I will try to write an objective review of this famous cologne by Hermès, because in comparison to others, like Eau Sauvage, 4711, Orange Spice, I think it is the least fruity, and most lackluster of the bunch. However, on its own merits, it's very good.
Eau d'Orange Verte opens with a bright lemon and orange accord, smelling juicy and fresh, and which rapidly recedes behind a solidly bitter bergamot. Very quickly thereafter a woody note takes over, softened by a pleasantly naturalistic orange blossom. The floral element plays second fiddle to an overwhelming woodiness, and at the twenty minute mark I'm struggling to find the citrus notes of the opening. With heat-activating breath on skin, the orange is drawn out, but never really retains the lucidity of the Bitter Orange in Eau Sauvage, or the synthetic Technicolor Valencia of Orange Spice. Its cologne concentration works against any legibility Eau d'Orange Verte may have, and forces a spare-green woodiness into the spotlight for the remainder of its short life.
Still, it's very well-made, and arguably the most naturalistic orange cologne on the market. The essence of simple orange zest is there, but without Creed's budget or Dior's in-house secrets, the effect is limited enough that I'm not entirely sure the fragrance is as successful as the critics want it to be.