The Journey: Green, Bitter and Animalic

Last year right after I joined BN I launched a quest to find a signature scent:

http://www.basenotes.net/threads/277...Green-Animalic

Of course I ended up with a signature wardrobe, but that's a different story.

That thread was in Just Starting Out and is closed. stuigi recommended that I start a new thread here to continue my journey. Your input is greatly appreciated.

The fact is that there are indeed quite a few green animalics out there. I just found another one that I like the other day (Lancome Programme Homme). I want to see if there are even more, since it's obviously my favorite type of fragrance. So I thought I'd give you a good idea of what's already been covered so you don't have to read through that whole thread. Just check through the list to see whether your idea has already been covered.

These three are exemplary of what I'm looking for in a dry green animalic:

The very first fragrance recommended (by rompip) was Caron Yatagan of course. I doused myself real good the other nite again and I must say, it's simply a masterpiece. Very me, very wearable, very very good. Astonishly cheap, too.

SculptureOfSoul correctly predicted that I would like Bond's Harrods Swarovski Ltd Edition Oud Sandwich no Mayo Extra Pickles with a Side of Well-Done Fries. That is a mysterious green animalic earthy masterpiece. It makes me proud of my country to know it was produced here, even if the perfumer is a dirty foreigner.

I believe my own research led me to the terrific Ungaro I which lies on the patchouli end of bitter. I find myself often drawn to its "transition" era of masculines (1987-1994).

Other non-sweet green animalics in my frequent rotation include:

Amber & Lavender - Jo Malone
Baie de Genièvre - Creed
Boss Sport
Esencia Loewe
Feuilles de Tabac - Miller Harris
Programme Homme - Lancome
Sud Est - Romeo Gigli
Trophee - Lancome
Vendetta Uomo - Valentino


Here's a list of notes I simply do NOT like, which I figured out in my journey:

Birch Tar -- unfortunately often unlisted, this is the "smoky tar leather" of so many classic masculines such as Knize Ten, Quorum, One Man Show, etc. certain "leathers" are ok though, as in Fahrenheit, Esencia Loewe, Z-14 and Adolfo for Men -- no birch tar there.
Calone -- really don't like that synthetic aquatic thing. gives me a headache!
Dihydromyrcenol -- this is that transparent metallic floral note in Cool Water, GIT, Ungaro III, etc. Most synthetic floral molecules like this really bug me for some reason.
Ionones -- these are the classic soapy "violet" (NOT violet leaf) notes in frags like Grey Flannel. The closest I can get to that type of vibe is iris, which is okay but not my favorite.
Fruit Notes - this does not include citrus, which i like. what i mean is things like apple, plum, apricot, peach, etc. they are created with esters and lactones, which i'm not fond of.
Tomato Leaf -- not sure what the deal is with this one, as I usually LOVE leaf absolutes -- citrus leaf, magnolia leaf, violet leaf etc... tomato is just really annoying to me for some reason.
Aldehydes -- subtle use can be okay, but I generally avoid
Incense -- not as strict about this one but they tend not to work for me in green fragrances for some reason. the myrrh in Amber & Lavender and Harrods Oud are big exceptions, they are great.

So, generally my favorites have some combination of herbs, citrus, spices, masculine florals, roots, woods, and animalics. Favorite ingredients include wormwood/artemisia, violet leaf, marigold/tagetes, indoles, vetiver, oakmoss, cedar, fir, civet, castoreum, ambergris, & labdanum.


Tip: use your browser's find function to see whether your recommendation has already been covered.

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Here is the list of fragrances covered in the old thread which I liked:

Agua Brava
Bois d'Orage
Bowling Green
Davidoff Zino
Dior Fahrenheit
Encre Noir
Epicea
Etro Vetiver
Gli Odori
Grain de Plaisir
Halston Z-14 (old formulation)
Bombay Sapphire Infusion
Lalique Equus
Lomani pH
Lorenzo Villoresi Uomo
Simon Chang Maestro
Jasper Conran Mister
Monsieur Leonard
Sycomore
Trefle Pur
Azzaro Visit
Givenchy Xeryus
Route de Vetiver
Torch
Aramis Tuscany
Witness
Ungaro II
Zirh Ikon
Celine Fever (except for the short longevity)
Victor Wall Street - ditto
Dana Herbissimo Mejorana - ditto
Clarins Eau Dynamisante - ditto
Carven Vetiver Dry
Italian Cypress
Tommy Bahama
Patyka Boise
Caravelle Epicee
Invasion Barbare
Gucci Envy
Wonderwood
Zents Ore
Eucris
vintage Fahrenheit

