Vent Vert Pierre Balmain for women

The OG is spectacular and timeless. The reform is still glamorous but dated somehow. Or, at least, if they're the same then some bottles certainly show signs of aging. My sample from TPC of the OG stayed crisper all the way through its longevity than the mini bottle I found of the "OG."

The 1991 version is near cologne territory - and is the most different of them all - yet still a favorite of mine. I do get the vision of where Calice Becker was going with it. Definitely classy, unflappable, but it still fits in even today. It is soapier. Have yet to try the 1999 version.

Tried the current formulation. Earthy is the best way to describe this. Reminds me of the smell you get when you peel back the bark on a stick and smell the greenery. It's not for me.

If you've smelt the best (1947), then this is nothing to be compared to. It was an astounding feat reformulating the verdant masterpiece but falls flat because of the absence of the bases Germaine used in her creations; namely a spectacular mélange of orris, violet, oakmoss and amber. It imparts an aftertaste of mitigation, where the core of her perfumes are of course endlessly replicated, I daresay a flick of shimmer or pink emanates and it endears you. There's a je ne sais quoi and you can definitely put your finger on and say that this is feminine.

Calice's version is more herbal and bitter, more on the green side but the original is a symphony of green, violet and yellows. If you'll have a chance to compare her creations, there's a persistence of an impeccable use of orris, amber and violet and there's where the magic lies. You can almost taste the asafoetida and vetiver in Calice's but with Germaine's, it doesn't overturn the others: such restraint. In the original's parfum, the base is more salient as compared to the light-hearted and I daresay original elven eau de toilette.

Vent Vert doesn't smell like Chanel 19 not even close to it. Also, I'd like to reiterate that this is a green perfume: fleeting. Stop making wishes that this should last longer.

Artfully constructed like a watercolour painting - sheer, green and floral. Quite an easy and elegant wear for spring-type weather. It is lovely but a little fleeting on my skin.

I tested it few times as much there was in the tester and I can't say I liked it a lot but I also didn't dislike it. I smell only two things: green notes and soap. Why put soap in a fragrance? I think something else would've been more interesting. But anyway, it was an interesting experience. It was something new to me that expanded my discovery in the fragrance world.

Calice Becker, a skilled perfumer in her own right, was tasked with the mammoth challenge of reformulating Germaine Cellier's classic Vent Vert for Balmain fifty years after the original's release. Given that Cellier's creations are shrouded in mystery and notoriously difficult to dissect, as well as having fewer raw materials at her disposal thanks to ingredient restrictions over time, Becker had her work cut out for her. The resulting scent is quite different from the original; still very green, but dewy and more transparent. It lacks the magic of the original, but is a very pleasant green springtime scent in its own right. I have miniatures of both versions for comparison purposes.

VV opens with transparent, dewy green notes, sap-like and damply fresh. Some galbanum adds greenness here, but to a much lesser extent than in the original - here, it is fleeting instead of permeating the scent. Zesty citrus enhances the freshness, giving way to soapy florals. Muted neroli is evident, followed closely by clean jasmine and green lily-of-the-valley. There is an aquatic quality to these florals - they are lightweight, dewy and damp - reminiscent of soap but without aldehydic radiance.

Delicate florals remain as it develops, with uncharacteristically muted hyacinth - dewy and fresh - evident. I get a nice herbal-spicy accord thanks to the marigold note and other green herbs, adding a nice counterpoint to the soapy florals. A little violet follows, harking back to the original.

The drydown is powdery and cleanly musky, with a soft amber accord adding warmth. There is a vague hint of chypre-like mossiness, mostly thanks to grassy vetiver rather than the oakmoss of the original. A soft woodiness grounds things nicely. It fades to a soapy, musky skin scent with remnants of florals. Sillage and longevity are moderate.

A dewy green floral scent made for springtime, VV delivers unisex leafy loveliness in spades. A beautiful green scent in its own right, but no comparison to the original. 4/5.

I had high hopes for Vent Vert as soon as I popped open my sample vial of the EDT. The initial blast is mean and green, fresh and sharp with galbanum! Stunning! After just a few minutes, though, all of that bright green goodness falls away to let the florals take center stage. Hyacinth and jasmine are most prominent to my nose. Is it still enjoyable? Sure, but is it what I was after? Not in the slightest.

fresh green-citrussy-bitter oakmoss with a hint of oakmoss. I love it. Despite the long list of notes, it manages to stay fresh and green. this is a classic style fragrance, no mistake there.

Often compared with No 19, I found Vent Vert to be more fresh citrussy and green, more suitable for day. Whereas No 19 is more powdery-leathery, more suitable for night.

I honestly love both and will use them based on my mood

(1980s version)

Terrific bitter galbanum and narcissus up top, drying down to a mossy one-dimensional No. 19. 7/10

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 "𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴."

Beautiful and dizzying, as its name.

I have to hand it to Calice Becker: she was faced with the formidable task of reformulating what was at the time a certified classic, limited to the restrictions in perfumery as they were in 1991, and she had succeeded in preserving the spirit of the Cellier original. This is still Vent Vert, still has a fair share of bitter, stemmy yellow-green galbanum (even if it isn't quite as much as the original), and there's that trace of asafoetida (I only elsewhere have seen this note in the other Balmain classic, Ivoire, and Carven Ma Griffe). The asafoetida has that minute hint of sulphurous pungency that really brings green note alive. On a side note, onion essential oil in extreme dilution has been known to be used in traces to create a similar effect, however, asafoetida is considered easier to work with.

This chlorophyll pageant with all matters of herby, leafy, vegetal, is soon joined by, naturally green florals, like hyacinth and lily of the valley, but its most worth noting the presence of marigold. This flower is not for its fragrance but it doesn't necessary come to mind for most as one that we put in a vase and take in its aroma. The scent of the essential oil is reminiscent of ripe apples, green leaves, bitter herbs, almost acrid in nature. But a wafts of the flower bring a smile to my face, and as an accent, a modifier, as it were, only makes sense in exalting the ultra-verdancy of Vent Vert. I almost get the sensation of chicory in the heart as well, fresh, bitter and astringent.

I must reiterate, this 1991 version is by no means a slouch, as it continues its radiance through its dry down, seamlessly transitioning to shades of violet, vetiver, orris root, and a touch of styrax presumably to fix the galbanum resinoid deep into its base. Only as a skin scent do we eventually have its greenness recede into the woods, and a warm, winsome woods at that.

1991 Vent Vert is not "a shadow of its former self." The 1999 version, however, that's an entirely different story, which I cannot yet tell.

Very vetiver heavy. Reminds me a bit of Guerlain Vetiver, but much more complex. It's very interesting but not really a pleasant female scent. I think it's a bit cologne-like. I'm not sure why you would choose to wear it. In some ways it smells a bit like some of the male powerhouse scents. Maybe I'm off the mark, but this isn't really something I would choose to wear.

UPDATE: After a few hours the harshness lightened up and became a pleasant flowery smell. Not green at all... but alas it was just a skin scent and didn't project much.

Testing this from a decant from Surrender to Chance. This is such a truly worthwhile perfume. It is a "green" perfume that to me is a "real" perfume. ;) My biases showing there, haha. I do not lean towards these spring-type perfumes. If it weren't so expensive/hard to get, I would buy and wear this sometimes. It's everything you want in a perfume--complexity, beauty, transformative, entertainment, satisfaction, a pleasure for others as well. But the genre of it is not my favorite.

this is literally johnson’s summer swing baby cologne

Some "reviewers" attempt to impress us instead of supplying usable knowledge. If only they didn't try so hard and instead concentrated on accuracy we might actually believe what they spew out.

We are lucky to have 3 different pages devoted to the 3 different significant versions of this fragrance, each by a different perfumer using what was allowed by IFRA at the time of the formulation. Each version has its fans and detractors. If one is leaving a "review" after that page separation of a couple years ago it is the responsibility of the reviewer to choose the CORRECT page on which to place their opinion or spew their comments, and to be SURE the version they are reviewing is attributed to the proper nose! When a reviewer confuses release years and the perfumer credited with that release it completely blows any credibility they tried to gain with their chemistry lessons and impression of how history likely occurred.

The fragrance displayed on THIS page was done in 1991 and it is NOT the "newest" version of Vent Vert. The 1999 version IS and that is attributed to another perfumer. In addition, while different enough from her creation I don't think this 1991 version has Germaine Cellier rolling in her grave. If the fragrance hadn't been 44 years old and contained ingredients either no longer available or allowed it wouldn't have needed to be reformulated or updated, and if it WASN'T redone it's unlikely we would have had this version to enjoy for nearly a decade. I don't think Calice Becker disrespected the original. She allowed us to grasp onto a significant portion of it for a little while longer.

I won't leave my impressions as they've already been well stated by those who left a proper review here for the proper version of the fragrance. Needless to say but I rather enjoyed it (and I'm lucky to still have 1 well-cared for bottle I bought in 1991). My love doesn't reach that of the original I first experienced decades earlier, but having this was far, far better than having no Vent Vert at all.

I confess-- this new 1999 Calice Becker reformulation is a disappointment to me: I'm a fella and was lucky to have a generous decant of the 1947 original Germaine Cellier version.

