Vent Vert(1947)

Created by Germaine Cellier for Balmain, Vent Vert, Green Wind, opens on an extreme overdose of galbanum and bergamot, moves through a heart of green notes, iris, and jasmine, and closes on vetiver, oakmoss, and musk. Cellier's decision to push galbanum, a naturally sharp, bitter, sap-like green material, to an unprecedented concentration made Vent Vert the founding reference for the entire green fragrance genre, a structural innovation as significant to green perfumery as Chanel No. 5's aldehyde overdose had been to the aldehydic genre a quarter-century earlier. Its uncompromising, almost aggressive freshness broke sharply from the sweeter, rounder florals that had dominated women's perfumery, continuing the bold, non-conventional style Cellier had already established with Bandit three years earlier. Vent Vert remains a frequently cited landmark in perfume history, still referenced by contemporary perfumers whenever discussing the technical possibilities of building a fragrance around a single, deliberately overdosed material.