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Here's a list of all the fragrances that did NOT work for me:

Burberry Beat
Eau de The Vert
Jardin Apres le Mousson
Grey Vetiver
Terre d'Hermes
Jardin au le Nil
Declaration Essence
Citrus Paradisi
Hindu Grass
Memoir Man
Eau Divine
Dirty English
One Man Show
Bogart
Bandit
L'Anarchiste
Derby
Sous le Vent
Green Irish Tweed
Quorum
Eau de Campagne
Bandit
Papyrus de Ciane
Parfum d'Habit
Vetiver Extraordinaire
Pino Silvestre
Eloge d'un traitre
Grey Flannel
Acqua di Selva
Wood & Absinthe
Aromatics Elixir
Chanel No 19
Skarb
Complex (Boadicea the Victorious)
Comme des Garcons Calamus
Timbuktu
Comme Des Garcons Laurel
Profvmvm Fvmudvs
Profvmvm Victrix
Vierges et Toreros
Cipresso Di Toscana
Knize Ten
Van Cleef & Arpels pH
Polo Modern Reserve
Polo
Polo Crest
CdG Artek Standard
CdG Hinoki
Aramis
Halston 1-12
Nasomatto Absinth
Eau de Gloire
Li Altarelli
Antony Logistics Spirit
Fou D'Absinthe
Fleurs de Sel
Cypres-Musc
Potpourri
L'Eau Trois
Salvador Dali PH
Le Seducteur
Baime
Iskander
Mazzolari
Perfect Man Alternative
Aramis Portos
Devin
Virigilio
Lauder for Men
Cuba Green
Paco Rabanne pH
Brut Classic
Eau de Lierre
Phileas
Eau de Quinine
Ban Zai
Vetiver-Racinettes
Ayalitta
Rainforest
Gaucho
ArbitRary
Harmatan Noir
Eau de Gentiane blanche
Angelique Sous la Pluie
Barbier des Iles
Bijan
Safari
Sung Homme
Coriolan
Cool Wave
Duc de Vervins
Jack Black Silver Mark
Chaleur d'Animale
Carven homme
John Sterling
Joseph Abboud
Bobby Jones
Deauville
Mark Birley
Derrick
Rive Gauche pH
Green Jeans
Pasha
Sienna
Chene
Patchouli Leaves
Vetiver Ambrato
Eau de Vetiver
Worth Pour Homme Concentree
Profumi del Forte By Night
M/Mink
Baudelaire
Askew
Estroverso
Krizia Uomo
Givenchy Gentleman
Pino Fifty
Nero Scuro
Bogart Eau Fresh
Alliage
Live Jazz
Magnolia Romana
Adidas Sport Field
Ferrari Racing
Diesel Zero Plus
Cartier Declaration
Action Uomo
Smalto pH
Corduroy
Sir Irisch Moos
Cerruti 1881
Cardin Musk
Quorum Silver
Troisiemme Homme
Patrick
Jo Malones besides Amber & Lavender
Green Water
Intimately
Instinct
Eccelso
Itasca
Esprit du Roi
English Fern
Jules
Sergio Tacchini pH
Chez Bond
Heritage
Ormonde Man
Paco Rabanne Eau de Sport
Victor V Club


It's been a busy year as you can see!

Can you think of any more green, bitter, animalic fragrances? I appreciate your input.

Either that or OCD...

Yeah I know I turned down some classics. My extreme sensitivity to birch tar is the culprit behind as many as half of them. Many of them were near-misses, and many I liked but just weren't right for me in particular. (Of course a few I just thought were horrible. But the suggestions on the whole were SO good that I respected virtually all of those compositions.)


Awesome, I have not tried the Smell Bents -- I know about Otter Luvr and was curious about it. I'm still waiting for a seaweed frag to bowl me over -- not all marine scents have Calone thank goodness. Anyone who actually has more ideas after checking the lists above deserves thanks! I actually just got the Slumberhouse sampler pack and enjoyed them. They're more woodsy and spicy than green of course. Soon I will get around to wearing them. I think layering may be the way to go, Grev's rich amber along with a more dry woody might be a nice round golden thing (not really for this thread of course).


