Greenbriar
Caswell-Massey (1984)

The opening sets the tone: with wormwood, a citrus - I get mainly tangerine with mandarin, a fresh petitgrain, as well as a sage this is a fresh and green herbal-citrus start, that develops quite deliciously.

Later on the green herbs move into the foreground, strengthened by the addition of a thyme impression. Soon a French lavender arises, and this lavender becomes the lead theme on me for the hours to come. It takes on slightly powers characteristics for a while, and works together beautifully with the rest of the mix, with the cites components having tailed off by now. Later on a green vetiver is making an appearance, an bright vetiver is a touch or crispiness but only minimal earthiness on me; it continues the green/ bright/fresh/herbal themes.

The base adds a light patchouli component that lances and darkness amor harshness, a patchouli lite so to speak. A touch of musk, followed by a discrete labdanum gives it an edge towards the end, but the green theme persists until the end.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection, and an impressive eleven hours on my skin.

A beautiful spring creation, with ingredients of high quality and an outstanding performance, a paradigmatic fresh and herbal scent. There are similarities in the overall concept with Davidoff's Cool Water, with Penhaligon's English Fern, and with some Creeds, especially Green Irish Tweed and Green Valley, with the later also using mandarin and musk in the green mix. This is one of the great green compositions. 3.75/5

Sure, scents fall into categories. But you can't just build a generic pigeonhole for “Irish Spring-ish Fragrances” and stick this in it. If that's all you're getting out of this, you're missing quite a bit - especially if you can't tell the difference between Irish Spring - which itself has changed markedly over the years - Coast, and Zest (seriously?). This cologne is much more complex than that, and I like it.

This smells like a typical bar of soap, "Coast," or "Zest," etc.

A soft soap smell. I so not know the exact reason I change my mind over time about particular fragrances, but something told me to give this one another try. I had Greenbrier lying around on my husband's dresser for years, not really likng it but not parting with it either. I was looking for something else to wear and I shopped at my own home. This has happened a lot lately. My age or experience?
I cannot say anything different than what has been mentioned. It is an overall pleasant soapy with a soft dry down that resembles Irish Spring. The lavender gives it an herbal appeal. Greenbrier is fresh, clean, and simple. I keep tryng to look for a fresh new scent. I don't know what is it but contemporary scents have this synthetic, harsh smell. Not Greenbrier, at no time does it dry and reveal notes that are unpleasant.

As a child I smelled
The mountain motel's bar soap
Glad to be alive.

I've never liked sharp, tweedy scents, finding them abrasive and off-putting. Greenbriar, the original, is one of those scents. The lavender and sage are to my nose offensive and grating.

One of CM's historical scents was called Purple Sage, this being a combo of the lavender and sage that is in Greenbriar, but it was far softer, bracing (yes), but not in your face harsh, as I found the original Greenbriar to be.

If you are looking for a great green scent, Givenchy's III has yet to be topped in my book.