The original version had a very prominent leather base. It was rather butch, in fact, and smelled like shiny black leather combat boots, which I am sure was Cellier's intention from the get-go, the avowed gender-bender that she was. In fact, the leather base, almost surely woven of Isobutyl Quinoline, was, to my nose, of equal importance to the brisk green head... an intriguing yin/yang dynamic. Cellier obviously wanted you to picture someone like her-- a fairly butch gal-- tromping through the new grass in knee-high army boots.

The original topnotes were also very fresh, cool and green, but they were rounded and not necessarily ultra-femme. It used an old-fashioned muted purply-smelling jasmine (think: YSL PARIS) rather than one of our new 1080p, sharp hyper-realistic aldehyded jasmines.

So I could wear the old formula quite happily.

Calice Becker obviously decided that the new version needed some femm-ing up: she eliminated all traces of the black leather base, and she (horrors) laced the head with a very cutesy, winsome and girly lily-of-the-valley... which Ms. Cellier had wisely eschewed back in the day for her potion.

Now the scent is very girly and pretty... Nice enough, but a guy can't really pull it off anymore, even as a refreshing tonic in hot weather. Now it smells as though it would suit a 7-year-old female blonde moppet at a spring wedding, dolled up in tulle and taffeta. Germaine is rolling in her Sapphic grave, I'd bet.

I hope I can manage to score some earlier formula somewhere online...

A classic green floral perfume that opens with fresh and green notes.
Flowers like Hyacinth, Lily of the valley and Jasmin have an important role in that and perfume has a herbal earthy background.
I also feel there is a little bitter Neroli that makes this scent citrussy and fresh.
Finally it ends with woody musky notes and flowers dont lose from begining to end .
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دسته گلی در برگرفته شده توسط نسیم سبز چمن زار. در فضایی کلاسیک روشن و آفتابی...
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فوران رایحه سبز و باطراوت و سپس قدرت گرفتن ذات گلی عطر که سنبل، موگه و یاس در اون نقش های اصلی رو دارن درکنار تلخی مرکباتی طور نرولی و حس خاکی ناشی از باریجه که مثل گَردی لطیف روی گل ها و سبزه ها رو پوشانده توصیف نت محور این عطر هست.
به مرور، طراوت و رطوبت اولیه انگار آفتاب خورده و خشک میشه و کم کم شیرینی چوبی مشکی با برجسته تر شدنش در حضور عطرِ گلها پایان بندی کار رو رقم میزنه...
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کلیت عطر رایحه ای سبز و مرطوب، کمی صابونی، شیرین از جنس شیرینی گلیِ کلاسیک و تلخ از جنس تلخی لیمویی(نرولی) داره که در پس زمینه ای خاکی و گیاهی قرار گرفتن.
گاها ردی مصنوعی از بوی گل و برگِ کنار هم له شده و چمن بریده شده ازش حس میشه علی الخصوص در ابتدای راه.
در یک نگاه کلی هم رایحه ی کرم های قدیمی گل بو روی پوست شسته شده با صابون گلنار حسی هست که ممکنه این عطر تداعی کنه.

Spring is in the air. It's a while ago that I reached out for the cute bottle on the shelf with green bow. My darling Vent Vert was waiting for me and she knew for 100% that I would appear. My oh my, what a lovely, rich, chique, green floral, sparkling spring scent this is!
I bend for the galbanum and I am moved by the gentle flowers hidden behind the spicy citrus that welcomes me in the first place. I'm awake again. Darling Vent Vert leads me into summer 2020 as she led me to many summers in my life before.

Any perfume lover on the journey has heard of Vent Vert at some point, usually referenced as THE Galbanum Fragrance. Galbanum is not exactly an ideal note to put solitarily forward, a brutish punch of green with some strange woody-oily aspects, it's like the interesting misfit kid that is obsessed with nature and hugs the trees but punches you in the face if you carve them. Poison Ivy just before she became the mean, green, killing machine.

I particularly love galbanum, give me a pretty green nose bleed, I don't mind, but Vent Vert is much more than a galbanum fragrance. It is masterfully abstract green and a tigerish, rude green. But in a good french way.

It is feral galbanum as the queen of a barbaric grassy tribe doing a victory pow-wow dance over The Hulk overdosed in clorophyll. Leafy, breezy skirts swaddled by wind and floral crown headbands of the daintiest florals to celebrate her - frail lily-of-the-valley, a super gauzy iris, probably hyacinth- softens her image almost enough to romanticize her into an art noveau dryad, a lithograph of a pastoral goddess, fair hair gusted by the wind and that sort, a maiden form with a lot of movement to remind you that nature is an unstopabble living being but ironically pictured trapped in a spiderweb of vines, leaves and flower-spangled meadows --no one can escape nature, especially their own; nymphs in anarchy but contained by art form.

The complexity scores high as with most of Cellier fragrances, I try to imagine her original composition with the legendary minibases inside the base, this is peeking at it with with its drapes of mesh-like green gauze intershaded with darker tonalities of spiky chunky wool. Sitting in one of those franchised coffee houses wearing Vent Vert in a bustling city makes me query of the urban life, I fall into a bucolicism extreme enough to question even the charming ones. No wonder some citadines have a fame for being grumpy when they have people like Germaine Cellier to remind them of Arcadia.

4/10

Portrait of a young woman ( girl ) by Raphael
++

Acquired through a recent trade, I’m so happy. This is one of the first vintage perfumes I have found that I really like. Vent Vert is green, natural, lovely and I pick up no fruit or flowers. This doesn’t last long before it turns to a skin scent but I need to test this in warmer weather and see if that changes as I would suspect.

I reserve the word unique for those rare occasions when it’s well deserved, and that’s Vent Vert. This is niche before the word niche was used to describe perfume.

I have This parfum (full) for sale :-)

My generous perfumista friend gifted me his own bottle of Vent Vert knowing that I love to collect different feminine perfumes.it comes in the same bottle as this picture and doesn't have any spray
Unfortunately I don't like it at all.it's very green,herbal,warm,bitter and a bit dated. tones of galbanum,oak moss,vetiver and a tiny hint of sweet floral powder is all I get here.no citrus freshness,no fruits,no flowers
Dry down is much better,still green but a little sweeter,less herbal.now I can detect some florals but it's very light in this stage,barely noticeable
green fragrances aren't my thing.of course there are some green classics that I enjoy such as Chanel No.19 I also adore Cabotine Gres(though it's not a real green one on me) but unfortunately Vent Verte is not one of them.my husband didn't like it either and said you smell like warm grasses and a bit of dry soil
But I will definitely keep it.because it's a gift from a dear friend,I like it's bottle and I hope to be able to appreciate it some day
Sillage is huge when first applied but it barely lasts 3 hours on my skin.I prefer it in a cool,breezy,early fall day more than a hot summer day

A zingy green floral with complex notes and a real interestibg progression. I wouls say the floral lemon is the green note mixed with bitter herb butter cream.

I get a biter chickory and lemon peel opening that starts to turn slightly gourmand and buttery with a tart sweetnes. Gives me visions of a baking lemon tarts in a fresh alpine meadow.

The floral notes are violet and jasmine. The violet give a powderyness after 30 minutes with a hint of spicy cinnamon. As it drysdown the green note sweetens into powdery floral with amber that feels a bit dated.
⛤⛤⛤⛤

Similar to Ivoire de Balmain from the same brand this classic vintage floral green chypre delivers a cool breeze which has blown green grass into the wind. It's unisex to my nose because despite the florals this has the green oiliness and musky mossy body of most unisex chypres that I have experienced even when they are marketed for women. Like I said this is similar to Ivoire de Balmain but also in the same category of fragrance as Chanel No 19 Cristal as well as Bel Respiro. It also reminds me a bit of Guy Laroche's Fidji and Ma Griffe by Carven. This is a classy fresh floral green scent which has stood the test of time and continues to ravish the wearer with it's green magic, like leprechauns dancing in a magic circle in meadow in the hilly landscape of Ireland.

The top notes are redolent with citruses and green notes, basil and asafoetida/ferula. This gives it a spicy green kick. To me the orange is not as potent as other orange based top notes, though it is lemony and fresh but more along the lines of lemony greenish soap. It's the green notes that dominate the top. The citruses fade and the florals emerge out of which the hyacinth, marigold, violet and lily of the valley are major scents. The lily of the valley is very well-done, and appropriate to the spring theme since lily of the valley flowers are heralds of spring when it's arrived. The violet is heady and sweet, the jasmine and rose are as well. This is a beautiful soapy middle stage with flowers that are well nuanced and natural, like catching whiffs of these flowers out doors in a garden or park.

As the fragrance settles into a drier stage, the galbanum kicks in as well as the big green notes of oak moss sage and vetiver. The greenery is exquisite. This is one of the nicest green scents I've encountered from before 1970s which also specialized in green is good earthy green fragrances. The dry down is also woodsy with cedar wood sandal wood and styrax. But the woods are well rounded with the green oak moss. It has a peaceful and soothing effect, like being out all day in a grassy place, like taking a long nap on pure grass in a field.

This is a moss based scent which can turn spicy and aromatic, unisex, and provides the scent with incredible longevity and maximum sillage. This is a robust green scent with a mature sophistication that surpasses today's linear sweet gourmands. I can smell this on mature Hollywood actresses like Helen Mirren Meryl Streep or Maggie Smith. This is a clean green elegant scent for a no nonsense serious minded person. Matches up with suits and ties or women's suits, conservative wear, uniforms and formal wear. It's suited for spring and summer but it's also good for autumn which can smell of fallen leaves and grass.

