Nuée Bleue

The perfume Nuée Bleue (Blue Cloud, in English) was created in the 1950s and represented Maison Violet's last breath in the midst of a period of reconstruction in France. It is part of the legacy that lay dormant for decades until the company's revival in 2017. Nuée Bleue was relaunched in 2019 and once again featured the talent of perfumer Nathalie Lorson (who also signs other fragrances for the house). Its fragrance was imagined as the calm before the storm. And to represent this cloud blowing the humid freshness, notes of bergamot, lemon, and orange blossom were combined in the head. Then, the carnation flower and the iris absolute make up the central part, while the base brings benzoin, sandalwood, and white musk. On the skin, Nuée Bleue does not hide many mysteries and reveals itself as a fragrance that is easy to decipher. Basically, it is a powdery floral, whose iris reigns absolute, elegant, and well supported by the other ingredients. Obviously, the opening is more vibrant and citrusy and the orange blossom gives a luminous content, representing the sun, which always shines above the clouds. Then, the iris explodes and shows its dry and powdery facets, without ever losing tenderness. For me, the highlight of this creation is the fact that, normally, fragrances with a very evident iris note make me think of shades of purple. But here, the color is white and clear, pushing me to a deeper stage, when the creamy sandalwood emerges and the musk reinforces the soapy effect that remains on the skin. Over the hours, Nuée Bleue reveals itself as the classics of a time in the perfumery universe, when powdery fragrances represented social status, romanticism, and femininity. Over the decades, this olfactory profile has survived and adapted, getting rid of absurd doses of aldehydes and gaining touches of modernity. Nuée Bleue is the right bet for those who already know this timeless style, who have already been enchanted by fragrances from brands such as Guerlain or Prada and are now part of a more demanding public, which in addition to not worrying about the commercial barriers of gender, also seeks concept, history, and quality when buying new perfumes. Finally, Nuée Bleue has a style of poetry, like those that are published on the internet on a background image containing rain on the window.

I really appreciate that Maison Violet offered a sample of Nuee Bleue when it first released for just 2 euros to those on the email list - I think that's a great idea for all brands try so that people can easily try the newest release. I look forward to trying their future releases if they continue with the same policy. When I first sprayed this on, I was immediately reminded of my beloved Prada Infusion d'Iris. There is a lot of bergamot in this fragrance, and lemon which I smell in the opening. Very fresh, and "frosty." Then begins a beautiful blending of orange blossom and iris, so intertwined you sometimes get a dash of orange but then you chase it back into cold iris petals. Thank you, Elena, for writing a splendid article on this perfume - she described it perfectly. This fragrance smells cold, without ever being sharp or metallic, which is an incredible thing to achieve for the perfumer. It never loses its coldness, even as it wears on my skin. When I smell it, it's gives me the physical feeling of inhaling chilly winter air outside - dry and cold with hints of some beautiful natural smells, like very distant laundry coming to you on a winter's breeze. Laundry done with plain soaps and starch, no fancy fabric softeners or anything like that, this is not a detergent smell. Because the musks used here are not warm, they don't billow around you like a warm musky iris fragrance might. But it still does have lift, and I can smell a beautiful, elegant, cold iris "aura" around me that shifts into consciousness from time to time. This is more severe to me than N19! But I always loved my fragrances to make me seem "untouchable", so that's perfectly alright with me :) Thank you, Maison Violet, this was a pleasure to smell :)

Nuée Bleue (“Blue cloud”) is, to me, one of the best iris fragrances available today. Not better than Chanel’s La Pausa or N°19 Poudré, with their vetiver base, which embody for me the full beauty of cool and fresh irises. But Nuée Bleue stands alongside the excellent Le Dix by Balenciaga and comes close to Iris Fath by Jacques Fath - another high peak in today's iris landscape. Nuée Bleue smells like true iris butter - creamy, powdery, and incredibly natural. The quality of the ingredients is immediately noticeable. The fragrance is cool, classically composed, without any sharp powder, dustiness, carrot overload, or acetone notes. It remains refined and “delicious” in a perfumery sense. It doesn’t slip into a cosmetic territory but stays a vivid sketch of iris flowers and root. It evokes Japanese imagery, where blue irises are often found around ponds. Yet it is not the delicate, watery, molecular iris of Iris Ukiyoe by Jean-Claude Ellena, but a more alive and naturalistic interpretation. I prefer it to Iris Médicis by Patricia de Nicolai, where the leather in the base slightly weighs the composition down. I can’t fault a single note from the opening to the drydown. The fragrance is quiet, with almost no sillage. There is something in it reminiscent of Céline Rimbaud, which has a similar iris character. It feels modern and presents a noble iris without leaning too far into either feminine cosmetic softness or masculine cedar-pencil dryness. Although such irises are usually more typical of feminine compositions, this is a rare case where such a luxurious iris can also be imagined as a masculine fragrance. It is masterfully crafted and balanced with fresh, cool citrus notes. It’s a scent you want to breathe in.

"Blue cloud" is a perfect name for this! It feels hazy, semi-transparent, light, and still somewhat surrounding/consuming. It's definitely in the Infusion Iris family of light "freshened up" orris-ey scents. This one is perfectly balanced with a sharp, fresh opening, a glorious powdery iris heart that isn't too sweet, and a gentle white musky drydown. It's not going to move heaven and Earth...and no real points for originality, but its immaculately executed. In the grand scheme of "infusion Iris-esque" scents (I just tried "Trench" recently so it's on my mind!) the sharp and soapy opening of this makes it feel "extra unisex." Maybe it's association because the "fancy bubble-bath meets hairspray" topnotes bring to mind whatever scent emanates from Thomas Pink's fancy men's shirt stores. A great "easy reach" scent that I'm glad to stock for mornings when I don't know what to pick.

The opening has a small sour note I don't love but is still nice. One of those openings that you just need to experience a few times to get used to and appreciate. Oh but the dry down is what I cannot get enough of...it is so beautiful, soft, it is powdery but not a dull or stale powder. After a couple of hours the scent was so familiar, an old love that I could not quite name and finally it came to me..L'Air du Temps. Yes a modern fresh faint L'Air du Temps. There is a very soft pretty clean note in the dry down that has me coming back for more. A very feminine perfume. I'm surprised it is listed as unisex as there are no masculine notes but it is vey clean just showered vibe in the dry down Edit: After a few days this one has really grown on me. I now love the opening and am head over heals for it after the first hour. One of the best blind buys yet