Experiscent Number 5: Viridian Powder

In my perfume life my opinions of green perfume have swung wildly from extreme love to dislike, and the copious variations of what makes a scent 'green' have made it an intriguing type of scent family for me.  From soft, dark mosses to cool mints, bright lime to bitter greens, the uses of 'green notes' help to balance florals and citruses alike, give energy to musks, and add a fresh air element to woods. 

Scent number two was a purchase for me that came about when I saw a bottle listed on ebay for a great price with no other bids.  I had tried others from this perfume house and enjoyed them, so I blind bought it with neutral expectations, as the note list wasn't overly intriguing to me but it was a bargain.  I ended up liking it immediately.  I really wanted to get opinions on this one, I don't think it would be something that most people would order samples of (they're hard to come by, sample-wise).  Here's what they said:

Paula: 

Vanilla-almond to open with a hint of booze with maybe a bit of champaca or perhaps immortelle?—some sort of sweetish flower.  This strikes me as semi-edible, like a perfumed macaron. After a little bit, it gets flower-ier--a bit of rose-marshmallow?  Quite sweet and pleasant.  Yes, I’m going with the macaron idea here as the one by which I shall remember this perfume. …I continue to like this one, and am getting quite good longevity.  Smells like vanilla marshmallow in the far drydown, with a hint of champaca. 

On the second trial, this is very sweet floral-almond opening , quite lovely.  Is it honey? Probably not.  It’s more vanilla-sweet.  Marshmallow, perhaps?  But it’s unmistakably floral more than gourmand.  Though I would say that whatever the flowers are, they are edible!  I’m getting good sillage and a little cloud of waft as I move around with this one.  Me gusta.  I feel like this is likely to have decent-quality ingredients in it.  It doesn’t feel super-luxury expensive, but middle- to upper-middle class.   I wouldn’t mind a decant of this to get to know it better.  I’m not so head-over-heels with it that I feel urged to acquire a full bottle at this time, but I could see wearing this whenever I want to feel like a sweet, innocent, good girl from a respectable family. 

Nicole:  This one opens in a blast! Big, loud and definitely a signature scent meant to turn heads. My first impression is a boozy, honey type floral with green in the background. Very heady and sensual without being dark. It settles nicely and eventually evolves into a semi sweet powdered floral.

Alfredo:  This has a Lovely Opening that greets you with cheerful florals reminiscent of Pink Roses, Iris & Violet buds.  I also detect an apple & kiwi-like fruitiness which makes this sweet yet tart.  The dry down is a sheer soft powder.  All in all it's a Beautiful fragrance that brings to mind a romantic turn of the century young lady who's ready to head into The Modern Era with Excitement and JOY!

Emily:  I find the opening pleasantly floral and a bit familiar. As I strain to pick out a note--any note--my brain locks on lily of the valley. Is it? I don't know, but fortune favors the bold and I don't get any points for half-assing this, so I'm moving forward on that assumption. The next thing I notice is a light green scent, pleasant and not bitter the way I find many "green" perfumes to be. Fragrantica informs me that Lily of the Valley is a "green floral," so that tracks nicely. Anything else? Maybe some bergamot, in aid of an air of freshness. Not that it matters much, since it doesn't stick around long. In perhaps 15 minutes the whole thing has taken an abrupt turn for the powdery and eventually settles into something in the realm of amber. I'm guessing this is at least somewhat modern because I'm not finding any of the aldehydes or oakmoss I would expect from, say, a Rive Gauche or a Coty Muguet des Bois.  

Erica (and her amazing dad): 

My thoughts: Sweetly powdery floral, along the lines of violet, mimosa, wisteria, and magnolia. Sniffing the vial I am not feeling it, but on my skin I am finding that it's not totally horrifying despite the syrupy sweetness. Late in the dry down, I sense a peripheral vanilla cotton candy vibe. If this had a color, it would be a soft candied pastel violet and cloud-white marbleized swirl. Makes me think of the brand Tocca, I wonder if I have worn this before. I really handle the cloying aroma very long though, I think I may have a negative association with this scent.

This is my dad's favorite. He said it was very feminine and beautiful. He sat huffing the vial for quite some time. Go figure! It was his favorite, yet my bottom of the three. 

