this is a scent I remember clinging on textiles in my grandparents' house. My grandfather had immigrated to Germany in the 60s and he spent his first paychecks on looking sharp and dapper. There is a strong possibility the original Jacques Fath Green Water fragrance was a scent he knew and used. I really, really love this fragrance, enough to forgive its short projection and duration. I also miss it. Side note: This is the very first perfume I experienced when I decided to begin collecting fragrances. Bought a handful of testers, collected them from the post office, sat on some steps, impatient to sniff them. I was very pleasantly that cold winter morning.)

A really lovely, uplifting minty green fragrance. Wonderful stuff. Longevity is only average but the projection seems to be quite good. It's broadly reminiscent of Beach Hut Man by Amouage, although BHM is less minty, more herbal and has a much greater longevity. Both BHM and Green Water are great fragrances and I'm happy to have them both as permanent members of my collection. Green Water is just really fresh and invigorating, but not in a harsh way. It's just a beautiful easy to wear fragrance. I didn't think I would appreciate the mint note in a fragrance, but both BHM and Green Water have changed my mind on that. If you like green, if you like mint, if you like having your mood uplifted and feeling like your cares have melted away - then this perfume's for you.

Finally....a modern version of the original 1947 formula done the proper way. This gets everything right that the 1993 and 2002 formulations get wrong. That horrible musty, indolic drydown of its predecessors is GONE and all that's left is sheer perfection. I love it. The perfect springtime fragrance from the house of Jacques Fath.

wow this is better than i expected, it is super natural smelling neroli/orange blossom eventually a very slight mintyness but mostly light green leafy type feel under the fresh neroli . wow very glad i got this ive been looking for a good neroli fragrance. way more natural than neroli portofino and way more affordable

Very nice mix of greenery, spices and mint. I'm not a fan of mint in fragrnces usually, and find it perfectly balanced here. A really beautiful fresh aromatic fragrance for hot days, but I would suggest to stick with discounter's pricing in view of the poor performance.

Green Water is a pleasant, aromatic cologne featuring a nice use of mint. Citrusy up top with a soft chypre base, it is nothing groundbreaking and has pretty limited performance, but is a lovely hot weather freshie in its own right, nicely-composed with good-quality ingredients. GW is minty from initial spray, more freshly-picked mint leaf than toothpaste. Citrus adds freshness, marrying nicely with the aromatic herbal greens. I get bergamot in particular, with muted lemon. Fresh basil follows closely. As it develops, neroli adds orange-y smoothness, and there is a grassiness to the greens, likely thanks to the tarragon. I get vetiver too, and the mossy chypre base makes its presence felt after a little while, muted but pleasant. It is bolstered by salty ambergris, smooth and musky, a lovely inclusion. It fades fast however - sillage is intimate and longevity is weak. It is a unisex scent for hot days. I have never smelled the vintage version of GW, but this modern iteration is pleasingly vintage in style, featuring good-quality renderings of ambergris and oakmoss. It is hard to fault, except for the performance. 3/5.

I LOVE the version of this from the 90’s! My best friend wore it and I was always sneaking a spritz. It was very unique for the time and it had an amazing effect when mixed with the heat and humidity of Florida. Regrettably, I never bought it back then because I was working for Guerlain and was rarely allowed to wear anything else. When this newer version came out I ordered a bottle right away as all the older versions I’d found had already soured or become way too expensive to risk buying vintage. I was thrilled to receive it and the initial blast was almost exactly as I’d remembered but even more refined. Sadly, it lasts about 5 minutes on my skin, regardless of how many sprays I use. I’ve tried and tried to wear it over the years since my purchase but it seems to vanish before I even leave my room. The scent is gorgeous but for a parfum the performance is much less than that of an eau de cologne for me.

