Violette Precieuse

A truly unique fragrance. As much violet leaf as flower in the opening. A fresh, green, dry, masculine violet leaf to open, a little metallic. An intensely green, powdery open, mixing a clean, grassy, green with a deeper, earthier leafy scent. On me this is quite potent. Some of this is the violet, and violet leaf, but some is iris. The violet is not at all sweet, so the sweetness of the iris, like powdered sugar, is quite a treat. I have delayed reviewing this, as my appreciation has grown over time. This is a surprisingly assertive fragrance on me, not soft at all. Hardly seems a floral, as it seems so fresh and green on open, rooty and earthy on dry down. Only the heart seems sweet and floral, with a bright white jasmine joined by just a touch of LOTV. The sweet orange blossom on opening has remained in the background, until it merges with the heart notes to create a white floral accord. Remarkable to me is the drydown, combining a spicy, woody, dry nutmeg with a heavy, sweet sandalwood. Together, these create an exotic, balsamic note, resinous and woody. A little sour wood, but with a clean, bracing acidity. And the raspberry? This is an animalic raspberry, redolent of civet. It mixes with the nutmeg to create a glorious spicy note, dark and dirty. How this works with the dry, green, powdery, slightly acidic or acerbic opening, is a mystery. Somehow the florals join to sweeten and soften the green opening, while the woody, earthy, rooty base is sweetened by a spicy earthy nutmeg. The more I wear this gorgeous fragrance, the more confused, delighted, and engaged I feel. I can't wait to wear this one again. Edit: green, but definitely floral. The drydown is sweeter than the opening, a buttery sandalwood flirts with a lingering violet and powdery iris.

This is an exquisite spicy, earthy, woody, joyful violet. It has no hairspray note like Insolence or her flankers on my skin. It is not candy sweet like violet pastille candies. The sweetness is low key, natural, and elegantly Caron in nature. It feels very vintage Caron in the deft weaving of the vetiver, nutmeg, and raspberry base which becomes evident about 6-7 minutes after spray on for me. Oddly enough on me, the heart blooms after this point and THEN the gloriously beautiful Orange blossom, Iris, non-indolic Jasmine and just a touch of Lily Of The Valley swirl out. It becomes a beautiful very lush, dewy green forest floor. This doesn't go to powder on me. It is never oily but not dry either. It has a very relaxed, meditative feel without being sad or depressed. Feels like a moist forest floor with mist swirling around at eventide. I sense a deeply comforting earthiness without any overtly unpleasant "dirt" per se. It smells like a very organic natural violet with low-key white flower support, subtle fruit, and very discreet spice mediating. Beautiful woods all around cradling everything like a perfect portrait frame. This is the most delicately beautiful violet I have ever encountered. It is certainly not the strongest, the most edgy, the most groundbreaking, the most stylish.....but just purely for me...the most simply beautiful. I love it!

This is definitely the best violet perfume ever made. It has none of the cloying "little bunch of violets" little old lady perfume qualities you fear you might get. I bought mine around 2000, when it came in the bottle in the purple box with the green leaves at the base. I'm not sure if the new packaging means they've changed the formula too, but the one I have didn't need any changing. Don't pay any attention to the notes they say are in this perfume. To my nose anyway, this is all about the woods. When I wear it I think of a deep dark forest of maybe redwood trees, where you can't see the sky, and suddenly the sun comes shining through on a little patch of violets about 10 feet square. So, a good violet fragrance but lots of woods to keep it from being cloying. Very good to wear in the rain or on a cold day.

I had purchased La Violette by Annick Goutal several years ago, and loved the fragrance, but so disappointed that it just disappears after a few minutes, even if you douse yourself with it. I finally own a bottle of Violette Precieuse, and am very pleased with it - exceedingly pleased with it! It smells wonderful, lasts 4 - 6 hours on me, and has moderate sillage. I love it!

Green violet leaves coupled with petals. I love this frag'. Too bad it's discontinued. I'm stocking up now. I am looking into alternatives if anyone has any ideas. I hear that La Violette (Annick Goutal) is a nice green violet, and L'Artisan Parfumeur's violet fragrance looks promising. I'll report back with results.

This is my new favorite violet! Fresh, a little green, a little sweet- a bit sweeter than L'Artisan's Verte Violette, less musky than Guerlain's Insolence Glacee- I wish it had a teeny bit more sillage, but all the same, this is one of my new favorites for 2017!

