• About
  • Login to comment
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Perfumers
  • Perfume Houses
  • Shop for perfume
  • Resources

Hermes Eau d’Orange Verte & Concentre d’Orange Verte: fragrance review

Posted by Robin on 25 July 2006 12 Comments

Hermes Eau d'Orange Verte

Hermès introduced Eau d'Orange Verte in 1979 (the original name was Eau de Cologne d'Hermès; it was renamed Eau d'Orange Verte in 1997). It was created by perfumer Francoise Caron and has notes of bergamot, lemon, mandarin, mint, jasmine, orange blossom, patchouli, moss and cedar.

Eau d'Orange Verte is a citrus chypre, along the lines of Ô de Lancôme or Eau de Rochas. It starts with a slap of citrus, very sharp and acidic. The sharpness fades into a very dry orange under a heavy veil of herbal green and what smells to me like petitgrain. There is a whisper of dry florals, and a lovely mossy woods base.

It is currently marketed as a unisex fragrance, but I believe it was originally introduced as a men's. When I first tried it several years ago, I thought it too masculine to wear; since then, I've become a convert. There is something very classy about Eau d'Orange Verte; like Christian Dior's Eau Sauvage or Guerlain's Vetiver, it may smell like you've borrowed it from a man's dresser, but at least you've borrowed something worth the wearing.

It is the perfect summer refresher, and like almost any perfect summer refresher, its one drawback is its relatively poor staying power. A bit of the mossy woods lingers for hours, but the fun part is over in about an hour or so. Hermès ought to make a 15 ml travel spray but they don't; there are, however, individually wrapped pochettes or towelettes in Eau d'Orange Verte, and they are perfect to carry in your purse on a hot summer day for a little pick-me-up

Over the years, Hermès has introduced several variations on Eau d'Orange Verte; the only one still in production so far as I know is Concentré d'Orange Verte, a 2004 launch created by perfumer Jean Guichard. If you must have something longer lasting than the original, it is a good alternative, but as is often the case when you take a light fragrance and try to create a more concentrated version, something gets lost in the translation. In this case, it is the zesty opening: it is considerably more muted, and moves quickly into the woody dry down. The mint seems to have been amped up in compensation, so it is not a dull fragrance, it just isn't quite the same thing. Which you prefer of course depends on your taste; I'm sticking with the original.

Both Eau d'Orange Verte and Concentré d'Orange Verte are widely available at department stores and online discounters. Imaginationperfumery currently has a 100 ml tester of the Eau d'Orange Verte for less than $25.

Included in...

5 Perfumes for: a Flanker Skeptic

Possibly also of interest

Hermes Eau de Basilic Pourpre ~ new fragrance
Hermes Terre d’Hermes Eau Givree ~ new fragrance

Filed Under: perfume talk
Tagged With: cheap thrills, flanker, francoise caron, green, hermes, jean guichard, orange

Advertisement


12 Comments

Leave a comment, or read more about commenting at Now Smell This. Here's our privacy policy, and a handy emoticon chart.

  1. Anonymous says:
    25 July 2006 at 2:01 pm

    The guy in the ad looks positively extatic :-)

    I haven't tried the concentrated version, but if you say something is lost in translation then I probably shouldn't even bother. Eau d'Orange Verte is lovely as it is and last an OK amount of time on me.

    Log in to Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    25 July 2006 at 7:12 pm

    He is pretty pleased with the fragrance, no? LOL…

    I think some of the men on basenotes prefer the Concentre, so no doubt it is still worth trying :-)

    Log in to Reply
  3. Anonymous says:
    25 July 2006 at 9:43 pm

    I LOVE this one! It is a wee bit masculine, but I enjoy the soft mix of orange and moss. Hermes sure does make some elegant fragrances!

    Log in to Reply
  4. Anonymous says:
    25 July 2006 at 10:45 pm

    They really do! For some reason the name Hermes rarely comes to mind when I think of my favorite perfume houses, but it ought to…I love so many of their scents.

    Log in to Reply
  5. Anonymous says:
    26 July 2006 at 5:10 am

    Hello dear R! Great review. I went through a a couple of bottles several years ago and I still enjoy the classic smell when I get to use these as bath products in some hotels. There is a heatwave here as you know and it is perfect for hot and humid days….

    Hugs!

