#3 Green, Green, Green and... Green

"... Yes, they'll all come to meet me Arms reaching, smiling sweetly It's good to touch the green, green grass of home." This is a green that doesn't rely on the sappy, stemmy galbanum or sweet, herbaceous spicy basil. This is green like verbena, lemon-like, tart, yet with its own winsome, profuse verdancy. There are facets that to my nose also evoke that of makrut lime leaves, crushed laurel, and the smell of milkweed exudate. One of my favorite resins also appears here, mastic (or lentisque), bright terpenes and a subtle tint of camphor, moderately coniferous, a soothing balsam. Mastic also happens to be an impressive fixative for green and citrus notes. It feels like juicy foliage and sunlight slowly evaporating the dew, distant citrus groves, and memories of being playful and carefree. Grown ups need sensations like this, and the magic of scent to draw out these feelings cannot be denied. Herbal, creamy, more floral in its dry down, feeling like throwing rocks on a cool stream, GreenX4 makes me want to frolic and tra-la-la away from the drudgery and dream of eternal weekends, enjoying freshly picked fruit in the summertime, feeling sorbet melt in my mouth, and getting lost in a book on a porch swing. Its deep dry down is a somewhat berry-like musk reminiscent of ambrette. This is sublime stuff.

The transitional period where late summer meets early fall is my favourite season, and it always has me reaching for green scents. So it comes as no surprise that I really fell for this quadruple Green after sampling it this early September: it more than fulfills the promise of its enticing name. It's such a well-made, comfortable green scent - it really is all green, but there's nothing sharp about it. At first there's some almost citrusy brightness from the verbena, and then it soon settles down slightly deeper, more "forest green". It's quite aromatic, yes, but in a light, natural way - perfectly unisex. I see this is a controversial comparison, since it's been downvoted, but it did instantly remind me of Un Jardin En Mediterranée, or the best parts of it. That's another late summer staple for me, and I still love it too, but I think this one is a little more sophisticated and maybe smoother. Most importantly: I instantly felt at home wearing this, returned to it several times over the last few days, and couldn't stop sniffing my wrist any of those times. Of course that's very personal, and probably not useful to anyone else - but it's a sure sign that out of all the lovely scents I've been testing lately, this one deserves a permanent place in my wardrobe.

How strong and beautiful they are, Miller and Bertaux. Especially, especially for the top notes. Very green-verbena, indeed. But not grassy green: sweet/acidic green, then rain, water green, reeds. Also green fig fig milk, which doesn't appear in the notes (and which I find very well here, in the first few minutes, unlike Isabelle). And lemon/sweet, yes: yuzu-orange-bitter. And yes, zen, bamboo. And I, too, agree with Phényl: similar to Jardin en Méditerranée. But even softer, more beautiful, more mysterious, more poetic. The drying sometimes pleases me a little less, loses a little of its relief, doesn't de-sugar (again, a very 2005-2009 trend), but nothing dramatic enough to mar the whole picture. In any case, I like the first 15 minutes so much that it remains at the top of my pile of favorites in this register. These are panoramic-postcard scents, right up there, and there isn't a single one (so far) that doesn't move me.

This scent was my first niche purchase when I began my perfume hobby. I was enchanted by the fresh, vegetal greenness of it and the refreshing hint of lemon. It didn't smell like any of the mainstream green scents that I knew and loved, as good as those were. I felt like this was the very epitome of childhood summers. Playing hide and seek and hiding behind a big, leafy bush in the backyard, while your next door neighbor is mowing his grass. Someone else nearby has a sprinkler going, and you can hear bikes and roller skates from out on the street. "Olley olley oxen free!" Everyone knows it's time to go home when the street lights come on. Your skin has the warm, slightly sweaty note that's reflected in the coriander/cardamom note in this delightful scent, too. Miller et Bertaux No. 3 Green x4 dries down to a very pleasant skin scent - one of my top summer scents every year.

I remember the first time my husband smelled the dry down of Green x3. He asked, what is that powdery incense you are wearing? He moved in closer and said....yes, it’s you. Wearing this scent is magical; you and the people in your orbit will be transported into an ethereal land of tart limes, brisk air and fresh leaves. The dry down is indeed more powdery, but it never strays from feet firmly planted in the family citrus orchard. And though most of the time I think silly names are just that, the more I wear #3 Green, Green, Green and... Green, this strange beauty with the funny name makes complete sense. I can’t imagine my collection without it.