Alyssa: 
I loved how this smelled from the vial and upon first application it actually made me think of the leather in L’Artisan’s Traversee du Bosphore! Now I have always heard the term anosmia and being anosmic to a scent, but I never understood that term till this one. I was literally able to smell it for about 10 minutes and that was it! I gave it three tries to see if I was having an “off day” but each time the same thing happened. I am super curious to see if anyone else had the same reaction.

Jen:  Green floral? The opening made me think of water lilies (which is a note I am totally unfamiliar with, but it's what came to mind). It was a light, slightly sweet, watery green, which also kind of sounds cucumber-y, but this felt more floral to me. After a little bit of time passed a cold note came up. Not quite mint, more medicinal. Kind of cough syrupy. This one also faded really quickly on me, but that could just be me getting used to wearing perfume in the desert vs the everglades! Didn't hate it, but wasn't super excited by it.

Trona:  

Series 2 Fragrance 2 It’s shopping day and she enters as a cute, young, suburbanite, wearing tall boots and a brim hat. Her short,  flowy dress dances with her gait flirtatiously. Her presence is cheerful and playful, a breath of sweet air. She bustles with energy and her bright personality is evident from her pink fruity lip gloss and mint wad of gum that pops when she chews it. A few minutes later, her sass, it appears, a little spice from her personality poured out like iris soup with white pepper sauce. Her sweetness remains, but she claims the afternoon with vivacious tenacity. A sugared piquant in powdery glaze, her colorful heart is versatile and well bred, Though her vanilla virtue begs for attention like a spoiled schoolgirl. As the evening approaches, she becomes soft, and quiet, sweet as jasmine and a joy to entertain. This fragrance is feminine and sweet, I suspect from jasmine or ylang ylang, it is complex in that it changes to so many notes and pleasantly so. It is youthful, energetic, and fresh, not sexy, not sophisticated, but playful and flirtatious. I believe it opens with a sweet floral, I get iris and something fresher like lily along with a jasmine, the iris turns powdery and I get a pepper that dominates along with the sweet powder throughout the heart. In comes vanilla and that sweet jasmine a few hours in. It becomes soft and near to the skin and lasts about 5-6 hours on me. Lovely, lovely scent, I think well blended. Very nice to my nose!

Igor: 
This one was very tough for me because I know I’ve smelled it before. So now I’m hitting my head on the wall trying to remember what it is. It is really hard to focus on the notes without trying to remember. I get a lot of white flowers, vanilla and orange on top. On drydown I get more white flowers, specifically neroli very mild and well mixed neroli with strings of vanilla. The longevity is great, 4-5 hours. After wearing it for about 3hours, I get traces of sandal and honey. The sillage is very strong too. I feel like it is a woman’s designer fragrance because of its delivery and the composition. I can go out on a whim and guess that it may belong to the Armani clan. Armani Code for women? Funny enough it reminds me of my boss at the pharma company I used to work for. She was a petite Italian lady who , I swear, smelled like this and I used to compliment her on it all the time. The other interesting image this scent engenders is the wave of mixed scents you get upon entering Sephora. To me this is such a Sephora scent.

My thoughts:  

Scent number five was Decou Vert by Laboratorio Olfattivo.  I really enjoy this one.  The opening is a fresh burst of green over delicate white spring blossoms, a touch of lily of the valley.  It's a ittle cool, a little sweet, like an April breeze carrying the scent of grass and dew while the first warm weather blossoms are bursting open.  The green notes dissipate but still weave a pleasant tune behind the constant hum of florals.  It adds a plus density and wears like a very soft, light velvet.  I think the genius in this scent is the use of magnolia......I find magnolia to be very tricky.  In scents, sometimes it feels very sharp and cloying to me, but here it holds the feeling of the newly opened flowers with a cool tone.  It's balanced with some other florals, the notes list lilac and jasmine.  Though others noted the lilac, it's not an obvious note to me, but adds a definitive spring vibe.  The fragrance holds all the elements of a spring tapestry for the entire life of the scent.  The leaf and dew notes eventually fade but the blooms never become overwhelming.  Like Igor, I get a touch of honey in this as well and it adds a vaguely gourmand twist without getting truly into edible territory, it just adds a touch of interest.  The lasting power on this fragrance is very good....I think the oakmoss on the base keeps in very grounded and furthers the realistic perception of the floral notes.

Laboratorio Olfattivo offers some great scents at fairly reasonable prices.  For some reason they haven't had as much of an impact on the perfume community yet, but they are all beautifully made....I believe that over time they will become more well known.  Decou Vert is a beautiful spring scent and well worth trying.