Soft herbal citrus. Bright and minty fresh but with no bite to it, as the citrus is completely smoothed over with green herbs and a faint earthy-spicy vetiver. Like a weak cocktail or, as another review put it, sorbet. Moderately soft projection for 3-4hr, longevity 10-12hr. Couldn't tell you how it compares to the vintage version. I like this, but as far as green-tinted aquatics go I prefer Ms. Zarokian's Aqua Sextius released by Jul et Mad.

What if AdP's Colonia Assoluta was minty? Specifically Assoluta with it's creamier base, not the original Colonia. Rather lovely in it's own way but redundant when I still have a large bottle of the Assoluta around.

Departure Baby Johnson-Mojito then blends perfectly. It has a bitter and refreshing touch in a style between France-Italy. More white shirt than t-shirt. More weekends than every day. generic, pleasant, safe.

Mint. Superfresh. On my skin a soft, mild and a bit skinclose mint lemon mix. I love skinclose scents and this one can be a favourite. (Samplekit)

To me this smells a lot like Verveine from Loccitane. I really like it but doesn't last at all. 1 hour max lol.

A pleasant cologne with old school vibe.

Synthetic, different from Acqua di Parma, green playfulness. The scent of lemonade with mint, not mint, etc. ⸻ I don’t quite understand what I’m describing now, but it’s probably the Vintage version of Vincent Robert, which seems very similar to what I smelled as the 2015 version, so I’m writing here. It’s simply the scent of toothpaste, the most ordinary OralB, I don’t know. That’s it, I think it’s toned down and slightly modernized in the new version, but the realm is preserved (the playfulness, etc.), which speaks to Zarokian’s talent. Nothing that would hold me for long. Maybe I need to return to the modern.

Green Water is a citrus-aromatic EDC-style fragrance, with neroli (incorporated at 5% of the composition!) and bitter oakmoss being the main stars; there is a push-and-pull of warm peppery basil and cold, leafy mint here to add some tension. Dries down to a sweet herbal blend of basil and oakmoss blended with soft musks. Feels very retro, and lives up to the heritage of the fragrance! It's a pity that the performance is low, but that is to be expected for this style of composition.

Minty and aromatic. Nice but it also lacks some perfume qualities, because for me it smells like Listerine mouthwash (purple one probably). I like a good minty fragrance, but this one is not one of them, unfortunately.

The original formula of green water by fath 1947 was flawless! What's the need of this reinterpretation by an almost unkown perfumer? Why altering great scents of the past? Needless & worthless try! Green Water original was perfect! No need of this worthless reinterpretation at all! Bring back the original formula !

I don't like it. It is very dated mens Cologne, with oakmoss, lime and mint. Something that would be quite popular in 1950-s or for an older age Group. My granddad had something in this style. Not for me.

Sad. This is not the Original Green Water... Bad cover.

This is the most awful experience I have ever had. This fragrance does not deserve the name 'Green Water'. It has nothing to do with the time honoured classic. Call it something else but not Green Water. This overpriced harsh drugstore mess-of-a-fragrance is an insult to the original Jacques Fath brand. I have tried 4 of the newer releases and they are all really, really bad. Enough said.

Horrifically artificial, like the entire Essentials range, apart from Lilas Exquis and maybe 2-3 other ones that smell like cheap knock offs of some amber based male scents. Words can't describe how surprisingly bad everything smells.

The opening is to die for, but unfortunately it wears off quickly and you are left with an unpleasant peppery skin scent.

Mint bergamot neroli basil oakmoss Really really good stuff. Essentially classical EdC structure bergamot and neroli into herbs into mossy woody territory, but with a minty accord built into it, linking top, heart and base, almost running in parallel. Essentially the top is the bright sparkle of bergamot and neroli but with the freshness of the mint adding an additional dimensions. When the green herbal basil tarragon accords manifest, they feel like a natural continuation of the green minty elements without feeling disconnected. The base is a very subtle patchouli mossy woods more like a final signature on the skin before evaporating. There best aspect to this composition is the way Cecile Zarokian treats the blending and technical aspects of the composition, the top is completely weightless and diffusive, the floral neroli accord round and smooth, the green mossy facets elegant and far from astringent. Definitely worth checking out if you like the genre. If you are the imbecilic type that shouts "4711" every time they smell a Cologne, thinking you have unveiled a major fragrance conspiracy, chances are you will be very disappointed for this is a classic Cologne and therefore inevitably will conjure up 4711 to some degree.. otherwise it wouldn't be an classic EdC, would it?