Akawanis!

I love your review of this gorgeously, unique, verdant, vintage gem!

Vent Vert is truly the precious emerald in Balmain's vintage fragrant crown!

Original Vent Vert is my first vintage love. As an advocate of modern perfumery, I'd acquired the new Vent Vert (disco ball cap) before a kind Fragrantician-friend sent a decant of the Original. And wow, what a difference 44 years make. :-)

Both are delightful in their own right, but they're further removed than siblings.. perhaps second cousins or more.

Original Vent Vert is a glorious Galbanum vehicle - a galloping cavalcade of dense lush foliage, bordering on opaque. There's a mossy-woods painting a swoon-worthy viridian backdrop.

New Vent Vert is a sheer-diaphanous, transparent Ethereal with frangipani/ plumeria floralcy. The pyramid suggests hyacinth or neroli, but there's something tropical-feeling on my skin.

It's the first time IFRA's Oakmoss ban impacted my life. Now I fully see what the 'big deal' surrounding reformulation is.

If you miss the earlier renditions (mine is the 1970's square bottle), give Dusita's new Sillage Blanc a try. It's captured many facets that I loved in the vintage Vent Vert.

I was given a small bottle of the perfume in 1974, I adored it! My sister was given Miss Balmain. We didn't appreciate them enough to keep them for posterity, because we loved both so much we used them up in a matter of months...well we were teenagers!
Vent vert (green wind/breeze) is exactly that, young green grass and flowers, beautifully soft, fresh, a breath of fresh air in a tiny bottle.
I bought the reformulation a couple of years ago, it is the pale ghost of the original, but still with its fresh charm. Longevity is not its strong suit.

I am so lucky to have got the vintage bottle of this as compared to the newer version it wins hands down and to be honest I think it's got to be one of the most unique smells in the fragrance world niche included I am close too owning a woo bottles of fragrance make and female and have nothing in my collection that smells even close which is a bummer coz I don't want to use up this magic little formula so if anyone knows of something close please let me know and also if anyone would like to sample anything in my fragrance wardrobe just let me know I am all about sharing my love of fragrance with one exception and that is pine dominant scents here in the UK pine is always associated with toilet cleaner and no-one wants to smell like a toilet brush am I right? Lol x

I am so lucky to have got the vintage bottle of this as compared to the newer version it wins hands down and to be honest I think it's got to be one of the most unique smells in the fragrance world niche included I am close too owning a woo bottles of fragrance make and female and have nothing in my collection that smells even close which is a bummer coz I don't want to use up this magic little formula so if anyone knows of something close please let me know and also if anyone would like to sample anything in my fragrance wardrobe just let me know I am all about sharing my love of fragrance with one exception and that is pine dominant scents here in the UK pine is always associated with toilet cleaner and no-one wants to smell like a toilet brush am I right? Lol x

I too have read all these incredible reviews about Vent Vert before. I too got a couple of vintage bottles, respectable condition. Not perfect, but ok. Wore them, liked it, but wasn't overwhelmed. Then, a divine Fragrantia fragrance goddess sent a spray decant to me with some of her vintage private collection treasures, this one (pre-1991) in the mix.

A nuclear green explosion of epic proportions. Galbanum, so good that this is why it's used in perfumes. Oakmoss, lime, jasmine, basil, iris, and so many other notes - the complexity requires many - intertwined in an accord that has stunning transitions. OMG! I finally get it.

Wouldn't be produced in today's fast world requiring cost driven formulas and fast turnaround to market. I imagine Germaine Cellier, mixing and mastering each component to create a unique landmark in fragrance. Tinkering with the ingredients to get it just right. A dash of this . . . and you get the nose tingling green nebula. A few drops of that . . . and you get an herbal wonderland. Painstaking development of each stage, checking and comparing. She was known for 'bold pioneering' fragrances - and Vent Vert is one of her masterpieces. (Fracas and Bandit being two others). Thank you Ms. Cellier! I bow to your genius!

Now this is going to make everyone very envious,but I recently saw a huge bottle of something at a bootsale and noticed the very distinctive Balmain label on it which I recognised from my vintage bottle of Miss Balmain.I had no idea what it was,it was bright green and looked almost radioactive! What the hell,it was only £2!!!!didnt even smell it... Got home and looked up all the reviews here,got very confused as to the different reformulations,opened it and smelt it,WHAM!!!! That blast of galbanum,unlike anything I had ever smelt before was amazing!
Spent about 4 hours online researching the stuff until I was almost blind until I found a bottle the same as mine,which was a painting or photo from 1973 with the identical bottle,originally came in a green felt cover,looked like a milk bottle with a bakelite/plastic screw cap.I got my hands on a full bottle( about 250mls!) Of the original Germaine Cellier first version...best shopping experience ever!!! If you are in the uk ,decants are listed very reasonably on the 'bay,you will know the one...! January 6 2017

You write such wonderful reviews, lucia.lawson. Thank you! I always enjoy reading them, and this one is no exception. I love the beautiful way you have described this classic and gorgeous perfume; so evocatively. In fact, it was because of how much I enjoyed Vent Vert through reading your review, that I decided to blind-buy it: and I am completely thrilled and happy that I did!!!
Vent Vert is wonderful, and green, and exquisitely flowery. It also has delicious citrus scents that are very fresh and green, the glorious flowers, that I do wish lasted a little longer, especially the lily-of-the-valley (my favourite), but I actually don't mind too much, because I adore the masculine, woody, vetiver, mossy warm dry-down. It's fabulous.
I LOVE it. It's a wonderful, wonderful perfume.

Expensive-smelling first blast; but after 15 minutes on skin, it smelled like how 5-year olds smell when you put too much powder on them then they run out into the garden to play. Sweaty grassy baby powder is what I got, and I didn't even sweat as I was in an AC'd mall.

Let Me Take You Back In Time Via My Memories

1951

VENT VERT GREEN WIND OR IRISH SPRING

Vent Vert came into my life in 1951. I was a then young unmarried lady living in London's West End and had a body I'd give anything to have again. I used to wear tight Lana Turner sweaters with pretty good sized sweater bumps and skirts that accentuated my hips and small waist.

I was not very confident but was aware that I could easily attract some gentlemen. For me Vent Vert is a perfume of carefree youth, a reminder of what the world was like just after World War 2, the single life and Hyde Park. Everyone I ran into complimented me on this fragrance.

I didn't attract my first husband Richard with this fragrance but he did like it on me and I remember I wore it only in the spring time when the fresh floral notes wafted gently into the air when breezes blew on trees in Hyde Park and the green floral notes threw up such an incredible aromatic scent.

Everything about this fragrance screams green. It's evocative of parks, woods, hills, and valleys. This reminds me of Ireland or Scotland in the spring time. The first spritz of Vent Vert lacks aldehydes but it is a typical Germaine Cellier because it has a very bright fresh citrusy opening.

The citrus notes were standard of the period. This is a fruity bergamot orange, and it also has a zesty lemon and lime very sharp and fortunately not an astringent or medicine type of citrus, nor a man's aftershave. That effect was present in such frags as Shalimar or Habit Rouge but not this one.

The first notes of Vent Vert are comprised of more fresh and energetic citrus. It's the green wind, green with lemon scents. Almost, almost but not quite a perfumed version of a lemon or lime scented furniture polish or Lysol spray bottle for cleaning up your home. I mean this in the nicest way possible

Orange blossoms begin to emerge out of the citrus but now it's neroli and orange flowers. They then embrace the floral scents that are in this fragrance. They include violet, freesia, jasmine, hyacinth, ylang, lily of the valley, rose, iris and marigold. These are somewhat soapy flowers, not quite a powdery floral aroma. They smell like soap but very expensive and well made soap. There's also a lot of green notes and galbanum which give the florals a touch of realism. One could almost smell the leaves and the grass and bushes in this green garden setting.

The galbanum note is quite strong here. It's one of my favorites and a signature note of any green chypre fragrance or chypre floral scent. This note always creates a mood and that mood is melancholic nocturnal and autumnal. There's an asafetida scent as well that smells like vinegar or cooking oil. At once it reminded me of both Chanel No 19 - only more floral, but just as green - and Ivoire de Balmain, a fragrance that shares many of the same notes almost note for note. Balmain was a top designer in the post World War 2 period and even the great fashionista and Vogue editor Diana Vreeland remarked that Balmain was the must have designer in one's wardrobe. Like Chanel No 19 and Ivoire, this green soapy chypre scent can indeed smell like a million bucks worth of fashion.

If you like Chanel No 19 but you're turned off by too much greenery, this perfume has more flowers to enjoy. The heady marigold, violet, jasmine, hyacinth, and ylang, not to mention the iris lily of the valley, are all here, and waiting for you each time you wear her. The flowers are spring flowers in the outdoors, on fields and garden beds, airy, and breezy. It really does smell true to it's moniker. This is a green breeze, carrying with it the aroma of wild flowers and fresh green aromas.

The florals are not there for long. The dry down robs the florals of their precious longevity and instead the fragrance turns into one of woods, vetiver grass, sage bush, oak moss and styrax.

