Green Scents are an Aromatic Advantage

Green scents are an aromatic advantage we have in combinations of green, herbal and fruity aromas. Serving to add movement and to calm, the green scents link and provide intensity wherever needed to improve the overall aspect of a blend.

In the painting above (On the Banks of the Seine, Claude Monet, 1868) a woman sits under the dappled shade of a tree, gazing out across a waterway.

I’m a Monet fan and in this painting I see messages of relaxation and attention. Partly with brush strokes, choice of color, and the position of the woman across the river from two others, the artist illustrates an interlude or respite. You can almost hear the quietude there. I view this scene of nature and provider, and note a certain resilience in this woman’s attitude towards her life. Her outlook is nurtured by the simple act of seeking refuge at the water’s edge, on a sunny day, under the shade of a tree.

Sheltered from the sun by overhanging green leaves, the woman rests on the pillowy lawn of green grass. This makes me think of the color green as having a calming influence on energy rising.

Green scents smell fresh, bright but not piercing, and can be moderately long-lived on the skin. An idea of what “green” smells like can be experienced by crushing a leaf (any living leaf) and inhaling the bruised and in-tact parts together. Notice that it’s not a sweet smell, necessarily. But it does have an aroma, whether perfume-worthy or not.

Green, the word we use to denote it, occurs as the most prevalent color on earth. James Fox, in “The World According to Color”, 2023, writes “… the most obvious and enduring color association lies between the color green and vegetation”.

Further, he says, the meaning of the color green in early Germanic languages was the same as the word “to grow”. And green was the same as the word “to sprout” in Romance languages. More than any other color, green has been with us since day one. The range of color we recognize in green is in our DNA, our knowledge of the natural world, food, agriculture, shelter—many things basic to survival. The color green remains indistinguishable from nature. Although as a species we didn’t stop at associating green with nature, we continue to evolve and expand its meanings to cover every aspect of desire for comfort and wealth. Green coexists with us, creatively.

Because green is familiar in fresh vegetables and fruits, green scents are also familiar, they spark energy and assurance at the same time, delivering emotional support. Together with herbal scents they respond to the digestive and nervous systems.

Green – the Color of Scent

From the vantage point of smell, a word for color is entrusted to green alone. We speak of green smells, but not of red, purple, or yellow ones, etc. Of other terms in use, the spicy, floral, woody, resinous, camphoraceous, etc. aromas, notice how all are distinctive and evoke familiar memories. We find that words, while rather inadequate to indicate a smell, are nonetheless selected to describe smells. Most frequently, words are chosen on the basis of familiarity with the associated experiences of taste and smell.

Take perfume, for instance. These days categories of scent are grouped into four basic aromatic groups: floral, oriental, woody, and fresh. Note that green remains among the fresh group along with water, citrus and lavender.

It seems so fitting to me that green with all of its associations should be the only color word we use in the world of scent. Green has perhaps the highest honor of being. From the beginning of time, of plant life, green is, green exists.

Green, Herbal, & Fruity

From kitchen gardens the Herbal scents are an ideal aroma, along with fruits — mostly citrus. These three types of scent — green, herbal, and fruity — support “vision and purpose, with adaptability wherever needed.” In other words, the green-herbal-fruity scents are very practical, supportive to our emotional life.

Notice in the painting how alert and calm the young woman is. It’s that sense — perhaps the 6th sense — of equanimity with what is. She’s accessing resilience, a kind of self-care, that gives the green scents their edge.

Green scents smell fresh. You’ll find them as stand alone aromas, or strongly scenting plants such as Violet leaf or Coriander leaf, Lemon Verbena. Within essential oils you will find a combination of aromas. In Bergamot, Melissa, Green Myrtle, Rosemary chemotypes, Spanish Sage, and Spearmint, the scent of green co-exists with herbal or medicinal or minty aromas.

Green scents, combined with just one additional essential oil, can strongly promote energetic movement in the body when there is congestion, mucus, infection. Similarly, a green scent can clear stagnated feelings and allow rest and sleep.

Green-Herbal-Fruity

Green-Herbal-Fruity combinations of essences may match the natural aromatics in a therapeutic essential oil. Combining Spanish Sage (Salvia lavandulifolia), Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum), and Laurel (Laurus nobilis) essential oils creates a bright, green-herbal aroma to address clearing the breath. Although considered a floral oil, the essential oil of Ylang-Ylang (Cananga odorata) has decidedly green notes and combines well with herbal essential oils. German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita), Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Laurel combine well to relax nervous tension, as do Juniperberry (Juniperuscommunis), Lavender and Laurel for intensive relaxation and calming. For more ideas, see Aroma Blending Salon.

NOTES:

Text quoted is from:
Fox, James. The World According to Color: A Cultural History, 2021. Published by St. Martin’s Press, New York, NY, 2022.

Image of painting by Eduard Monet, “On the Banks of the Seine”, 1868 by Art Institute of Chicago from Unsplash.com

Inhale an Irresistible Aroma Every Day!

This page is for information only and is not intended as advice or treatment for any condition.

Green Scents – A Color to Smell