I had a bottle of this in the 90s. I bought on a whim at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC, and it definitely felt very mature for me (early 20s). I loved it, and always got compliments when I went out - it was so different from the big designer fragrances everyone wore that the time. Clean and fresh but with an underlying green depth. Both laid back and quite chic at the same time. I remember it had a 'sparkle' to it, not typical for men's. I never had the performance issue noted here, and I recently bought a sample of the 'new' version and while I notice subtle changes, it still lasted quite well on me. It doesn't seem to be sold in the US and I don't love it enough to pay full price for it plus shipping from France. But I would totally get a bottle again, and have it as a signature scent almost 30 years later.

Gorgeous fragrance. Has the same salty, Creed-esque base as Curacao Bay, but where Curacao Bay is beachy, this feels minty and rich. Not an airy, realistic mint like you might find in Menthe Fraiche or one of Guerlain’s Allegoria line - think deeper than that. Very reminiscent of Acqua Di Parma’s line to me, but better. Not as spicy as the note pyramid might suggest, and the green mintiness is more prominent than the citrus. I have used Vetiver Hombre and L’Homme Ideal Cool as signature daytime fragrances before; I purchased a full bottle of this (glorious presentation btw) and am seriously considering making this my daytime signature now that the other two have been discontinued. My only concern is that longetivy is lacking and you have to spray Green Water with abandon to get decent performance.

@pronose Just because you don’t know who a perfumer is, it doesn’t make them almost unknown. They’re unknown *to you*. Dismissing her career is disrespectful and I encourage you to do better. For the record: Fragrances, especially older ones, are reformulated all the time. Sometimes openly (the brand is transparent about it). Sometimes stealthily. Sometimes ingredients used in the past are no longer available or the scent becomes another victim of IFRA mandates. Green Water was reformulated by Cecile Z.with the guidance of the scent’s original perfumer, who helped her with its many modifications; the story was told by Luca Turin in the last update to Perfumes, the Guide.

The first waft is overwhelmingly mint, bergamot and vertiver. If you want cool and refreshing, this is it. I think this is more for men but even then, it's almost icy with mint and very pointed with the bergamot/vertiver second note. It's more of a spin on those notes than a blended, harmonious perfume. I never experienced the original so I am respectful of the fact that this is probably a well crafted retooling.

This is much better than the vintage version (which doesn't smell of anything much at all). You can smell the herbs, mint, and to my nose - lemongrass in it. It kind of reminds me of Xerjoff Renaissance, but with worse performance. Ultimately, it's a pass. 3/5

This smells very similar to Radiant Bergamot by Ferrari, citrus opening with a smooth spice, clove for Green Water, nutmeg for the Ferrari. This creates a dissonance in the fragrance, it doesn't feel well-rounded. This is not one I'm reaching for.

The opening to my nose is Bergamot and Vetiver, quite fresh with the Mint. As it drys down it becomes slightly soapy but retains the opening notes. Overall performance on my skin was average. I've never tried the original so can't compare.

Well, it's a rooty neroli, earhty citrus, and some sort of lemon daiquiri. It gives the effect sometimes of a cooling daiquiri drink! light and good for summer time. It has roots and some caraway as well.

Very clean citrusy scent.It is like Turkish lemon cologne addeed mint in it.However it lasted like an hour on my skin.

This is O de Lancome, spicy oakmoss bergamot