Okay, I will give Rien a shot though I was not impressed by Dzing particularly. Tried Ormonde Man, forgot to put it on the list, I will add. It's too aldehydic for my taste. Thanks though!


Why thank you


Animalic frags like that -- Ungaro II I called "animalic and weird" when I tried it on paper, while old-school Creeds just kind of sit there on the blotter -- need skin to bloom. I found the Yat intriguing but strange at first, then I kinda liked it, now I love it. Ungaro II as well, which is a civet bomb.


I will give it a shot! Extra points for finding an obscure one I've never heard of before. I like frankincense but haven't come across a usage that vibes with me yet and would be excited to find one. (I assume green notes need to be piled onto it as in Eau des Iles.)

Let me know if you ever run for office Brian. I'll volunteer for your campaign...

scentemental, I'm quite curious about all of those except Zino, which I already dig (terrific civet and lavender! though it's a bit sweet-vanillic for this thread). we can make that part of our ongoing swap. thanks for reading bro.

Hm. Given the 1983 production date and the leather listing, I was assuming the rare Ebene contained birch tar, and subsequently ignored it. Anyone want to chime in?

Looks very interesting with that loud honey note, but the "leather" sounds like birch tar to me . . .

Thanks laph, I'll give Tenere a shot.


Yeah. It's kind of murky and salty. Love it as an ingredient but I don't find it all that interesting to wear on its own.


Devin is on the "no go" list . . . I got birch tar from it


The leather in Bandit bothered me. I could swear it has birch tar, but maybe its those phenols or another "leather" ingeredient. I didn't find it all that green. That may very well be because leather ingredients often overwhelm compositions to my nose; it's almost all I can smell.


Actually I find Wonderwood green, not sweet, and animalic (coniferous and musky) the Clarins very green, Encre Noir bitter and a little animalic (musk, some people consider vetiver green though i usually don't), and Zino green and animalic, I agree they're not really for this category. However those were recommendations from people on my old thread and I happened to like them, so they're listed up there. Sorry if that confuses you. That was partly why there are 2 sections above it listing the template and rotation fragrances which have a stronger "match percentage."


Good question. I covered this more on my old thread, mentioning things on the lines of "making love in a factory with potted herbs everywhere" and "a black jaguar sliding through poisonous plants in the deep dark jungle." In general it should not be a "friendly green fresh fields and flowers" scent. More on the alarming side, or "challenging" as I like to put it. You'll notice I listed Yatagan first, and for good reason.

Had been staying away due to the incense in the pyramid and people detecting "leather" in it...

Brian's package arrived. What a gentleman.

JAR Shadow: Haven't done a full wearing yet, but I find this a rather simple, elegant smell. I would say it lies on the border of what is generally considered "personal scent" -- it could easily be used as a room scent or soap fragrance -- and as such is certainly unisex if used in that capacity. I assume Brian's surprised reaction to Shadow is due to unfamiliarity with the primary top accord built on clove leaf, whose clove and green elements can remind one of sweet pickles (without the vinegar). There may even be a touch of dill oil. Clove is at work in the heart for certain, along with a touch of rosewood/howood/linalool, and possibly even a bit of coriander, pushing the pickle metaphor further. The lovely Australian sandalwood base has some labdanum and possibly even a bit of balsam (tolu?) as well. The base shares similarities with the heavier, denser Slumberhouse Grev. I'm quite certain I could make a reasonable facsimile of this fragrance, though it would take a bit of time to get all the balances correct given the maceration rate of naturals. (I find I need to wait two weeks to judge a given blend.) All in all, I prefer a bit more complexity. I was working on a clove leaf composition that had some promise a while back, which also featured howood (a natural combination), but had more going on in the base with some frankincense.

Histoires de Parfum Petroleum: Definitely get the band aid thing here (phenols?) and oud, along with some nylon outgas (adoxal?). There seems to be a little sweet amber in the background, but this one is way too chemically for my taste.

The Different Company de Bachmakov: Big raw dough accord up front, possibly something along the lines of copaiba balsam, cilantro and kari (curry) leaf. Pew, never liked the smell of dough. Ah I read now that it's shiso leaf, that makes sense. It's certainly not sweet!

