Greenley Parfums de Marly 2020

The name "Greenley" appears again and again in relevant reviews, and the verdict is always consistently positive. Some even go so far as to say that it is THE best summer fragrance. So my interest was piqued, a look at the fragrance notes: tangy green apple - sounds good. I actually like a nice apple note, such as in Yves Saint Laurent Y.

But unfortunately everything turned out differently with Greenley. I bought a small bottle and sprayed it on expectantly, but what I smelled was nowhere near as fresh and sparkling as I would have expected, rather a peculiar mixture of effervescence and a certain ... mustiness(?). The olfactory sensation reminds me of the experience of eating an ice cream with a numb mouth after a local anaesthetic from the dentist: there is a certain freshness, but all in all, the main impression is one of dullness. Unfortunately, this feeling even intensifies as the drydown continues. While the Greenley still has a not inconsiderable freshness at the beginning, soon all that remains is this mustiness. A kind of scratchy, dull, dark woodiness dominates the rest of the fragrance.

So I set out to find out what this could be. After some research, I came across some opinions on this platform that at least gave me an idea: Apparently, some perfume houses use a synthetic fragrance called Ambrocenide (not to be confused with Ambroxan, which smells very pleasant!) and this is perceived differently by people. Some find the scent very pleasant and enjoy the "beastmode" longevity it gives a fragrance. However, some also find this fragrance deeply off-putting and describe the impression as scratchy and woody. An occasional example of this effect is the Erba Pura / Erba Gold creation by Xerjoff, which is known to completely divide opinion. I can only imagine that this synthetic fragrance could also have been used in Greenley, as the disruptive note reminds me of the disruptive note of Erba Pura / Erba Gold, which I personally cannot stand at all.

In this respect, I'm happy for everyone here who doesn't perceive this perfume the way I do and can enjoy the refreshing apple - but unfortunately it's not for me. But I would have liked it so much.

P.S.: I absolutely don't want to rule out the possibility that I might be suffering from confirmation bias. I am therefore very happy to receive divergent opinions or factual corrections if I am wrong.