These base notes are warm, not musky but mossy, very mossy and that styrax/woods pairing is rather masculine. The dry down smells like a man's cologne in today's context but not in the 1940's or 50's when such darker woodsier/mossier scents were common in women's perfume.

The vetiver is like a glossy polish and it's elegant and dark. This was always an evening cologne for me. I wore it on cold winter or autumn nights in London.

The dry down is reminiscent of Blue Grass by Elizabeth Arden. I have worn many chypres over the years and this is a beautiful one. There are many to enjoy and if you're interested in this category of perfume please check out the following scents:

Elizabeth Arden's Blue Grass

Chanel No. 19

Carven Ma Griffe

Jean Louis Scherrer Scherrer

Balmain Ivoire de Balmain (of which this most resembles)

A beautiful stroll down a park, or an escape into the hills of Tara in Ireland. This perfume has enchanted me from the moment I smelled her and I'm so happy to discover that people continue to wear this scent.

Balmain is such a great house: it does three of my all time go-to fragrances, and Vent Vert is one of them.

A delicious, fresh, uplifting, zingy green, it's spring in a bottle: splashing through puddles after a shower, a bright breeze, wet grass and rain soaked flowers, a rainbow.

Beneath all the sharp green, it has a gorgeous floral heart - lily of the valley, jasmine and (one of my favourite notes) freesia. Enduringly feminine but never oversweet, a spritz of Vent Vert always lifts my spirits.

Ok everyone, Original Yardley Lily of the Valley meets Estee Private Collection, that is a pedestrian take on what must be one of the all time greens around - ever. Testing today, an unopened pristine vintage mini. This is so, so the lovely golden juice of fresh cut flowers and herbs. Now this one is a golden oldie that may well suit young noses. Fresh, green lovely...It is not strong but seems to have good longevity, although soft and subtle, close to the skin, as a perfume should be. Pricey on ebay. Look for minis in collections.

Beautiful for everyday use. Reminds me of Safari RL ...discreet and elegant. Same reviewers here are absolutely crazy.

First I 've got a green mossy smell very citrussy. after 10 minutes I can smell flowers and nature (green) and a scent that you get just after the rain an almost petrichor-kind of scent. The flowers remain and the petrichor is leaning backward but comes and goes the following hours, never really leaving. It becomes more balmy because of the cedar/vetiver. A very fresh and refined perfume that stays, for the following 12 hours, close to the skin.

The version I currently own is a parfum from the 1991 reformulation, in the bottle with the green swoopy shaped top.

It starts out sour citrus with fresh cut grass, then dries down to a soft green floral. Very pleasant, good for a warm day. I can wear it anywhere. I consider it an upgrade from a basic daily wear fragrance that's pleasant but not too strong or intense.

Somehow, although a bit austere, Vent Vert smells happy in a fullfilled and satisfied way.

On another note, pease bear with me as I share the vision that came to me today. I was having my 6 o' clock morning coffee and I was sniffing the remains of Vent Vert that I has sprayed the night before, and an image suddenly came to my mind of what Vent Vert smells like to me:

A woman in the 50's decade, wearing a red and white polka dot dress, doing the housework and dancing at the same time, all windows open, the sun streaming in, the smell of the trees and blossoms coming into the house.

If you made it thus far, thank you, and I hope you don't think I have gone bonkers!

Vintage Vent Vert was absolutely lovely, an experience that made me love green floral perfumes, which unhappily are not fashionable right now. It was a very well balanced mix of green, citrus (specially lime and lemon), woods (sandalwood, cedar, oakmoss, vetiver though the last two are also green), flowery (hyacinth, LOTV, freesia) and spicy notes with great sillage and longevity. For a perfume which has the same vibe (but is not a dupe) try Surreal Garden, which also reminds me of Calèche.

Fragrance Review For Vent Vert By Pierre Balmain

Top notes: Lime, Orange blossom, Green notes, Asafoetida, Peach, basil, lemon, bergamot and neroli

Middle notes: Violet, Freesia, jasmine, hiacynth, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, rose, galbanum, marigold spicy notes

Base notes: Iris, Sandalwood, amber, musk, oakmoss, sage, vetiver, styrax cedar.

Vent Vert or Green Wind is a spring breeze sweeping through a meadow. This fragrance welcomes the spring with it's fruity-floral-greenery. This is classified as a chypre and the old formula certainly was a traditional chypre with aromatic touches of spice, vetiver, and tons of oak moss and sandalwood. The new formula is not bad but it is allowing the fruits and flower more time to wear on your skin. At the first spritz of Vent Vert I could detect the citrus notes of lemon and lime. Already very green as well with basil and neroli. There is also asafetida and galbanum classic chypre ingredients I have enjoyed many times in fragrances like Lancôme's Magie Noire and most prominently featured in Balmain's Ivoire de Balmain. In fact I would say that Vent Vert is very much in the same family as Ivoire de Balmain, both are superb green earthy sweet chypres. The floral notes in Vent Vert are heady with hyacinth. I detected that hyacinth right away. Then my nose could smell the lily of the valley which was the perfect touch since it's already such a green-and-white flower. The dry down is woodsy with oak moss. Beautiful. Simply enchanting. This fragrance also makes great air freshner for your home. This fragrance always refreshes you, always comforts you and always reminds you that spring is to be enjoyed, savored, smelled and experienced with pleasure.

I love this perfume,.it is perfect for summer, it is fresh and the green is not lemony,but incredible grenish i ever smelled

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
Robert Frost.

The harsh bitter verdancy of galbanum with cool citrus being a crisp spring breeze brings forward scents of early flowers and past winter's decay. No other perfume can depict spring as best as Vert Vent. It is breathtaking.
Pre-1991 parfum in rectangular bottle with black cap.

Fellow Fragranticans, caveat emptor! If you come across the website 'BelowX', which claims to sell the 1991 reformulation in 3.4 oz size as pictured above, be advised that they will ship you the squat, 2.5 oz cube-shaped bottle containing the watered-down weed-juice that bears no resemblance whatever to the fragrance we know and love. Furthermore, attempting to contact them to complain is a lesson in futility (I've tried). So save yourselves the hassle and heartache ...

I confess that green perfumes are not really my thing, but Vent Vert Pierre Balmain makes me think differently about it, since its green aroma born in the aldehydes evolve in sublime form when in contact with skin, it is noteworthy that the version which I write is the 1990, however, before he died pretend to know the original version of 1947 as yet do not know, but I will know it, yes! Some consider it a mess for excess notes charging, but this is an intrinsic feature of the house Pierre Balmain, at least to my nostrils, all fragrances House behave in a way that they were constantly changing, it's like was an identity of Maison; I like that! He was released the same year in which Cabotine comes to perfumístico market, I'm biased, of the 90's decade where the perfume has an extensive olfactory pyramid and once thinking in the final product of creation, it was the central goal of perfumery houses only. intense aldehydes are unveiled in its output with lemon juice, peach pieces and fresh basil leaves, I can not feel anything beyond that, and only that already makes a significant intensity lapada logo on its output. It grows and evolves into a floral thriving with a positive point for the appearance of Roses and Violets associated with a thin spicy spice, giving it a temperate considered leaving it a little more seriously and also still green. In its base notes Iris gives the touch of ancient delicious makeup, vetiver lets shareable, the Amber gives a warm and Musk imposes an odd sensuous silkiness also feel something that makes more rustic, manly through this stage and the burning of wood Cedro idem. It is a green perfume, difficult floralzão to be deciphered accurately by too much information you have and the house that produces not contribute much to this also, but worth it for those who want a different scent to call my spring/summer!

Word of the day: fresh... (day 81)

Hmmm. VERY old fashioned, powdery, clean
and deceptively NOT REALLY green! Smells
summer... strawberries and farmer's markets.
Gingham and straw clutches. Straw hats and
lemonade. White Eyelet. You get the idea one
hopes. If not then ivory strappy sandals and a
pair of capris. New haircut and a pot of orchids.
And you live in France. It's actually a profound
seriousness found at the heart of the playfulness
encased therein. The polka dots, neon green &
promises of grass-field filled (no pun intended!)
dreams, in the end comes to deliver a nostalgic,
multi dimensional powdery olfactory orchestra w/
notes hitting you upside the head with full bodied
voluptuousness & depth. Not a "happy" perfume
even though overtly cheerful. Euphoric longings
is the result of her somber heart and melancholic
undertones. Impressed! but I feel piney. ...Peace...

Not as green as I thought it would be (I think my bottle is pre-1991), but certainly floral (though still possibly in unisex territory, IMO). It's quite dry, almost hay-like, with a cross between the animalic (probably from the jasmine) and the earthy. It reminds me somewhat of M. de Morabito (a "masculine)!

UPDATE: After about two hours it went into a slightly powdery/green direction, with a slightly floral musk, including a kind of "clean smoke" quality to it.

I was lucky enough to find a pre-1991 original, good condition bottle. Wow. Sour, bitter green. tangy with galbanum and oakmoss, giving way to floral notes and a lovely powdery drydown with real lasting power.

