Green Apple
Crisp, tart apple flesh with a watery green peel and a hint of sour sweetness.
You may know it from A freshly cut Granny Smith apple
Where it comes from
Built from aroma chemicals; apples do not yield a practical perfume extract.
Worth knowing
It is usually a reconstruction, not oil pressed from apples.
About green apple
Green apple is a reference to a particular fruit. The usual one is Granny Smith, a firm apple that is often sour and acidic, and the note borrows its tart, crisp peel. The cultivar began as a chance seedling that was propagated, and it keeps for as long as a year in good storage without losing quality.
The smell of the real fruit is a poor guide to the formula. A study of apple cultivars found that Granny Smith had a low total content of volatile compounds, with a high relative amount of 2-hexenal, a green leafy component. Apple aroma sits at parts-per-million levels in any variety, so perfumers build the accord from isolated or synthesised molecules, and there is no apple oil or absolute worth using. Trans-2-hexenal, the leafy one, goes into perfume highly diluted. In its pure form it carries the skin-sensitisation hazard statement H317.
Amounts stay small. Scentspiracy suggests ethyl 2-methylbutyrate at up to about 1 to 2% of a fragrance concentrate and hexyl acetate at up to about 1%. Hexyl acetate is not restricted under the 51st Amendment to the IFRA Standards, and ethyl 2-methylbutyrate is described as unrestricted in EU cosmetics. One retailer's guide says the materials are made by aroma-chemical houses such as IFF, Givaudan and Symrise.
Because esters evaporate quickly, the accord shows up early. Two sources describe a bright, tart burst at the start that softens into leafy, slightly woody facets, with little apple left after several hours. Hexyl acetate is classed as a top-note modifier, which fits.
One trade source credits DKNY Be Delicious, from 2004 and composed by Maurice Roucel, with sparking a trend for fresh, fruity top notes in mainstream perfumery. The pyramid lists green apple among its heart notes.
Accords it shows up in
How many of the fragrances listing Green Apple in our catalogue also carry each accord. We counted this ourselves.
Often paired with
The notes that appear next to Green Apple most often in our catalogue.
Well-known fragrances with Green Apple
Fragrances that list it in their notes, most-rated first.
Houses that use it most
Ranked by how many of their well-known fragrances list Green Apple.