Balmain
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Asafoetida cuts through immediately like a sharp intake of breath, amplifying basil and lemon into something almost herbaceous-dangerous. Peach arrives as a softening agent, but it's restrained, almost apologetic—you're getting the green vegetative top before any fruit sweetness takes hold.
The florals emerge around the one-hour mark, but they're eerily cool—freesia and lily of the valley feel like white florals stripped of their typical creamy roundness. Hyacinth adds a soapy, slightly aldehydic edge that keeps the composition feeling crisp and intellectual rather than wearable-pretty. The green backbone never truly retreats.
Oakmoss and vetiver create a dry, slightly ashy foundation, whilst iris introduces a talc-like powderiness that feels almost austere. Sage anchors the base notes in herbal authenticity. By the fourth hour, Vent Vert settles into a skin scent—mineral-green, quietly elegant, demanding proximity to appreciate rather than announce itself.
Vent Vert arrives as a manifesto of verdancy—Calice Becker's 1990 reformulation captures something rarely achieved in fragrance: the smell of a plant's structural integrity rather than its romantic perfume. The asafoetida in the top notes acts as a clarifying agent, sharpening the basil and lemon into something almost herbal-medicinal, whilst peach and orange blossom prevent the composition from veering into bitter territory. This is not a gentle floral; it's a green chypre with backbone.
What distinguishes Vent Vert is how the heart refuses to soften the opening's assertiveness. Rather than burying the green character beneath a cloud of jasmine and rose, Becker layers freesia and lily of the valley—cooler florals that read almost like white pepper against the green framework. The hyacinth adds a slightly soapy, aldehydic quality that feels deliberately austere. Ylang ylang threatens sweetness but never quite surrenders to it.
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3.5/5 (257)