Scents of this depth and evolution are rare today thanks to the IFRA ban on oakmoss. It's an acquired taste, but once acquired, one is hooked. Sadly this may be the only bottle I ever find of this age, I have the middle version which is nice enough (post 1991) but lacks the depth; and I won't bother with the new version, it would only suffer by comparison.
- Lovely. Like the original Opium, find a vintage one x

I bought this based on everybody's reviews - particularly the promise of the scent of newly-mown grass. Growing up, mowing was my brother's chore, and I would sprawl in his wake making fun of him. The smell reminds me of being giddy and naughty, and it is as familiar a scent to me as the smell of my unshowered husband (mmmm, gamey!). The green in this perfume, to my nose, is as un-fresh-grassy as can be. The dominant green note that I smell actually reminds me a bit of silage (not siLLage, which many seem to spell as siLage - siLage is actually a common animal feed made from fermented grass), which has a seriously unpleasant, but decidedly green, odor. If someone were so batty as to mix a 50/50 blend of silage and the powder my grandmother used to use, that would be exactly what I smell. It's the type of thing that I smell a LOT in my work with the elderly. Underneath the sharp, fermented, powdery, brazen blast, I do detect something that hints at a lovely, playful lightness. I'm frustrated that it is so overwhelmed by unpleasantness that I can't even put my finger on what it is. Did I get a bad/old bottle? Possibly. Not a good body chemistry match? Probably. But I can tell you that what I am currently smelling on my arm is, in a word, icky.

Wearing the vintage. Green is an understatement. It is different from every other perfume I have ever smelled. It opens smelling like salad and grass clippings- maybe even a salad OF grass clippings, right down to a hint of balsamic vinaigrette. Then it begins to smell strangely of a doctor's or dentist's office. Is that galbanum? It's not bad, but very, very different. It would 100% never be marketed as a feminine scent today. It would probably be marketed as a unisex niche scent from Demeter or something. Except it is a lot more photo-realistic of green things than most of those types of perfume lines ever do. Upon smelling it, I immediately recognized the smell, even though I can't place it. It's so interesting, and I mean that not as a euphemism, but as a sincere compliment. Every Germaine Cellier fragrance I smell is so different from the last one I smelled, and I love how bold they all are. What a genius.

It reeks of daytime, springtime. Yet I can picture a summer evening at a European resort on the coast, with a stiff breeze off the ocean chilling a woman who was not dressed for it, but who remains because she needed to come out to the water's edge to think. Germaine Cellier was a conjurer. I have to say I love it. I can't admire something this strongly and not call it love. I could go on, and I may later, as the scent unfolds.

I have had this on my want list soo long that I think it still came in the "lettuce" on top bottle which has since been re-bottled into a classier looking, but not as fun, flanker. This is a lovely fresh fragrance that is VERY similar to A Scent by Issey Miyake. A Scent though is more floral where this one is more herbal. The difference is minor but in my opinion it is still worth owning both. For me, the house of Balmain can do no wrong and this is no exception. This is age appropriate for all....fresh, classy and non-offensive.

The best reformulation I'd tried so far. First of all, the bouquet: reach, sophisticated and very elegant. The perfume has this nice touch of the "old school" without turning "old lady" kind of scent. It is modern enough to be worn nowadays, but elegant enough to be categorized as vintage. The very first whiff is pretty strong, but after 20-30 minutes the scent develops into something warm and aromatic, still having a little sharpness of green notes. I do recognize floral notes, but they are not playing "first violin" in this orchestra. 2 hours later - no sharpness, the scent turns to be intimate, balsamic with a hint of flowers.
The price of this perfume is very reasonable, while its quality is much higher than most of the modern bestsellers.
My rank: 8 of 10.

My review is for the Vintage pure perfume in the square little bottle.
I can't get my head around this. It is sophisticated and green, like grassy air after the rain and still not grassy at all. I have no idea what I am sensing. And it is also heavy and serious with the vetiver and galbanum. On me there are no flowers to be seen or smelled, just the greens. No sweetness och fruitiness, no watery freshness. If green has a smell then vent Vert must be it.

Hello,
I fell in love with the Vent Very in the tall bottle with the green leaf cap and the little polka dotted bow. I was so disappointed to see that the bottle had changed, as well as the price (more $$ for less fragrance) and I'm also concerned that the actual formulation has changed. Has anyone tried the fragrance in the new bottle, and do you think it's the same as what was sold in the previous bottle? Thanks for your help!

I've tried, but I can't take the reformulations - either of them.
I fell in love with the original when I was very young, and I love that version the best, when I can get hold of a well-preserved flacon.
Nothing hits the spot like the real thing <3

Very complex and classic green floral, just got a mini bottle from ebay. It does resemble Rocher's Desir de Nature, maybe just a bit less sweet. Its pretty and interesting and has good longevity - really like it!

Opens with a really powerful 'GREEN' burst.

If Green could have a smell, this would be it. Green-Crisp-Light-Country Fresh

Then slowly shifts into a nice floral haze

and ends in a delicious, clean, almost soapy 'just out of the bath tub' sort of feeling.

Perfect for one of those 'summery-i-need-to-feel-clean' sort of days.

If happiness could be bottled, it would smell like Balmain's Vert Vent! The effervescent opening of lemon verbena and lime develop into freesia and marigold blossoms. The drydown notes of cedar and freshly cut hay are lush and comforting. A fresh, complex "green" potion that is uplifting. The packaging is absolutely gorgeous--the icing on the cake! Vert Vent reminds me of a lighter, more citrusy cousin of Ralph Lauren's Safari.

Fresh green scent, quite pleasant - I can guarantee you that because I'm usually not keen on green scents. I mean, this scent is good enough to be a lucky exception.
At first it is intense like a green garden after a shower, but after a while it settles down to very nice, refreshing scent. I think it could be great in heat.
Green fragrances' lovers, you must try this one!

I have a small sample of vintage Vent Vert. It is a heartbreaker as the tiny decant won't last and the scent also doesn't last on my skin. This is green in the best way, sexy and sophisticated. I'll be very happy when I find something similar with longevity.

I wasn't crazy about this in the warm humid weather, but now that fall is here and it is dry out, I'm loving it.

During the summer, it didn't seem fresh, it was overwhelming to me in the way it spread out, but now it is just delicious and lingers perfectly. Each new waft of scent is a pleasant surprise.

After an hour this reminds me so much of Chanel Pour Monsieur (and the Concentree version), but a little sweeter. It seems quite strong, so I wouldn't do more than two sprays.

If you're looking for Pour Monsieur EDP, look no further.

This is the greenest perfume I've ever tried and I mean that in the best way. I wanted the smell of a grassy knoll in a spring wind and I got it. It's sharp, bitter, acidic, resinous. At first I thought it was too linear, but keep sampling until a neroli-cedar-sage base presented, which added an interesting and welcome sensual dimension to the piercing green. Will keep trying to see if I can detect more flowers. So far, only the barest hint of hyacinth which gets lost among the essence of grasses, mosses, and stems.

I love the bottle, a crystal cube that displays lime colored juice topped with a hammered silver knob and a green polka dot grosgrain ribbon.

It has new beautiful bottle, please change the picture. :)

A review for both the present day version of Vent Vert (as of 2014) and the 1990 Calice Becker reformulation of the original 1947 vintage:

I simultaneously bought both versions for a comparison, becoming recently enamored of vintage perfumes. The modern Vent Vert is completely incongruous to its name. It is no more of a green breeze than an old bag of potpourri. It is relentlessly floral, cheery, bland, overly sweet to my taste, and wouldn't you know, it has sillage and longevity for miles. Any initial green notes are at the very beginning and last for about 30 seconds. It's obvious Balmain continues to call this fragrance Vent Vert as mere name recognition marketing strategy. A real shame. I guess cheap floral aromachemicals are just too easy to use in perfume in these days of perfume quality downgrades.

The 1990 vintage reformulation still has a really pretty green element to it. It does drift off into floraldom after about half an hour, but the initial burst of it is really nice, and it's something I enjoy wearing. Better than a lot of the modern day dreck out there. I did get a teeny sample of what might have been an original 1947 EDT version of this, but it faded so quickly on me. Tried to buy the actual perfume, but the vintage seller ran out of it before my purchase went through during a sale (or so they said!) One day it would be my dream to own a vintage bottle of the original perfume, sour and spicy and bitter, like biting into a fresh lime. I'll keep looking...sigh.

A crystal clear scent, month May, or maybe even April, indeed a green wind, but not to be expecting anything straightforward. This perfume has it all, flowers and base, and the initial harshness transforms into the well-blended close to skin scent, which, I am sure, will be spreading around in whiffs as I walk around...Nostalgic and almost too fragile. I have a small mini EDT from the collection Les Meileleurs de Paris.

Some weeks ago I visited a little store which had plenty of perfumes from the past. They were gems unruined by the IFRA and among the others I bought a very vintage and perfectly preserved Vent Vert.
Germaine Cellier is a perfumer whose talent has no equal in the perfume world. Far from being a monument like Jacques Guerlain or Edmond Roudnitska, she shares the same genius of both without enjoying the same status. If you look at her - certainly not many - creations you can see how her talent is multifaceted. Take Bandit and Fracas, at the opposite poles one from the other.
Take Vent Vert, opening green and closing another hue that I would define dark saturated pink.
Vent Vert opens taking you in a meadow full of grass, some cut, some full of those fantastic "herbes folles" as the French say, whose smell is a voyage in my childhood when I used to live in a happy countryside.
Little by little you are transported to a town where the smell of grass is mixed with friendship, love, human warmth symbolized by the flowers that take the scene after the green.
Here you are in the yellow phase.
Then you are taken to someplace which is the city of your maturity, your work, your stable relationships, husband, sons, long life friends who have travelled all the way with you.
And here you are in the final, deep pink phase, when your life is accomplished with every success, goals achieved, duties done.
And Vent Vert has developed with you, step after step.
More than a scent for me Vent Vert is a metaphor of life.
A masterpiece.