Perhaps the best violet fragrance of all the time🏆 just love the smell of this elegant scent❤️ Well done Caron.

a sharp, green violet that is not powdery or soapy, lovely but lasts for about 30 minutes before fading

Not my favorite violet perfume, but a nice one nevertheless. I detect a distinctly carrot-like and vegetal note in the opening and middle. Not sure what causes this .Perhaps it's the violet leaf. Longevity and sillage are moderate. This is not a mournful violet, as is the case L'heure Bleu and Apres l'Ondee, and not as in your face as Insolence, which I love. This is more playful, and I can imagine wearing this roaming the streets of Paris in the early spring. Since I don't live in Paris, I'll have to wait and see how it comes alive during spring in New Jersey! Edit 4/5/2019 - This has actually become one of my favorite violets after all! Wore today on a perfect spring day and felt so pretty. She comes alive outdoors.

I'd wager that the 2006 formulation of Violet Precieuse is quite evocative of the 1913 original. It's so like (my admittedly modern version of) Guerlain's 1906 Apres L'Ondee: both violet scents get support from orange blossom, iris, vetiver, jasmine, sandalwood, and vanilla, and they smell like time travel. Apres L'Ondee has an unlisted mint note that gives it a certain fresh character; Violet Precieuse smells less powdery to me than it does dusty. That's not condemnation: Violet Precieuse is a beautiful antique, and it lives with a foot in 1913. If I were producing a play set in that period, I'd pump it into the theater. As it is, I wear it in private when I want to transport myself . . .

Probably the creator of this dna Or one of the first houses to create it Interesting and alluring The problem is Ive been there so it’s not impressing me in anyway Tried a couple of scents that smell close to this composition so it is redundant to my collection It is good but I have a better alternative which Is the discontinued gem 1000 by Jean peatu More complex more fascinating than this So I don’t think it can compete with the later to be placed on my shelf of honor Performance was good projection is weak Overall good but not great

VP opens with a sharp green opening, and in the heart I get strong white musk. At this point VP reminded me of Grey Flannel. In the dry down, a touch of iris, white musk, vetiver, and sharp green violet leaves. Overall, I found VP to be pleasant in intensity, but in scent and character almost identical to GF- that is, primarily soap and sharp greens. It's nice, I don't dislike it, but I don't love it either. To my nose, this needs a bit more florals or more of an evolution to really impress. VP is definitely unisex.

A gigantic watery violet leaf, Lov and rooty vetiver opens the fragrance which gives it almost a hairspray vibe with the alcohol presence in this fragrance.Sandalwood, iris and violet join in and begin to harmonize it. Neroli keeps things on the fresh earthy side and the musk and raspberry add a charming touch to make this unique. A great wear at the end of winter longing for the first cold crisp days of spring. Edp reviewed.

I was expecting much more from this. I am a fan of Caron scents and a fan of violet based perfumes. I love Violetta di Parma and I confess it without fear of being taken for a silly one only because VdP is the scent of little girls (at least it was when I was a little girl). I thought I could have had much more from Caron, but I see this one fades in no time and nothing remains.

the first one-two minutes are unpleasent with the pepper and celery smell but after that the smell is heavenly.i have smelled looots of violet fumes ,but this is one of a kind.very different from all others.

This is a very easy to wear soft violet. Violette Précieuse is a softer and more airy violet as opposed to the root-like and earthy violet leaf employed in it's perfume counterparts.

starts kind of herbal and a bit citrusy, then it turns out to a soft slightly powdery scent. A nice one that reminds me a lot of Nuits d'hardien by AG.

Violets always fashinated me; they always had a visual impact on me that I would define as profound. I think that the reason why this fragile small flower is linked to nostalgia is that in Autumn when the flowers are gone, one can still smell the odor of the leaves - nonadienal and nonadienol mainly – a specific and highly diffusive cucumber note. That is why in any violet composition or violet soliflore, violet leaves will play a major role. The natural reference shows little “variation,” unlike the multiple nuances of a rose. In fact, we speak about a highly characteristic plant without many botanical versions and without many “echoes” among other botanical families in the northern hemisphere. That is why the violet note is a good example of how "natural" odor becomes a concept as much as reality becomes realism in literature. Bear in mind that violets are more than ionones and the methyl ionone family with accents from the acetylenic family; when you analyze the natural odor, you will detect multiple nuances, like those related to flowers like cassis, narcissus, or cyclamen. I have learnt that on average a good violet base is made of For a basic violet fragrance, you need ionone a, ionone b, methyl ionone G (iralia), dihydrobeta ionone, orris concrete / abs, nonadienol and / or nonadienal, violet leaf absolute, cassis absolute, neofolione or violettine family, costus (replacement), and a teinture ambre gris (natural or reproduction), plus ginger or galangal or laurel leaf extracts. All these elements are present in Violette Precieuse, but what strikes me is its accdentuation of the green and sharp aspect of violet. But what strikes me is that, even if it is a very vintage product, it is devoided of any candied nunaces. Violette precieuse is almost ethereal, with an unusual orange blossom providing an unexpected contrast and a welcome lift. The other diversion from the violet is the heart that is constituted by a very nice muguet accord; it does not obfuscate the violet, but it enhaces it. The drydown is woody and earthy with a beautiful vetiver with herbal and vegetal elements; it also possesses a humus component, damp and peaty. IG @alexolympia6

