What does Green Apple smell like?
Bite into a Granny Smith. Sour juice comes first, then a green note of peel and pips that is almost grassy. A green apple accord keeps that clean sharpness, with a fizzy side close to lemonade. Nothing baked or candied, unlike the red apple in gourmands. On skin the note fades fairly fast. It gives a perfume its first push, then steps back behind mint, lavender or woods.
Origin and production
The apple (Malus domestica) descends from wild apple trees in Central Asia, around present-day Kazakhstan. The Granny Smith, the best-known green variety, was born in Australia in the 19th century. The fruit yields no oil usable in perfume. The accord is built with synthetic fruity esters, the same family that flavours sour sweets. Perfumers often add a green touch to suggest the skin.
How perfumers use it
Green apple wakes up an opening. It gets on with mint, bergamot, lemon and aquatic notes. Hugo Boss Hugo Man (1995) made it a men's staple, in a bottle shaped like an army canteen. Azzaro Chrome Legend (2007) mixes it with tea and marine notes. Versace Eros (2012) sets it beside mint over vanilla and tonka bean. At Parfums de Marly, Greenley (2020) builds a green citrus scent around it.
How to wear it
Green apple is a spring and summer daytime note. Eros is too sweet for a morning meeting. Hugo Man or Greenley go anywhere and can take four sprays.