A green accord in perfume is a blend of materials that together recreate the smell of fresh foliage: cut grass, crushed leaves, stems and sap. It is the basis of the green fragrance family, giving perfumes a crisp, natural, sometimes bitter freshness, and it can range from soft and dewy to sharp and resinous.

What does Green Accord smell like?

A green accord smells of living plants rather than flowers or fruit. Common facets include freshly mown grass, snapped stems, leafy sap, green pea pods, cucumber and unripe fruit. Some are bright and juicy, others bitter and resinous in the style of galbanum, and others cool and mossy. The overall effect is a feeling of outdoors, freshness and vitality.

How perfumers create Green Accord

Perfumers combine natural green materials such as galbanum resin, violet leaf absolute, fig leaf, blackcurrant bud and petitgrain with powerful synthetics. Key molecules include cis-3-hexenol (leaf alcohol, the smell of cut grass), its esters, stemmy aldehydes, and green pyrazines used in traces for a pea-pod crispness. Aromatic herbs and mossy notes can extend the theme into the base.

• Also known as: Green notes, leafy accord, verdant accord
• Fragrance family: Green
• Type: Accord (created by the perfumer)
• Key aroma molecules: cis-3-hexenol, cis-3-hexenyl acetate, green aldehydes, pyrazines

Green Accord in perfume history

Green fragrances became a recognised family in the mid-20th century. Balmain Vent Vert (1947), created by Germaine Cellier, is widely considered the first great green perfume, with an unprecedented dose of galbanum. The style flourished in the 1970s with Chanel No. 19 (1971) and Estée Lauder Aliage (1972), which captured an outdoor, sporty modernity.

Green Accord in modern perfumery

Green accords remain popular in fresh unisex scents, botanical niche perfumes and fig or tomato-leaf compositions. New, gentler green molecules make it easier to use greenery without harshness.

How Green Accord wears and what it pairs with

Green accords are usually most vivid in the top and heart. They pair with hyacinth, lily of the valley, iris, citrus, vetiver, oakmoss, cedar and musks.

Fragrances featuring Green Accord

• Balmain Vent Vert (1947)
• Chanel No. 19 (1971)
• Estée Lauder Aliage (1972)