Niche fragrances in the "green" category have largely been busts for one reason, and one reason only: they can't compete against Creed. Say what you will, but if you're in the market for an aromatic green scent, Creed is the company to hit up.
Take your pick: Green Irish Tweed, Green Valley, Original Vetiver, Sélection Verte, Chevrefeuille, Royal Water, Silver Mountain Water, and if you're an adventurous guy, Spring Flower, Acqua Fiorentina, and Jardins d'Amalfi, all amazing scents. For a bitter, grassy fresh scent, you'll do no better than Green Valley. For a buttoned-up charity dinner aromatic fern, Green Irish Tweed is almost unmatched. Original Vetiver is as soapy, green, and clean as it gets. Chevrefueille and Royal Water are excellent unisex options, and the rest are all variations on the theme that crush the competition via superior ingredient quality. They may not be the most exciting fragrances, but the list above highlights the answers to any green lover's questions about perfume.
Trevert by Aftelier had promise. This is a respected brand with an equally respectable digital and carbon footprint. I figured Trevert would smell really good, and guess what? It does! But guess what else? The smell lasts about fifteen minutes before fading into thin air. That's fine, but not at Aftelier's prices. While it lasts, the fragrance is a distinctly herbal affair, full of pine, tarragon, cut grass, and a dry birch bark note that lends it a little dimensionality beyond the turf.
Its main strength is that it smells very serene and natural. Its biggest drawback is that it also smells a lot like one of those au naturel scented candles found in your typical au naturel healthfood store. There's a familiar twinge to the woody greenness, like the smell of walking down the aisle of plastic gallon buckets with scoops where you can take your fill of dates, seeds, and dried herbs for a hundred dollars a pound.
Adding to the disappointment is the fact that none of the naturals used in Trevert are up to par with Creed's chemicals. Let's be real here - Creed isn't really niche, it's more like the tippy-top of designer (they used to be a clothing concern), and as kings of the designer realm, they're not exactly expected to meet the quality of top-shelf niche. Yet in this backwards world, Creed fragrances surpass niche quality in general, falling short only in inventiveness. Creeds are usually very safe and familiar.
Trevert does nothing to make me want to take chances. It is a boring, short-lived, transparent little fragrance that falls a few hours shy of being memorable, and in no way lives up to its price-point. But, I do appreciate the effort.