I sampled the 1947 version.
The opening was grassy and slightly bitter. Jasmine and rose, those are what I could smell! How WONDERFUL!

It didn't last long on my skin and the sillage was moderate. Maybe it was because I didn't apply enough dosage. That being said, when you come across a gem like this every drop is precious.

It is a green escape for city prisoners, the rain of spring that brings life and smile.
This scent made Earth the most friendly place in universe.

Does anyone know more fragrances with that same harsh, bitter and bold green except for Chanel 19? Not 'just' green perfumes, but the bold and harsh ones. Please let me know by giving me some names. Thank you sooo much!

Edit: the best harsh green EVER. Almost addictive to me.

The greenest, most citrus and happy and fresh of greens out there. I got this for my mum for a Mother's Day present 20 years ago. I'm surprised to see it defined as green- woody as for me there were no resins or woods or anything in it to ground or chain it, hence the perfectly suited name for it, green wind, weightless and free.

The greenest, most citrus and happy and fresh of greens out there. I got this for my mum for a Mother's Day present 20 years ago. I'm surprised to see it defined as green- woody as for me there were no resins or woods or anything in it to ground or chain it, hence the perfectly suited name for it, green wind, weightless and free.

Too good to waste....This is a big green forest with little woody and powdery tunes on the background. The green is harsh, bitter, bold and frank. The rest of the ingredients delicate and refined.

I LOVE this timeless creation even though it's not the Vintage version from 1947. I never sniffed the vintage bottle unfortunately (shame on me, I know guys) , but I hear and read that that's the BOMB. Despite of that, I am happy with this reformulated version from 1991, see photo above, by Calice Becker (by the way, there was a second reformulation in 1999 that seems to be bad stuff comparing to the former ones). It was love on first sniff for me. Thanks to the strong and bold galbanum surrounded by lots of green and flowers. Ofcourse I am very curious about the vintage version, but a bottle from e-bay is much too expensive for me.

The bottle I got with polka-dot bow says this:

Topnotes- Lemon, Bergamot, Neroli
Middle notes- Galbanum, Ylang Ylang, Hyacinth, Lilly of the Valley
Base notes- Sandalwood, Ceder, Iris

Does anyone know more fragrances with that same harsh, bitter and bold green in it (except for Chanel 19)? Not 'just' green perfumes, but the in-your-face ones. Mostly with galbanum and oakmoss in it. Please let me know by giving me some names. Thank you sooo much.

After my first spray of Vent Vert I didn't want to waste another drop, that's how quickly I fell for this green beauty.

As NebrascaLovesScent put it, Vent Vert is 'an olfactory experience in a bottle'. I find it interesting that a perfume with quite a substantial list of notes seems to produce a feeling of lightness.

This soothing green (did I mention green?) floral has a pleasant bitterness and a slight powderiness which strikes a balance between boldness and gentleness.

I'm not going to claim I can pick out all the notes, but one that interests me is asafoetida, a key note in Dior Poison Tendre. A dear friend of mine makes the best Spanikopita and (don't tell anyone) but her secret ingredient is asafoetida. Smelt on it's own it is extremely forceful, but here it works with the galbanum to accentuate the floral notes.

Serene, charming and unruffled. A timeless classic. The first fragrance I've encountered in it's reformulated life that makes me curious to smell the original.

Thanks Anywho for the opportunity to try this green gem. I'll wear this through the summer but I look forward to trying this in the spring.

Vie Cafe said it well!

I also saw and sampled the New Vent Vert, available in a truly lovely bottle befitting a retro glamour queen. Normally I don't get excited over bottles, but this hefty beauty is a stunner. Without the bow, she could just as easily be a men's bottle - but only for the most exclusive and well designed men's fragrance.

As for the juice itself, it is considerably sweeter and gentler than many a green powerhouse - including my favorite, Silences. I found the sillage to be light but the longevity to be reasonably good ~ around 5 hours. Anyone easily intimidated by cold greens need not fear. Once the initial green burst dies down, you are left with the fresh, sweet air of spring!

I do not currently "need" another green floral to add to my burgeoning collection, and so passed by a 40 dollar bargain at Marshalls..... Something I'm telling myself was a noble sacrifice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just got a new reformulated EDT, beautiful bottle, much better version. Perfume is really green floral and light, classy, so far it stays on pretty good.

This was first ever perfume I had. I brought it home all the way from Paris. And I used up all small bottle and never had it again as it was not sold in Russia at that time or was hard to find. I still can remember it so well. Wonderful youthful scent.

I've been trying one of the newer formulations of vert vert off and on this summer. It is one of the bottles with the wavy green plastic top. My love of green scents goes way back to the mid 60's. I know and love this fragrance in the Germaine Cellier version but was interested to try the Calice Becker one.

The opening of this newer scent while loud and somewhat harsh is also very intriguing. Fortunately the harshness disappears quickly and the lovely green begins to reveal beautiful floral notes. I personally experience more florals and less citrus with this Vert Vert than I do with most of the other green scents that have been mentioned in these reviews.

Further along I begin to notice that underlying unpleasantness that others have alluded to. It smells like rotted vegetables to me, but I know that it is the Asafoetida reacting with the other emerging notes. It does create a smell as others have mentioned similar to old water in a flower vase. Many of the green fragrances that I love do contain Asafoetica but for some reason in this composition, the other notes seem to enhance it's properties. This herb is famous for it's stink and in this formula, my skin amplifies it's presence. This character ruins the fragrance for me.

Aside from that, my skin just eats this scent. Each time that I've worn it,I've had to reapply it in less than an hour in order to get any kind of a presence from it. I've had to use so much of it that it begins to irritate my skin. Even with using copious quantities of the juice, the scent barely lasts 2 to 3 hours on me. Oddly,I've had similar experiences with 3 other fragrances composed by Calice Becker.

With almost all of the older scents having to either be reformulated or discontinued now,I see no point in bashing all of the reformulations. Some of them are improvements over the older scents. However, I will savor and cherish my old prescious Cellier Vert Vert even more. Who knows, I may even find a good buy on another old one!

Response to post below - it's definitely helpful if a classic or much loved perfume has been reformulated. You can buy them on Ebay, Amazon and Surrender to Chance.com

is it me or is doing a review of a vintage version of a perfume is some what a waste of time as 99.9% of the time its only available at flea markets so why describe a vintage version which is not around anymore to me this helps no-one who is considering buying the newer formulation. rant over hope i am not the only one with this opinion x

Lovely floral green. Bold, sharp, bitter, spicey, fresh, flowery. Special, not common. For self-conscious women. Spring-like but mature. Sunny and windy, with substance. But overall green. Not velvet green, but prickly green. Even brutal green. I love this perfume. It's daring outdoors, it nevers steps aside of anything, it goes straight forward with her strong mossy depths, but always in a feminine and classy way.

Vintage Vent Vert by Balmain is as close to iconoclastic feminism as fragrance gets.

On its release this searing, adventurous and uncompromising scent must have cut a swathe through not only smoked filled rooms but preconceptions of what a woman should smell like.

It is a bracing bolt from the green.

An amorphous, abstract yet geometric gesture in shamrock.

To describe and dissect the principle notes or accord seems almost pointlessly reductive.

It contains grasses, nettles, citrus leaf and moss but is not solely defined by any of them.

Beyond this there is fruity acidity set off by softer florals that appear and then disappear repeatedly in the heart.

Like the summer wind the name suggests.

Chief amongst these floral elements is a hyacinth that retains a degree of hauter, the slight detachment of that note smudged by a friendlier lighter muguet.

The base is another convergence of not only notes but tone, galbanum against amber, sandalwood and cedar, oakmoss and herbaceous border.

The effect is entrancing yet at the same time a little alarming.

Indeed, this is not a perfume with which the word comfortable can easily be associated.

It is too urgent, too agitated, has a point to make even to the point of a certain cold aggression.

I can’t help but adore it for its restless boundary-testing taut beauty.

If Vent Vert were a painting it would be a cubist Picasso from his lost green period.

************

This is a concise version of the review, to read my full thoughts check out my blog theperfumeddandy.com

During my quest for a “green” floral appropriate for spring/summer weather, I sniffed several reputable fragrances with the intention of finally finding the perfect balance of refreshment and sophistication. One of the fragrances, Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte, was quite disappointing and left behind only a trace of white-floral fart after the citrus quickly dissipated. (The original Cristalle is quite lovely, however it transforms into an unpleasant mess on my skin. I love No. 19, but I feel it is too formal for every day wear.) So, there was nothing left to do except sample, sample, sample. After quite a bit of huffing and tossing, I finally stumbled across Vent Vert. Is it good? Yes. Does it end my quest? No, but sniffing Vent Vert was eye-opening because I realized that this is what Cristalle Eau Verte is supposed to smell like. At least that’s how it goes down in my noggin. The note quality could improve a little; things move into soap and shampoo territory and call me crazy, but wearing Vent Vert is a little like washing the dishes while wearing a chastity belt. Although Vent Vert is a decent green floral with a very reasonable price point, I’m not interested in owning a bottle. My search continues…

3.5/5 A large dose of green in exchange for a little green. I really need to think of better tag lines.

