Vent Vert by Balmain (1947)

 Composed by the amazing Germaine Cellier (of Fracas and Bandit fame) for Balmain, Vent Vert (Green Wind) is a synaesthete's dream: It smells like the color green. Sounding off with a peppery blast of galbanum like a trumpet's call, shortly thereafter other flower notes run and swirl onto the stage like primitive ballet dancers in a production of Nijinski's paganistic "The Rite of Spring."

There is something savage, fierce, and raw about Vent Vert, recalling the first lines of T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land: "April is the cruellest month, breeding/Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/Memory and desire, stirring/Dull roots with spring rain." Hope, desire, rebirth, renewal — these are primal feelings and the perfume respects that with its scent of freshly picked flowers with bent stems and crushed herbs mixed in for spiciness.

Its rawness is, in fact, due to its clever rather than simple composition: According to Luca Turin, perfumaniac extraordinaire and co-author of Perfumes: The Guide, the original formula was analyzed and found to have 1100 components (compared to the 1991 reformulation, which only has 31). Vent Vert's clarity and upfrontness gives you the illusion that it merely a collection of essences from natural materials rather than a carefully constructed work of art.

Others have written beautifully about this masterpiece:

"It started with a sensationally bitter green-galbanum accord, which lasted long enough for the set piece behind it to be moved into place ready for smelling. As the green faded, the most beautiful, golden rose-jasmine accord took over and lasted for days, fading to a fresh powdery drydown that no modern perfume can even dream of." Luca Turin, Perfumes: The Guide

"From top to bottom, Vent Vert is green. Yet, it is anything but linear...Citrus and the snapped pea tinge of galbanum lace themselves in and out of a bouquet of spring flowers. The marigold oil and galbanum remind us that the roses and jasmine come from a garden rather than a florist’s shop. The artifice of this “nature” is triumphant, since lily of the valley is usually a perfumer’s trick rather than a natural essence. Yet, lily of the valley has such rustic associations; it is the flower gathered in the woods on May First...Here, the marigold and the piquant aspects of the hyacinth and the galbanum complement the basil and the bergamot in the opening. These more prominent notes do not prevent the sunlight of the jasmine, ylang ylang and rose from shining through, which warms the composition. Its base is strong but invisible...I do not know, but I imagine that the iris in the base is the iris root, which supports the perfume much as a root does, by extending itself subrosa in the soil beneath the flower...Legerdenez's blog

Top notes: Galbanum, citrus oils, gardenia,leafy green, peach
Heart notes: Rose, lily of the valley, hyacinth, orris, jasmine
Basenotes: oakmoss, vetiver, styrax, musk

Comments

[Karen Fleming]

I LOVED the original Vent Vert. I loved it so much I still have the empty bottle that I purchased sometime around 1967. In the past few years, I tried to buy it once again but found, much to my dismay, that the scent had been reformulated. Most likely to substitute cheaper synthetic constituents for the original natural ones. It was just not the same - the nose knows! Oh, how I miss my Vent Vert...

[Perfumaniac]

Karen, If you dig around you can find the original on eBay and through various sellers online. Keep digging! You're right – the reformulation is awful, the original a complex, radiant green floral.

[harper]

love that ad...

:-)harper

[Rose]

Oh I adore this scent so so much- I have no idea why it isn't more talked about on perfume blogs

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Rose,

I think maybe more people don't talk about it because the reformulation is awful, and it's relatively hard to find the original. I love Germaine Cellier, the perfumer. Her range was incredible. She was a real artist. Thanks for stopping by!

[Marion E Dawson]

Yes to all of the above who adored the Germaine Collier artistry of
the original VENT VERT and mourn its demise.How absurd and even deceitful to call the new formulation by the same name because it is a synthetic travesty unlike the natural that calls into senses the green grass and flower laden gusts of an early spring day.The nose knows the real.

[Perfumaniac]

Synthetic travesty! The original stuff is amazing...

[Marion E Dawson]

Well o.k. I've been forewarned that the new(?)VENT VERT is a
horrible travesty of my favorite most enchanting perfume, shouldn't
even be called by that name.Would someone who also adored the original
please tell me if it is possible to find a source for the original? I
saw it on Ebay and also read a comment that the original she received
had deteriorated so my quest hasn't been successful thus far.The
fragrance like CHANEL #5 is a supreme work of art of over a thousand
telling parts evoking an greening early spring day, no poetry there,
I'm not alone to cherish the original VENT VERT.So green, green, green.

[Marie L]

I just bought a bottle of the original Vent Vert on EBay , it's as perfect as it was 35 years ago when Vent Vert was MY scent. It was kept in a felt pouch in the original box, I was surprised how it 'survived' all those years; I am quit sure the high quality of the ingredients have something to do with this.
It's sad to see how even the best fragrances companies know use low end ingredients, they own the formulas of those magnificent perfume, how can they sell these cheap perfumes?
I am sure there are many people like me who would pay for quality perfumes, hey, I just paid a little over 200$ for a 2 ounces bottle of cologne... Worth every penny!!

[Perfumaniac]

Enjoy it, Marie. It is a beauty!!

Sent from my iPhone

[Annette]

There are decants of an original 74 vent vert being sold on ebay uk,I bought one and it is fabulous!!