    Log in to Reply
  6. Anonymous says:
    26 July 2006 at 8:28 am

    Absolutely one of my favourites, algong with Sauvage (signature frag for a long time for me) & Guerlain's Vetyver.

    I reccomend Acqua di Parma's Arancia di Capri.as a sweeter alternative to this.

    If you can read this post, Robin.. then it means that the problem fixed itself, and was related to my network.

    Thank you for your help and sorry for the inconvenience!!!! :P

    Log in to Reply
  7. Anonymous says:
    26 July 2006 at 10:31 am

    Thank you N…and see, EdOV is just what a picture a classy Parisian woman wearing in the summer :-)

    Log in to Reply
  8. Anonymous says:
    26 July 2006 at 10:33 am

    I have not tried Arancia in some time and should do so again. I remember being disappointed in the staying power when I first tried it, but am now convince that you can't get a really great sparkling citrus that lasts, so why worry about it…

    And glad you were finally able to comment! Still don't know what the trouble is, but let me know if it happens again.

    Log in to Reply
  9. Anonymous says:
    7 May 2008 at 11:02 pm

    Hello, I was reading this review just now (I'm only 2 years late!) Eau D'Orange Verte has always been a sort of a staple of perfumery and “hygiene” in my mind. My mother always kept a bottle of it at home for the family and I wore it in the early 80's and loved it. But it no longer interests me as a fragrance.

    Anyway, I just wanted to make a comment about your review to which I disagree on one particular ingredient: A huge differentiator of Eau D'Orange Verte from other “fresh colognes” is the fact that it contains ZERO bergamot (None, zip, nada!) Its citrus freshness is solely due to a particular kind of lemon that is still “green”. It is not a lime, but a lemon from the south of France called “Orange Verte” which translates from French litterally to “green orange” actually, but is a lemon not an orange. Hermes actually makes a point of it in their promotion of this nice “cologne”. Please comment.

    Thanks

    Log in to Reply
  10. Anonymous says:
    8 May 2008 at 10:57 am

    Well, you know, lists of notes are rarely accurate (and nor are the descriptions brands use to promote their own fragrances), so I don't think it's worth worrying about either way. Two years out, I can't remember where I got that particular list. The French Osmoz site lists orange, citron, mandarine for the citrus, and the English description says “A toning and sparkling fragrance, Eau d'Orange verte is a basket of citrus fruit in a bottle: oranges in all sizes, shapes and forms (leaves, fruit, blossoms), lemons with their stimulating freshness, cheering mandarins”; the Hermes site just says “citruses”; basenotes says lemon & mandarin. Personally, it is all the same to me — it smells like citrus, you know?

    Log in to Reply
  11. Anonymous says:
    14 December 2008 at 9:11 am

    Has anyone tried the soap?

    Log in to Reply
  12. Anonymous says:
    14 December 2008 at 12:53 pm

    I haven't, sorry!

    Log in to Reply

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Advertisement

Search

From NST at Twitter

  • "Luxury perfume pioneer Frédéric Malle on hot China market, wannabe niche fragrances and buying perfume online" (so… https://t.co/ZlIJKQDKBV,
  • "Corpse flower on WSU Vancouver campus about to bloom again" (fox12oregon) https://t.co/OWe1pYenwr,
  • "New York’s famous Junior’s cheesecake has entered the scented-candle market" (dailynews) https://t.co/GImRj3cdQX,
  • "The Body Shop expands UberEats delivery partnership" (cosmeticsbusiness) https://t.co/vmfZORv2zb,
  • "Issey Miyake, influential Japanese fashion designer, dies aged 84" (cnn style) https://t.co/ClABlF4b1y,

Browse by…

Topic

Perfume talk New fragrances
Shopping Books :: News
Body products Home fragrance
Polls Another subject

Date

July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
Prior months

Author

Robin Jessica
Angela Kevin
Erin Guest Author

Tag

Celebrity perfumes
Cheap thrills
Collector bottles
Perfumista tip series
Video
The complete tag index

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

TBA September ~ fall swapmeet

TBA October ~ fall splitmeet

List of upcoming Friday projects

Back to Top

Home
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy

Shop for Perfume Online
Perfume Shopping in New York
Perfume Shopping in London
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Links
Perfume Books
Fragrance Awards

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2022 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.