Marc de la Morandiere Genghis Khan: While those previous three are decidedly contemporary and the last two are avant-garde to my nose, this one is a baroque construction that is definitely of its late-80s time frame. Rather than pointing to the future as Cool Water did, GK takes the 80s density idea to an extreme, as Furyo and Ungaro I did around the same time, but choosing a path roughly between those two (animalic sweet incense and animalic green patchouli, respectively). It has gads of castoreum and some musk, as well as funky bitter patchouli and a lot of other stuff going on. It's not as dry and well-structured as Ungaro I due to the prominent amber, but I like it! Surprisingly, the scent becomes quiet rather quickly after the opening hour, but I will assume the longevity is quite good as a skin scent. Thanks Brian, I had assumed I'd like this bomb and I do. Now I just need to find a bottle . . .

Good to have your input Chris. I was already aware of and quite curious about your Artemis, since wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is possibly my favorite note ever. Do let me know if there is an easy way for me to procure a small sample.


Castoreum is very interesting to me, and of course I've never smelled safraleine alone. In general leather-dominant fragrances have not worked well for me, but it's absolutely true that there are exceptions. Almost all the classic masculines with a prominent leather note, or even a subtle one (Cartier Santos, e.g.) just don't work at all for me, so I've become rather paranoid. The thing that was really frustrating was smelling so many excellent herbal openings or compositions that I really liked, which featured some leather note (probably birch tar, though techinically I've never smelled the stuff alone; it's all been a process of elimination) that ruined the ride. Ah well. But thanks for pointing it out.


Indeed. It's quite overwhelming at times. It makes me very thankful that I'm so incredibly snobby and picky.

I don't find V.E. particularly animalic, and not very green either -- rather, it's smoky and earthy to me. But one thing's for sure, it's parchingly dry and bitter! It's definitely extraordinary and unique. I respect it a lot.

Vodka, yes that makes sense. Pasty is a very good word for it.

Thanks for reading. More reviews in the original thread -- link in OP above.

It's cool to know frags like that are out there and people like them. Perhaps you and I simply ain't that hardcore my friend.


I use the word "simple" to mean that there are a minimum of accords. However, the subtlety in dosage and detail/supportive notes should not be underestimated -- that's why I also described it as "elegant." I find the best fragrances have both going -- an overall concept/structure, as well as accords that can be picked out of that whole. Yatagan and Jicky come to mind in that regard.


B, I would never have thought of that. Perhaps I'll try it. It seems a bit like mixing white and red wine or something, heavy and light . . . does it come out rosé?

Dali is already in the "pass" list above. actually it's more bittersweet to me rather than straight up dry/bitter. the rich florals take it a bit out of this Journey. though the heavy animalics are very unique. i'm pretty sure the leather in it was birch tar anyways. thanks for dropping in.

I found it terribly time-consuming. Much more time consuming than researching a fragrance and trying it out. The wait of 2-3 weeks just to know what the most recent formula smells like, before coming up with a variation to get it just right, etc. Chris is absolutely right in his description of the complexities involved. I wanted to get a good feel for what's out there before I went ahead and picked up some beeswax and honey absolutes and jumped back in. It's been about 4 years since I was really working on some of my own complex blends (15-20 naturals were usually involved).


I've done a little layering, usually with scents that are more minimal or transparent, or are a more "theme" type of fragrance, such as a clean vetiver with a light eau de cologne to darken and affix, e.g.


Considering L'Homme's mid-80s release date, I assume birch tar.

1828 sounds pretty incensey which I usually don't dig but maybe I will give it a try as I enjoy Gucci Envy.


I recounted in detail in my old thread (link in OP) rather exactly what I meant by "green," and Eloge du Traitre had a lot of birch tar to my nose; it's in the "no" list above.


Birch tar in an otherwise nice frag.


Thanks alfa, I saw that in your post from last month. How much rose and ylang is there in that?


Even the driest, most bitter feminines I have tried (Aromatics Elixir, Chanel No 19, Anarchy etc) come nowhere near as bitter as I like, so it probably has a good deal too much floral character for me. Thanks for dropping in.

I like a nice tart, subtle rose. I will give it a shot! Any idea where I can get a sample?

I love bitters. My drink of choice is bitters and soda. But I'm not familiar with that one. I've checked out some of his reviews and I think he and I have very, very different taste, so I haven't been in a hurry to try his creations.