Comparison: Selection Verte, L'Eau du Caporal, Centaur

Sampled Selection Verte...Great frag. Unfortunatlely, I haven't tried L' Eau de Caporal yet.

Have all three in my collection but have never made the association among the three. Will need to check them out again.

I think the problem is that there simply aren't that many people who have tried all three.

I have only tried Selection Verte. It was another fragrance that I had to "learn" about because I had never had a fragrance with such a perceptible mint. And with Selection Verte, you DEFINITELY smell the mint. There's just no mistaking it. I really like Selection Verte now. I was told it's a particularly good summer fragrance and that it is. A wonderful citrus/mint....

Hello there ody!

L'Eau du Caporal was one of my gateways into niche perfumery. Long, long ago in the city where I live, one of our department stores had a separate boutique devoted just to niche frags. In the 1990's! They had their mainstream inventory out among the cosmetics on the main part of the floor, and then this little jewelbox room tucked away near the elevators. Here I was debauched, (any friends of mine are snickering now, as if further debauching could have been possible at that stage in my life) among L'Artisan at first and then myriad niche companies that were installed afterward. And what happened to this little boutique? It was too good to last. The physical space is still there but it's the showcase for the store's mainstream offerings - Daisy or Light Blue, anyone?

Oh, ody, forgive me for digressing! Anyway, I wore L'Eau du Caporal for a couple of years and loved it to pieces. It never struck me as being very heavy on the mint. I thought that it had more of that "herbs of the Corsican heath" vibe to it. I also think of it as being an austere fragrance - not a soft, orange blossomy cologne by any means. Had a slightly metallic edge to it, too, as I recall. Anyway, it was very refreshing and served my purposes well. Centaure I had a passing knowledge of when the above-described location had the full line of MPG frags in stock. I don't remember falling in like or love with it.

Now Selection Verte - I briefly considered this fragrance as a replacement for the long-gone original version of Green Water by Jacques Fath. The new or current version of Green Water is o.k. but is not anywhere as icy and cool as the original. Green Water had the unique quality of incorporating a wagonload of spearmint without making one think of toothpaste or anything similar. Selection Verte I found to have that same quality - it was capital M Mint, but as far away from the dentist as you could get. I think I just did not want to commit to the large bottle and its attendant cost at the time. Now I'm reconsidering, and must say it's all your fault!

Don't want to get off the subject but 2.5 oz tester bottles of SV are fairly easy to locate.

It's been quite some time since I've tried L'Eau du Caporal. I do recall it having a dark or dry vibe to it. Centaure and Selection Verte I have - SV seems more citrus/lemon based with spearmint whereas Centaure has a melange of notes and accords ranging from lavender, mint, black currant, and particularly tobacco which I think gives it that same sort of darker/warm dichotomy as the other two scents considering their minty fresh notes.

How? People say this like there's just a bit of common knowledge that I honestly just don't possess.

From these three, I only know Centaure, which is great, and I agree with the description gave from "The Bark".

I haven't smelled Centaure or LEdC, but I thoroughly enjoyed my decant of Selection Verte over the past summer vacation in Massachusetts last year. I am a big fan of mint scents, I have sampled many of them since joining Basenotes, and I'm talking about even the ones that many here call 'toothpaste-like'. I was never bothered by a strong mint note, it always felt refreshing, invigorating and perked me up (many times when I'm headed to the gym on the weekend, I will apply some Series 1: Leaves Mint by Comme des Garcons [the discontinued one that Duchaufour did] beforehand and OMG it puts a little spring in my step). However, Selection Verte uses the mint note in a deft, clever sort of fashion and you can feel it's cool, iciness on the edge of the scent but it doesn't blast you with the note. It's floral and green at the same time and the citrus is VERY natural (sort of the kind of smell when your hand have been cutting/peeling citrus fruit and the smell lasts only a minute or so on your hand before it fades - THAT smell). It was BN member Dullah who I have to thank for introducing me to this masterpiece. I am SO not a Creed fanboy, but that one got me all excited in the line again.

Ody - have you smelled the Aqua Allegoria mints? I love both.

SV is a really nice scent. Very different from other "mint" types and as Mike notes, fresh. It's like having a mojito without the rum. Of the three, I find Centaure's use of mint probably the most unique. After reading this thread the other day I wore it and really appreciated it all the more. There's just such a fascinating contrast of notes going on with it.

No, it's a tester bottle. I have 3 of them.

Attachment 18908

Where are you getting the tester for that one? I've been looking. PM me if you feel inclined to do so.

Thanks in advance.

I'm also interested in that, as I always find expensive bottles of SV everywhere.
Back on topic, I haven't tried the Caporal, but SV strikes me as more citrussy-minty, while Centaure has more of a fresh fougère vibe, kind of like Nicolai Pour Homme, but more refined. I love it.

Given what I think I know about your tastes, I think you own the right AA. The other one is very biting and it has a strong tea element to it. If that sounds like something you'd like then explore that one. Otherwise the HF is much 'greener'.

Enjoy your SV. I find it wears its best when I'm hot & sweaty.

I echo the thoughts of others here.
Selection Verte is much brighter and sunnier, at any stage of it's composition, including the spicy floral green drydown, than either Centaure or L'Eau D'Corporal could ever dream of being even in their topnotes. SV is timeless, and the other two , while both phenominally well constructed and classy scents, seem rather dated.

Selection Verte, to me, is the ultimate summer scent.

I recently tried MPG's Centaure (along with many other MPGs). I found Centaure to have a very soapy fresh opening, a result of the mint-lavender-blackcurrant accord, I believe. It then dries down towards a classic fougère (with the vetiver and moss), and it was reminiscent of Penhaligon's English Fern. The mint did not linger that long. I think it's quite a nice scent, but I do need to test it further.

Sélection Verte, on the other hand, is very different, being very citrusy and bright; I would agree with DULLAH's comments.