Green Scents Worth The Envy: The Best Fresh, Herbal, and Botanical Perfumes I’m Coveting Right Now

This post was originally written for Liv’s substack, Smells Like Money, and shared with permission on White Rabbit Social. If you love all things fragrance, head over and subscribe to Liv.

This whole thing about green scents this week is Tara’s fault.

Indirectly, but also very directly.

Here’s how it happened.

1. We connected in one of the (many) perfume groups I’m in, had a grand old chat, and ended up sending each other a bunch of decants from our collections.
2. One of the samples she sent me was Guerlain Tobacco Honey, which I fell head over heels in love with.
3. I got Tobacco Honey for my birthday from Place Vendome.
4. That package contained a sample of Angelique Noir.

And Angelique Noir single handedly sent me spiralling down a garden path of green, herby notes.

So thanks a bunch, Tara.

If you haven’t smelled Angelique Noir, you need to. That’s all I’m going to say.

So I’ll get on with things and talk about some of the other green scents that have been holding me hostage lately.

First up: Guerlain Herbes Troublantes, $585.00

Shop: Guerlain Herbes Troublantes, $585.00 from David Jones

After my newfound appreciation for Angelique Noir, I rifled back through my special box of fancy samples and pulled out Herbes Troublantes.

I’m not gonna lie, this one’s name had originally put me off even bothering to test it. The notes on Fragrantica don’t really give you much to work with–

Herbes Troublantes Scent Notes Via Fragrantica

herbalnotes, white musk, orange blossom, bergamot

Herbal notes? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY HERBS THERE ARE?????

Anyway, I think the universe stopped me testing this one until I was ready to appreciate it because holy shit.

The green smell is herbal, but not any distinctly identifiable herb. (Okay fine, I’ll give whoever wrote the pyramid this one. But I’m not happy about it.) It’s kind of dewy without being aquatic.

Actually, you know what?

This smells like waking up on a misty morning and going outside to your garden where a fairy offers you a cup of morning dew that she’s gathered from your lush grass.

The bergamot and orange flower are there but subtle, and that syrupy Guerlainade is also there, making this the green scent for freshie lovers and gourmand lovers alike.

To nobody’s surprise: Ficifolia Bistro Boy, $109.99

Shop: Ficifolia Bistro Boy, $109.99 from ficifolia.com

Having graduated from kinda green, kinda sweet, I was now ready to go full green green. I’d heard rumblings online about a scent called Bistro Boy by Australian brand Ficifolia, so I stopped past a local perfumery to have a sniff.

Oh. My. God.

ohmygodohmygodohmygod

There is nothing else out there that smells like this. Nothing. I’ve forced samples of this onto many of my friends and it’s been an instant love by everyone.

It’s photorealistic sweet basil and soft mint. If you’re worried about the burrata note, don’t be– it’s creamy, not cheesy. According to their website, this perfume was meant to be “an olfactory love letter to wining and dining in Sydney’s most revered establishments. All juiced up with eucalyptus, tomato leaf, and mint, this spritz summons burrata salad, a stolen glance, and the batting of lashes.“

And they absolutely nail it. They don’t explicitly say Totti’s. But if you’ve been to Totti’s and you’ve had the burrata there, you know.

Dries van Noten Vanille Camouflage, $520.00

Shop: Dries van Noten Vanille Camouflage, $520.00 from MECCA

Is this the final boss in my trip down the garden path?

Maybe. It’s definitely the most expensive, even more expensive than Guerlain which for some reason just doesn’t compute in my mind.

Look at that bottle. Stunning.

This one opens with the grass stains left on your jeans after your first kiss.

Not your first kiss. The first kiss of someone better than you– richer, prettier, smarter.

It’s the crushed grass of well-tended lawns on an estate only inhabited by the family every other summer, but with live-in staff to maintain the house and gardens year round.

They just don’t make grass like this anymore.

The greenery sticks around throughout the life of the scent, but after a couple of hours the sweeter notes take over. I don’t get any of the ylang ylang (which I’m glad about, it tends to take over my sense of smell) but the sandalwood and double dose of vanillas is rich.

Rich like money, not rich like calories.

Vanille Camouflage Scent Notes Via Fragrantica

There’s a whole lot of debate in Fragrantica about whether or not this one smells like Angelique Noir, and here’s my take on it.

They don’t smell the same, but they are variations on the same green-vanilla theme. If you like one, you’ll probably like the other.

Camouflage Vanille is an easier reach, while Angelique Noir is more of an acquired taste. Compared to Camouflage Vanille, the green is a more herbal, and the vanilla is more syrupy.

Personally, I’m obsessed with both and I think they’re different enough to warrant having both in my collection.

Honourable mentions that deserve to be on this list (and would if my attention span allowed it)

Maison Martin Margiela From The Garden, From $60.00

Shop: Maison Martin Margiela From The Garden, From $60.00 from MECCA

I actually had a small bottle of this a long time ago and eventually sold it to a friend. It’s fine but it’s not exciting. Green grass. Whatever.

There are better green fragrances out there, but it’s probably easier to get into a shop to smell than some of the others so if you’re curious about venturing into the green world, go smell this one.

From The Garden Scent Notes Via Fragrantica

I vaguely recall seeing somewhere that Hilde Soliani was very angrily claiming that Olivier Cresp copied this from one of her scents. I can’t figure out which one she might have been talking about and I also can’t find her rant about it but I’m certain I saw it somewhere. Do you know anything about this?

Arquiste A Grove By The Sea, From $105.00

Shop: Arquiste A Grove By The Sea, From $105.00

This one FULLY deserves a detailed write up, but I need more time with it before I can write about it confidently. For now, I’ll just say that I went on a giant mission to track this one down and it was worth every minute.

It’s a soft green scent with a surprisingly sweet creaminess from the fig and bright, juicy clementine. It also has notes of salt, fennel and olive which combine to take you on a beautiful journey.

A Grove By The Sea Scent Notes Via Fragrantica

Dan Havard Secret Garden

To my nose, this is a beautifully fresh, green rose scent. The fig is subtle, adding a silky creaminess to makes me think of rubbing a rose petal between my fingers. The drydown is delicious, lightly spiced vanilla skin situation that is somehow innocent and sexy at the same time.

Secret Garden Scent Notes

Top Notes: Fig, Citrus, Rose, Green Tomato Leaf

Heart Notes: Rose, Rose Geranium, White Floral, Vanilla, Safran
Base Notes: Sandalwood, Vanilla, Leather, Ambergris

I got this from a budding perfumer in one of my Facebook groups. So technically you can’t buy it yet but when you can, you should. (I’ll come back and add a link here when it is available.)