Invigorating and long lasting (6-8 hours on me) with moderate sillage. Vent Vert is perfect for those hot summer days when you feel that you need to take several showers to preserve your freshness. Today I spritzed some on after bathing, and it is now 4 hours later and still the fragrance leaves me feeling fresh and the heady, green scent is quite discernible (in a good way). Had several compliments on it as well(: One compliment was from a master gardener who is on intimate terms with good fragrance! My signature summer EdP and a great traveler !! What could be better when you're far from home and out among strangers than to feel clean and crisp all day.

I agree with Dezaval. Vent Vert is a real green, with strong note of lime and lemon. Personally I love Lemon, lime and grapefruit in fragrances. I find it very refreshing, energizing and to be fresh all day especially in hot days at work. The name is so appropriate. I feel as to be refreshed by a vent vert.

This is the review that finally reveals me to be a perfume plebian. Having lamented the demise of many magnificent perfumes as a result of reformulation I happened upon Vent Vert, shining in it's newness, bold in it's updated version.

It starts out very green but with a bite from the asafoetida. This blinding beginning soon fades out to something I was not expecting at all......jasmine with oakmoss, each taking turns with their solo. This smell-off lasts for hours as the volume dial is very slowly turned down to zero.

Interesting..............veeeeeeery interesting.

I'll take it and if this is considered a blasphemy in the name of what went before, I'll take that too if I ever find it.

Vent Vert starts so soft and gentle, but there's still somewhere hidden it's strength. So comfortable and lightweight to wear, but you could easily overdo. Very delicate and feminine to me.
Really green in a sexy way, as Action noticed.

This fragrance came out before 1991.
Facts need to be checked and corrections made.

The original Vent Vert was created in 1947 by Germaine Celier !

I was anxious to try this as an alternative green. My favorites are Chanel 19 and Private Collection. The micro mini was packaged in the old style bottle, but being a micro it can't be that old. In the bottle, I smell Estee. The original from 1968. In fact, they were so similar, I tried one on each arm. Big mistake. The Estee overpowered. Tried again, only Vent. The initial blast reminded me of Gap Grass, which I also love. That exited quite quickly and after that it was so similar to Chanel 19 why bother?

The next day there was a delicious tease of something wonderful, but the first two stages are so similar to other perfumes.

Very lovely though.

I just tried out the vintage version and for about ten minutes it was very green and fresh, like fresh cut grass in the wind. Then it turned into rose, rose, hiacynth, and more rose. It is sort of a mossy powdery fresh rose smell. This is such a beautiful perfume! A definite must try for "fresh" perfume lovers.

The current reformulation has nothing to do with the original "Vent Vert". It's a shame even keeping the name.

Wow, I got a sample decant and all I got was GIORGIO after the first 5 minutes! That seems nothing like the notes and reviews, and I so wanted it to be green. Does anyone else smell that 1980's bomb with this perfume, or did I maybe get an off sample??

A green, with lemon and lime notes perfume. Cooling and fresh. Recomended mostly for spring days. Great for work as it's refreshing and energizing.

This review is for a sample of a vintage Vent Vert...WOW
Although the beginning notes are sort of 'meh', could well be cause this is a vintage sample, as soon as they settle the scent becomes amazing. It's kinda a warm green scent if that makes sense, it lasts really well on me and all this time I keep thinking 'I have sniffed this before' but don't know where...but I want to keep sniffing my wrist ALL the time. Then it dawns on me...it smells like a croos between Chanel no19 and Carven MaGriffe. Both of the scents I love and own...hhmmmm....
So I guess I should not be purchasing a full bottle of this beauty but only because I already own some very very similar.

I found the original lotion in an outlet perfume shop
in Ontario, CA some years ago. I also have the one above. I know that the fragrance above does not compare AT all with the bodylotion. The lotion is fierce, heavy and Green! You can really smell the basil note, which stands out, herbal. Wondered if the orignal had the same intensity of the as this bodylotion I found, if it did, Wow!

I saw a picture in magazines with green grass and green bottle. Recently I saw a little bottle at flea market for a few dollars. I bouhgt it, seems it is original. I sprayed a bit: dusty, but fresh lemony, green and something, that they don't produce anymore, and exist it old perfumes. It is definitely remind me of my childhood, and Climat perfume.I like it!

I have the current reform and I've got to say, it's headache inducing.

I liked it in the perfume store, the fresh green-ness of it with the grass, flower stems and leaves seemed perfect for hot summer days. I bought a mini and brought it home.

But then something happened when applied to my skin...it was "green" and fresh for about 5 minutes but then overwhelming lily of the valley and the lighter-fluid rose of True Love rushed in and my migraine began. I couldn't endure to the drydown as was actually making me sick to my stomach. Never happened before.

I only spent $8 but I'm still so dissappointed as I could have spent that on something decent.

Green Wind? More like green faced...blech.

has been created and launched in 40's in Cannes, not in 90's.

Very nice, fresh, crispy, yet femminine smell. It starts green sharp, but settles into a woody floral refined fragrance. Nice sillage, but not great staying power. After one hour you can feel it but it is rather a close to skin smell. Well, this is not so bad for hot days..
I have the reformulated one and I can imagine how great the original was, when galbanum was at its best.
It is a nice fresher alternative for Summer, if you love Chanel 19 edt. For me, was a blind buy that I did not regret it!

I was gifted a decant of this and am not sure whether it is the original formula or the reformulated current version. The liquid is rather yellowish and not the pale bright green I see in pictures of the new bottles.

The opening notes from my decant are a bracing and very green citrusy herbal concoction with a bitter component, like water from a vase of flowers cut days ago. All things green come to mind when I inhale that first blast.

The heart introduces a melange of dried florals against the backdrop of greenness, and cut grass suddenly becomes detectable.

The base of the fragrance becomes drier, with vetiver, oakmoss and sage being the most prominent on my skin, and while it has retained its slightly bitter edge to the end, the base is so dry (and maybe a bit powdery in a way) that it feels fresh and unoppressive. It also stays very close to the skin at this final stage.

While it's categorized as a floral-green, it wears like a floral-chypre on me, and it's an excellent scent for days when I need to be pulled out of a funk!

I dearly miss Estee Lauder's original "Private Collection", a green fragrance that was nuanced, green and rich, with excellent sillage and staying power. The reformulated PC is not the same. And, apparently, neither is the reformulated 'Vent Vert'. The top notes hit me like a shapeless and noxiously heavy fog. Definitely not green, just a catastrophe. After four or five hours the styrax and iris become sweet and fresh on my skin. But not worth hours of torture to get there. 'Jardins Sur le Nil' is my favored 'green' scent now. Oh, and for those of you who love a fresh green, I recommend Caron's 'Violettes Precieux'.

I just recieved a boxed mini of this from Ebay.
According to the esteemed Luca Turin, 'Vent Vert is dead' as it's been reformulated or something.
I don't know if this is a vintage - maybe 80s?, or if I'm just a pleb haha, but this is LOVELY, it's like green sherbet if there could be such a thing!
At first it's 'ahh, mossy!' and then it just becomes this lovely green fizz.
My new green of choice I think, now to go look for some decent big bottles..

Hidden away from the mainstream market, Balmain introduced the first real green gem to the perfume world. Basil and green notes beconed us to the forest meadow to find a lavish bouquet of florals. It would set the stage for many to follow.

Its interesting to note that this was the first female nose within the industry. I always found this peculiar, as ladies sense of smell is more developed than men. One may say that Vent Vert is the first feminist fragrance. Its like "getting back to the garden".

The current edition on the market foils the original intent of green and turns it more "Vent Plastique". So sad...

Celebrity=Judy Garland

It's something like Ma Griffe, but with a twist.

So I am doing my obligatory one-mile walk in the morning, heading straight for our large municipal park. Crushed leaves, freshly mowed grass beginning to dry in the sun, all these natural aromas waving at this walker on this early morning in May.

I had dabbed Vent Vert on my upper arms and kept sniffing and comparing (people must have thought she's crazy) and if anything like this morning's nature can be kept in a bottle, this is it.

Vent Vert does not have much projection, but it sure smells good, close to the skin.

i understand that vent vert was reformulated some years ago - it was my first scent when i was a teen, far too long ago for me even to think about, so i had the original which came in a prim little bottle that did not have the whoops-it's-windy top. my mother had accepted the contraband while guest of the captain of an ocean-going freighter. (all the crew used to bring over all sorts of forbidden pleasures, largely perfume but also cigars and such). i was the only one in school, in my city, in my province - in the entire country, for all i know - who had this we-just-had-a-shower-and-now-the-sun's-coming-out scent - which also carried a little thrill of a warning that one might step into something unpleasant if one kept one's nose too far up in the air.

went from there to ivoire by way of (two weeks of) charlie and coriander, but only when i was not wearing bal a versailles.


(c)2011 bluemlein

I fell for VENT VERT from the first moment I inhaled this incredible and gorgeous green spring scent. This is one of the best green scents I’ve ever tried. It smells just like a spring day after the rain. The scent captures the abundance of greenery, raindrops on a grass and fresh spring air. I am wearing it today on such a spring day and it is in complete harmony with the nature around me. It smells so natural but it is also complex and interesting. Unbelievable experience!

