Top 10 Galbanum Perfumes
Photo by Anna Shvets
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Released in 1944, Bandit became the standard bearer for green chypre, leather feminine scents in the post-war era. Perfumer Germaine Cellier designed a scent that could withstand tobacco smoke without the heavy floral and animalic scents of the preceding decades. Bandit was for the new woman who stepped into the workplace when men were off fighting and who weren’t going back into the kitchen now that the war was over. Reformulations have done many things (dropping methyleugenol and eugenol levels from rose/carnation/spices; cutting oakmoss and replacing with synthetics, moving to synthetic musks for the animalic base), but have not removed the central tension between the green of galbanum and the animalic leather held steady by the resplendent florals.
Top Notes: Armoise, Gardenia, Galbanum, Artemisia, Bergamot, Aldehydes, Marigold, Neroli, Ylang Ylang
Heart Notes: Rose, Iris, Wild carnation, Orange blossom, Jasmine, Tuberose, Spices
Base Notes: Leather, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Ambergris, Patchouli, Myrrh, Castoreum, Oakmoss, Musk, Civet
Bandit had a baby girl named No. 19. She was raised expecting to succeed and never had to employ the raw animal tenacity needed to claw out of an economic depression and into a new world order. No.19 rivals its sibling No. 5, for adulation from the perfume congnoscenti, who value its ability to retain a sharp fresh green note all the way through the composition while delivering the expect Chanel refinement in the overall composition. The floral notes are much more restrained than in Bandit as are the leather and animalic notes. The reformulation has kept the sharp green and refined floral, but dropped the deep mossy and stronger leather base, which leaves the drydown somewhat indistinct. More than most of the mean green scents from the period, No. 19 has retained its central scent and its allure as a restrained, dry green floral. Particularly for the EDT, this easily performs as a unisex perfume in 2021.
Top Notes: Galbanum, Bergamot, Neroli, Hyacinth
Heart Notes: Rose, Orris, Jasmine, Narcissus, Lily of the valley, Ylang ylang
Base Notes: Musk, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Leather, Cedarwood
This award-wining 1978 from Aramis by perfumer Bernard Chant is an excellent example of a green herbal chypre with spice to keep it interesting. Galbanum drives the opening supported by citrus. The floral heart is restrained, softening the terpenic pine and thyme as they merge with the galbanum. The cinnamon shows up early and continues into a subdued, sweet but complex amber and moss base. This is an incredibly affordable perfume for its performance.
Top Notes: Bergamot, Galbanum, Artemisia, Lemon
Heart Notes: Jasmin, Carnation, Pine, Thyme, Cinnamon
Base Notes: Leather, Olibanum, Cedarwood, Amber, Musk, Moss, Patchouli, Labdanum
This 1975 release from perfumer Andre Fromentin is another affordable classic. This version of the green chypre-style men’s perfume is dry and very much restrained in the floral notes. The green opening is bracing and then fades quickly into a fairly linear powdery mossy woods. This does not go sweet in the base.
Top Notes: Galbanum, Petitgrain, Neroli, Lemon, Bergamot
Hear Notes: Violet, iris, Geranium, Mimosa, Sage, Narcissus, Rose
Base Notes: Oakmoss, Vetiver, Cedar, Tonka Bean, Almond
Indie house Baruti led by perfumer Spyros Drosopoulos released their first green scent with Tindrer in 2016. This is a far cry from the 1970’s-style monsters of green and moss and leather. Instead Drosopoulos presents almost the headspace of violet plants, of walking through wet grass, all while knowing this is a computerized dream of nature. Tindrer refers to a song of the same name, meaning “sparkle,” in Danish. Baruti says, “The perfume invites you to take a walk through a magical forest.” The goal is to have a green perfume that is both romantic and futuristic. Perhaps this is the grandchild (or great grandchild) of Bandit. It is bold as its predecessors were, perhaps less refined and blended than No. 19, but very much of a moment.
Notes: Cut Grass, Verbena, Buchu, Twigs, Wet soil, Violets, White musk, Ambergris, Heliotrope, Moss, Fir Balsam Absolute
This 1980 release from the house of Dior by perfumer Jean Martel straddles the line between the green monsters of the 1970’s and the powerhouse perfumes of the late 1980’s. One of the main differences between this and classic chypre compositions is the lack of sweetness from the labdanum in the base. This is dry all the way, but not bone dry. The leather is lighter, the moss is, as with everything, lighter. This is not a complex scent, but not simple. The quality of blending from Dior reminds one of Chanel’s efforts in this same space. It is floral in a way that masculine scents could not pull off a decade later.
Top Notes: Galbanum, Artemisia, Bergamot, Green notes, Laurel leaf, Lavender, Cumin
Heart Notes: Jasmine, Cyclamen, Carnation, Rose, Black pepper, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Basil
Base Notes: Russian leather, Moss, Tonka bean, Olibanum, Musk, Amber, Fir, Castoreum
Sharp green and bright pepper with spices combines with incense and woods to create a smokiness that defies understanding. This 2013 release by perfumer Alberto Morillas and Pierre Negrin moved galbanum away from the grasp of the chypre to an east meets west modern green spice oud. This follows on Frederic Malle’s Bois d'Orage approach to creating a sharp, dark smoke, but as reviewers note, this is an improvement.
Top Notes: Galbanum, Pink pepper, Cardamom, Nutmeg, Fenugreek
Heart Notes: Oud smoke, Patchouli, Ambrox, Leather, Ambergris
Base notes: Costus root, Muscone, Sandalwood, Olibanum, Cypriol
How simple can you make a classic woody, powdery green without losing your market? This simple. The Bug is delightful in the way that it pulls complexity out of this formula. The green is both off-putting and delightful. This is not the perfume for most people, but the greenest of the strangest perfumes who want to smell a hint off from a strong shade of powdery green.
Notes: Galbanum, Black pepper, Sandalwood, Tonka
This is a lovely, well-blended green floral scent in the style of reformulated Chanel No. 19 EDP. This would rank higher, but is really more a floral scent than the green of galbanum. It is lacks the aggressive sharp green of its forebears, which for many may be a benefit. Definitely something to sample if you are looking for a modern unisex floral.
Notes: Galbanum, Iris, Hyacinth, Neroli, Bergamot, Basil, Jasmine, Rose, Orange blossom, Vetiver, Patchouli, Oakmoss
A wonderful surprise 2018 release from London perfume house Miller Harris by founder and perfumer Lyn Harris. Wander is part of a trio of scents inspired by the idea of urban foraging: Hidden (on the Rooftops), Lost (in the City) and Wander (through the Parks). This narrative is the polar opposite of the fantasy of Chypre driving galbanum for so long. The closest comparison on this list is Tindrer, but Wander is a better blended, natural-seeming perfume. This scent is vegetal, fresh, and restrained in the drydown. This is not a green floral, but a green scent with some floral and fruit notes.
Top Notes: Pink grapefruit, Juicy mandarin, Blackcurrant, Pink berries
Heart Notes: Galbanum, Fig, Nettle, Indian tuberose
Base Notes: Violet leaf, Cashmere wood, Patchouli fraction, Musk