Violet You've Turned Violet! This smells so amazing! First of all I love violets and iris flowers but in fragrance form they can get tricky. They can either smell too powdery or a tad melancholy - i.e. L'Heure Bleue - or old fashioned glamour - Oscar de La Renta Esprit D'Oscar. You never know what you're gonna get. Violette Precieuse is a well crafted fragrance of nocturnal purple flowers. Enchanting and magical. The floral notes provide it with a lush depth, almost like inhaling flowers in a garden after dark. The orange blossom greets my nose first, citrusy, and it's joined by a green floral lily of the valley, and then a stronger and longer lasting violet and iris. Flower power, floral dream, romantic, and elegant. It is like a strong floral cologne from the Edwardian Era. A perfume in the collection of Rose from Titanic. A raspberry scent, light and yet berry delicious, is also there to keep this thing from turning into a sad perfume. There is also a little nutmeg, nutty, and just a tad spicy, also to keep it from becoming dull. Vetiver & sandalwood at the dry down has enough woodsy notes and green oiliness to make it into a unisex fragrance. I can't think of any guy's colognes this reminds me of perhaps a more violet scented version of VERSACE BLUE JEANS. If you like floral chypres, violet, iris, and vetiver, this scent has it in spades. Romantic, formal, for wearing to weddings and Church. Beautiful!!!

This is an unusual and beautiful floral. The dominant opening note that first hits my nose is heavy vetiver. Dry and smoky, it is almost offputting when it starts to blend with the sharp green violet leaf notes in the topnotes. Then after about 20 minutes this lovely fragrance really begins to bloom and develop. Enter stage left violet, iris initially in a dry, powdery reserved mode with spicy nutmeg adding interest to the mix. Finally, enter stage right, the softening elements of the fragrance, slightly sweet muguet du bois, divinely present in the background with a chorus of jasmine and orange flower. Woods and nutmeg join in with the topnotes to create what to my nose is a unique modern violet fragrance with a distinctly retro vibe. I do not see this as just a floral, but as a vetiver fragrance and even with no patchouli, it has a modern chypre vibe. This fragrance is beautiful and intriguing on a woman and a man could definitely wear it with its strong vetiver and green notes. I am not sure what the original early 20th century version of this perfume smelled like, but the reformulation is divine to my nose. A must try for floral chypre lovers.

A nuanced violet devoid of some of the less desirable trappings of the note, including the excessively candied or the oily and astringent leafy qualities, Violette Precieuse is ethereal violet. It wafts, and doesn't leave a dense cloud, with an undercurrent of orange blossom that provides both a lift and a contrast. It starts off with this harmony of orange flower and violet and then blooms with other spring flowers, the muguet that is the body of the heart; not a mere blob of hydroxycitronellal, but a soft, supporting chorus for the violets. In spite of this floral heart, VP is unisex, due to the woody and earthy underpinnings. There is also an herbal, vegetal element that makes this more of a natural interpretation; there's sort of a dance between realism and impressionism. The vetiver in the base somehow lends a humus effect; damp, peaty earth lies beneath the spring flowers as the sun shines on a late April day. "Precieuse" indeed.

Don't expect too much about this. I think I'm at the point where I've tested and retested almost every Caron Fragrance. The current Violette preciouse is far from being the tipical dark and rebel creation by Ernest, it's obvious that Richard Fraysse put his hands on this scent. So please don't expect a Violette version of Narcisse Noir. Anyway Violette Preciousse it's an interesting fragrance. I am not typically drawn to "green" notes, they tend to be too sharp and dry, so i think this smell like a Herbal-Violet, a bit sweety and melancholy. I don't understand why i find similarities between this scent and 1000 by Patou.

I got this perfume by chance from a perfume shop in KSA this August/Y2011. I just wanted to own rare item, till now I am not sure I like it or not. From the first spray till end I have got dried-violet like potpourri..um...earthy. I niether get ozonic nor watery accord as above mentioned at all. This perfume is the most different among all I have owned. Anyhow I am happy I have something different, it made my (some) day less boring;)

Ok, I really gotta stop chasing green violets. Feels like I'm grazing. And there's this hairspray note in the first 10 minutes. But when all that is gone, it's a nice grassy purple violet. Really purple! Yum! The raspberry adds to the sweetness and there's this creamy purple feel in the drydown. I think it's the smoothest, deepest drydown among all the green violets I've tried.

Just received a decant of vintage Violette Precieuse - there is not much similarity with Borsari's Violetta di Parma. I smell smoke (vetiver?), dry woods, and something almost sweaty in the opening. Yes, there is the violet heart, but Bosari reminds me of a straight violet, the vintage Caron with more wood and dirt but still sweet.