The opening is green but not sharp or harsh. It is so harmonious that it is hard to discern the notes. I think I smell a bit of lime, a bit of herbs and orange blossom. I also thought that I smell galbanum but it is not listed, so perhaps it is asafoetida that adds this earthy touch. The symphony of spring continues with the gentle floral heart notes. They are still green but not sharp at all. I catch whiffs of lily of the valley, freesia and later on violets. The scent continues to be in a perfect harmony. The notes are so flawlessly weaved together that I cannot really say which one takes a lead but together they create this beautiful light and refreshing floral scent. The dry down is also a bit green. I mostly smell vetiver and sandalwood.

This scent is beautiful from the beginning till the end. In my humble opinion it is a masterpiece among green scents and an absolute delight to wear. I am sure it could be worn anytime of the year but I think its true magic comes alive when it is worn in spring. Definitely recommend.

(Vintage review)
The opening of Vent Vert made me want to convert to catholicism, for no other reason than to use the phrase, "Oh blessed Virgin Mary!" Wow, what a perfectly pure opening!!!

But I'm glad I held onto my Protestant hymnal, because the middle act needs to go straight to confessional. Really now, what happened?

This is just dusty on me. Not attic dusty, but 'bachelor pad' dusty. Blech. The citrus carries through from the opening, but becomes raspy, dry and dirty. I don't get earthy florals at all. And for heaven's sake, there is hyacinth, ylang-ylang and violet here; these are my favorite florals!!!

In short, I'm scratching my head over this one. There is not a single note above that I don't like. I really don't know how this fell out of grace.

A member of the Vent Vert Family is Romeo by Romeo Gigli. And then I mean the original as well as the Eau Fraiche version!

The bottle, that I have, looks totally different... more like the old "Jolie Madame" and round...like a "tube"...?

VV Platinum Roberto Verino for women should be tested by the Balmain Vent Vert lovers!

To my nose it is a Vent Vert (even verter than Vent Vert) without the flowery powdery herbacious bits of the "before" reformulation (real) Balmain Vent Vert.

Some scents call themselves green , but this one is really green . It smells like freshly cut flowers and grass , very fresh , so 80's and quite sporty.

Vent Vert reminds me of a puppy rolling on a fresh grass, bound to burst with excitement because of spring and lots of new great smells in the air. Floral greens are not my cup of tea, but I can adore them platonically and that's what happened between me and Vent Vert.

Well, it's official, I am regrettably not a Balmain-ista. EXCEPT for the exquisite Pierre Balmain de Balmain, none of the other Balmain scents I've tried have made me jump up and down (Ambre Gris, Balmya, Eau d'Ete, Eau d'Ivoire, and now Vent Vert).

As for how it smells and wears, I couldn't agree more with Thalia's review below.

While I can appreciate Vent Vert, I just don't want to wear it.

I'm only familiar with the Calice Becker version with the grass on the top, so that's what I'm reviewing. It's so lusciously, fiercely green! Vent Vert opens with a big green slap in the face -- crisp, chilly, and fresh. It's like you've just walked across a green meadow after a chilly rain and the crushed stems of the mixed plants have stained your clothes and hands.

As it develops it quickly settles down, stops slapping you, and sweetens somewhat, but remains cool green and sparkling. At this stage, it smells like some kind of tart green hard candy. The drydown is woody, inviting and yes, still green.

It's not a hard, harsh green like the current Chanel No. 19. It's not terribly grassy to me, either, with that prickly hay smell, nor is it herbal. It's the Platonic ideal of fresh sappy greenness -- utterly refreshing and full of effervescence. I don't ALWAYS want to smell green -- but if I did, this would be my signature scent!

I smell something about Kobako- Bourjois (1936) in Vent Vert... maybe some reminiscent of.

O Pierre Balmain, how do I love thy fragrances? Let me count the ways: BALMAIN, BALMAN, JOLIE MADAME, MISS BALMAIN, IVOIRE, EAU D'IVOIRE, BALMYA, LA MOME, EAU D'AMAZONIE, the list keeps lengthening and today I am happy to add:

VENT VERT is a burst of green freshness with a family resemblance to Carven MA GRIFFE. Equally funky, but in its own distinctive way, VENT VERT offers a cleaner grass smell in the drydown, which I find utterly wonderful. In fact, as much as I appreciate MA GRIFFE, I have to say that, based on a side-by-side comparison conducted only today, I like VENT VERT even more! Very fresh and squeaky clean but not at all aquatic--instead, it's totally green, literally a kelly green gale! VENT VERT is similar to the Body Shop's now-discontinued BE LEAF, but with more depth and complexity, especially in the opening.

A great summertime scent!

We do not mentoin this one quite often, when we are talking GREEN and Sexy, but actually it is just that!!
:-)

Vent Vert has some weird start, but as soon as you can wait pass it, the dry down is to die for.

Ok, about the scent, it starts really sharp, green, and I can't detect anything sweet at all. It reminds me a lot of Chanel No 19.

Soon the sweetness comes to shine. It's the kind of really natural meadow sweetness. It feels like a veil, and reminiscents Anais Anais in the white-chiffon-dress way. At this point, I've got the Marc Jacobs Daisy ad pictures stuck in my head, and I think the Daisy photos will be a great representation of what the middle notes of VV can bring to your mind. However, there's certain weird green note in it that makes me feel the perfume is so untamed.

Then the dry down is really nice and it's much floral and sweeter, clean in the white-veil way, and with some airy undertone(as in the elegant semi-transparent fabric brings out the airy feeling, not the nowadays mass produced aqua-y airy).

It's really french,elegant and sophiscated but still can be easily wore by one with the certain attitude, mood and outfit.

After reading interesting reviews I bought a 4ml mini sample on ebay. When I first sniffed it I hated it.It was an assault to my nose! I thought it smelled like a toilet cleaner. I put it away for a few months. Last week for no particular reason I applied it to my work uniform blouse before I left the house. It seemed a bit astringent but then it dried down a little, and all day long I kept experiencing little drifts of fresh green fragrance which I loved. Now I have purchased a 100ml bottle on ebay and am looking forward to it's arrival.

yes, this is a bitter and sharp green scent and has no freshness unlike expected from a floral green one:(
But maybe good when you find a fragrance suits with this and mix...

Sharp and Spicy ! I thought there would be carnation listed here but no...The freesia, jasmine, lily of the valley, and violet ... basil and sage are shine through. The peach is extremely light and thin. A moment after application I started to notice a strange dirty, foul smell, like old stems left in the the vase with water for too long, really rotten, itś so faint, but so obvious to me. I can only point my finger to blame the asafoetida. I have tested perfumes with asafoetida and I do own one with it, but I have never sensed it so strongly as in Vent Vert. And the rest of the compostion is so powerful, all this green, citrus, floral, and herbs, I cannot believe just this one note would be so strong. This part fades then passes and the scent dries down to a more delicate, feminine, "powdery" fragrance. Not too long lasting.

Vent Vert's name and bottle perfectly capture the essence of the beautiful perfume.

This scent is almost like an olfactory experience in a bottle, rather than a perfume. Upon the first whiff, I'm instantly transported to a warm Spring day in a park or a meadow somewhere, when the grass is finally green again and the season's first flowers are in full bloom. I usually try to describe a perfume in concrete terms, but I can't single out any notes here. The whole thing comes across as a single effect, dredging up memories of a beautiful Spring day when the breeze carried this exact, lovely scent. I'm mystified.

Green, green, sweet and bitter green! But too much for me.

NOT A REVIEW - JUST A NOTE ABOUT THE DESIGNER:

I believe the designer (the "nose") was Germaine Cellier; and I think she also designed "Ivoire"(keeping in mind PB's "vision" of the scent).

BTW, I remember reading that the official launch of this perfume was at (or somehow connected to) the Cannes film festival of 1947.

All of the above applies to the original, of course.
Unfortunately, VV has been reformulated in recent years.

first of all it's just like a blow of the spring wind and then it becomes to jasmine and peach scents.I think the most clear combination is jasmine.the hiacynth is very pure too.The name of the perfume in french means "the green wind" and the shape of the bottle inclines the meaning too.it reminds me so many classic perfumes.but the green notes is the point of distinction to say that it's more than a classic fragrance,but I think it would become cooler if the green notes were sharper,like what the name and the shape of bottle mean to.

A signature scent for me...it reminds me of the first palr green leaves budding out and of jonquils blooming..First purchase in 1965; this was released in ca. 1946-49 and was mentioned in Ian Flemming's James Bond novel "To Russia With Love" as a seductive addition to a liasion on the Orient Express! It HAS been reformulated over the years as Balmain was absorbed by a giant conglomerate. Beautiful, very galbanum-y fresh, and I love it at 56!

All I get is vetiver and galbanum. No florals or fruit. Just greeeeeeen!!

Fine, blusterous, careless, a bit frantic smell. It's like a spring wind, like a young grass and flowers in may. Youthful and timeless. It have full energy. Beautiful.

It is a beautiful green perfume, but unfortunately it does not last long on me.

I don't think that everything need to be for young. But in my opinion it's a hard fragrance over 40-50's.