Creed — Selection Verte
Essence
Selection Verte (Sélection Verte) is a cult Creed citrus-aromatic “freshie” - a bright, nose-tickling neroli-citrus cologne cooled by a strong vein of peppermint, over the abstract ambergris base that runs through Creed’s DNA. Among Creed skeptics it’s a repeated exception (“can’t believe I’m liking yet another Creed”); among fans it’s “the most perfectly timeless fresh scent.” Think Moroccan mint tea next to a bowl of freshly peeled citrus.
Scent Profile
The opening is the universally praised part: a bright, airy, well-blended citrus cocktail (lemon/lime/mandarin) with cooling peppermint and soapy neroli, lightly peppered. As it settles, the green-herbal heart rises - minty, with a “green pea-like” herbaceousness and herbes-de-Provence character - and the citrus recedes to a soft skin scent over ambergris. No woods are listed, yet wearers find the drydown surprisingly grounded thanks to the ambergris. The signature effect is a cooling, almost “supercooling skin-contact” mint sensation. collectors note the juice color predicts the profile: golden/amber batches are richer, more floral/spicy/vegetal; pale-yellow/clear batches skew tart, “superchilled-minty-effervescent,” more basil/herbal.
Performance
The Achilles’ heel. Like most Creed citruses, longevity is poor-to-moderate - reviewers report anywhere from ~2 hours (skin scent fast) to ~6 hours, with projection strong for only the first ~45 minutes before it goes close-to-skin. “Longevity is as fleeting as a muse… reapply between sips” of your mint julep. Acceptable for the genre (most EDCs die in ~2 hours) but frustrating given the price. It’s an EDT, not an EDC or EDP.
Wearing Context
Spring and summer, hot-weather, warm-climate fresh scent - “perfect for a stroll through Central Park with a beautiful woman on a warm spring/summer day.” Robust enough for year-round wear in colder climates with extra applications. Genuinely unisex; the black-pepper facet gives some wearers a “manly confidence” in the drydown, but it reads clean and bright across genders.
Comparisons & DNA
The most authoritative comparison comes from critic-historian “varanisridari” (The Scented Devil), who argues Selection Verte is essentially Jacques Fath Green Water “with a whole lot more herbs and mint. a thick layer of breathy ambergris tincture underneath, and a heavier neroli,” landing it “between Green Water and Eau de Guerlain (1974)” - and calls it, pointedly, “an unbalanced Green Water.” Wearers compare the citrus opening favorably to Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte and Tom Ford Neroli Portofino, and the genre to Roger & Gallet Extra Vieille. Detractors reduce it to Creed Citrus Bigarade (“Hall’s cough candy”) or even drugstore mint. Within Creed it’s grouped with the brand’s better freshies (Silver Mountain Water, Virgin Island Water).
Reception
A connoisseur’s favorite with a near-spotless sentiment record - one reviewer notes that among all the negative reviews, “none actually disliked the smell,” only the longevity/price. wearers call it possibly “the best mint fragrance ever created.” The recurring lament: “Selection Verte should never have been discontinued - it’s better than half of Creed’s current lineup.” No Turin/Sanchez star rating surfaced; the deepest analysis is on.
Versions & Reformulation
This is where Creed’s notorious date-fabrication matters. The catalog’s “1901 / Henry Creed Fourth Generation” is Creed’s own marketing claim - the fragrance is also tagged as commissioned by/worn by Sigmund Freud, a story most enthusiasts openly disbelieve (“not something I completely believe, but whatever”). The consensus (varanisridari) dates the actual creation to circa 1970, when Olivier Creed reopened the house after Charles Creed closed the tailoring business in 1966; Selection Verte belonged to the early, unofficially-named “Grey Caps” line - clear bottles literally labelled with a Dymo label maker - and was likely an unused industry mod. So: treat 1901 as fiction, ~1970 as the real birth. Multiple vintage batches exist ( photos show progressively lighter juice over time); IFRA restrictions on citrus oils are widely blamed for its discontinuation (alongside Citrus Bigarade). It was “vaulted,” reissued only sporadically in large flacon form, then effectively superseded by Green Neroli (2020).
Acquisition Notes
Discontinued/vaulted and expensive when found. Sold only in large flacon form in its final years - per critic varanisridari (The Scented Devil), availability was “limited to the 250ml flacons at $515,” and one blogger cites bottles fetching “thousands of dollars” on the secondary market. The sane play: sample/decant it for the history (multiple decant sources carry it), and if you love the profile, buy Green Neroli new as the living substitute. Note longevity is poor regardless of batch, so don’t overpay for a full bottle expecting all-day wear.
Notable Facts & Lore
- The Sigmund Freud commission story is the fragrance’s signature lore - and a textbook example of Creed’s habit (per historians) of marketing perfumes as far older and more illustrious than they are.