Sketch

Sketch was created, originally, in 1900 and was called Ambre Royal - Parfum Extra Supérieur. The complete line used to have soap, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, Hair Lotion, Face Powder, among other products. In 1924, it was renamed to Sketch and the square bottle gained a new design and oval finishing. With the relaunch of Maison Violet, the new version was ready in 2017 and featured the talent of perfumer Nathalie Lorson (who also signs the other two fragrances - Pourpre d'Automne and Un Air d'Apogée). Sketch is a scent of oriental and ambery olfactory path, that is, it is warm and sweet throughout its evolution. The current version has gained an extra touch of flowers and a modern chypre effect, following the trend of the new chypres. Its official composition lists notes of bergamot, pink pepper, and nutmeg, on top. Then, in the body of the fragrance, we have rose centifolia and tuberose absolute. In the base, notes of patchouli and absolutes of vanilla and tonka beans were combined. There is also a silky dose of musk, enveloping the entire olfactory pyramid. Of the three fragrances revisited by Nathalie Lorson, Sketch is undoubtedly my favorite. It touches the skin with a strong spicy and floral aspect, in which the nuances of nutmeg, pepper and rose scream. The tuberose absolute, at first, brings a milky side. However, over time, the spicy side of the beginning loses strength for a more floral and indolic body. That's when there seems to be a growing curve of impact and greater projection. After this stage, a sweetened and dusty patchouli emerges and brings the sweet side of the vanilla, anticipating the scent that will permeate until the end, along with the tasty and medicinal aroma of the tonka bean absolute. Then again, the fragrance seems to return to its previous level, reducing the projection. The lasting on the skin is excellent. For Maison Violet of nowadays, Sketch is the representation of the desire to please. If it serves as feedback, mission accomplished successfully!

Wearing this today so I just had to meander on over here again to say that I FLIPPING FREAKING love this fragrance. Nathalie Lorson did the damn thing with this one. She is most definitely my favorite perfumer. Every single time I end up loving something, she is the perfumer...Lancome Parfait De Roses, The Musicology Frags, especially The Rose (Parfait De Roses cheaper, but no less beautiful twin) and Lancome Parfait De Roses, Lilac Love, Love Tuberose, etc. Sketch is such a creamy, dense, thick, rich, buttery, Play-Doh (in the best way possible), non-gourmand vanilla/amber/patchouli fragrance. I don't get any florals here, no tuberose at all. This was a blind buy based on the notes and one of my most successful blind buys ever. Longevity and sillage is INSANE. Just get it...if you love amber, vanilla and patchouli, I can't see you not loving this. It's class in a bottle. Edit: I ended up back here and read my review...I don't know why I said this was a blind buy (maybe I was thinking of another frag when I was reviewing this, I have no idea) but I actually received a sample of this a couple of years back from a kind member of a FB fragrance group that I'm in and fell in love with it and had to have it. But I feel like this is a safe blind buy if you love patchouli, tonka and vanilla. Today is 11/26/24 and I'm wearing this AGAIN. I just wore this last week. This is so good and gets a lot of wear. 💜

Buying into the kickstarter for Cycle 001, I was late to the party trying the Legacy discovery set. It arrived today, and I decided to start with this. I'm always careful about first time sprays, so do so sparingly and on one wrist. I never look up notes before I form my opinion. This perfumes composition is so far removed from my normal powdery violet/iris or fruity gourmand that I was worried I'd never come to enjoy the first hit I got, of Brandy. It was Christmas in March, with the combination of tonka, vanilla and nutmeg. This dissipated very quickly into what I can only describe as the most divine powdery yet peppery vanilla rose, laying on a bed of bergamot. This is a symphony of beautiful notes, blended to perfection. 13 hours later and it's sitting much closer to me, but my nose keeps snuffling up the remaining vapour of powdery amber goodness. This would suit a warm summers evening to perfection, when we're allowed outside again to meet real people! Careful, the sillage is MASSIVE and two sprays is more than enough for a full night of anything. I'm trying a new one tomorrow from the discovery, but I literally can't WAIT to wear this again.

Sketch is an absolutely lovely amber perfume. It doesn't smell like Shalimar at all, to me it most resembles Ambre 114. They both have a kind of dusty nutmeg patchouli earthy opening and heavy vanillic warm sweet drydown that lasts forever. I've sprayed them side by side and they are not one for one, though. Sketch is heavier on the nutmeg, more dry, less green in the opening. But in the drydown they give me a similar experience. They're the same kind of not too sweet but very warming and comforting amber. If I didn't own Ambre 114, I would absolutely go for Sketch, the opening is a little dustier than I like but the drydown is heaven and lasts so well on me. Maybe when I run out of the other, I'll get this one :)

I love this one because it feels delightfully dichotomous on my skin. To me it evokes a refined woman who has a taste for vintage powdery spicy vanilla, but also this inexplicable cheeky and playful note of rootbeer. I'm not sure which combo is causing it, but I feel like I'm sitting in a fancy cafe in fine dress drinking the world's most expensive root beer. My only complaint is it feels weird wearing it in the spring and I'll probably shelf until fall and winter. Feels like one that could easily be worn day and night while being safe for work and fun enough to go out in.

A really lovely scent. I was surprised when I found the note pyramid on the Violet website. Top Note: Bergamot, Nutmeg, Pink Pepper Heart Note: Rose, Tuberose Base Note: Patchouli, Madagascar Vanilla, Tonka Bean I really thought there was heliotrope, iris, violet and leather present. I would never guessed this was it. There must be some mistake. It has the same melancholic air as lheure bleu. It has a definite vintage aspect to it yet also timeless. If the blue hour is unisex then I guess this is to. I get moderate longevity and sillage.

Quite a lipsticky scent to me. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this makeup-like quality to it, I suppose I've only just realized this myself. It's probably why I love this scent so much! This is a very thick, waxy, semi-sweet vanilla lacking gourmand qualities to me. Yes, it's buttery, but not like food, more like velvet. The addition of a tonka and patchouli really help to add a thick, powdery, yet earthy quality not found in other vanillas I've tried. The tonka has a chewy-sweet-almondy quality. Truly wonderful!

I LOVE this. The vanilla is so yummy w/ a buttery, almost leathery appeal that's not too sweet. It reminds me of sophisticated, buttered popcorn without the funkiness, if that makes any kind of sense. I love vanilla offerings that just take it there in an interesting direction without being so simplistic like something you'd find in bath and bodyworks. My favorite so far from the line. The others are either too powder or too vintage to my nose. I'm happy to have this one!

Received my sample from Maison Violet and immediately had to wear this beauty. Despite the notes on the pyramid above, Sketch is leathery, violet/rose jammy, and powdery sweet but not cloyingly. I am absolutely in love with her and might need to buy a full bottle. A great deal on their site at the moment for free samples and you only pay shipping, btw. I highly recommend because each fragrance is exquisite and well worth the cost of shipping even if you only like 1 or 2.

I absolutely love this fragrance, it belongs to my favourite ambery sub-group that consists of perfumes like Ambre Sultan (Serge Lutens), L' Eau d' Ambre Extreme (L' Artisan Parfumeur), Ambre 114 (Histoires de Parfums), Blue Amber (Montale). It is perfectly balanced, classy and comforting at the same time. A 'personal' (the ones that you wear for yourself) as well as 'social' (the ones that you wear so that others smell them) perfume.

Very lovely sweet Guerlain-like opening fading to powdery tonka. It's lovely but not at all original, and does smell somewhat dated. It reminds me of a dusty parisian shop selling dolls and mirrors and such, powdery vanity realness from a bygone era. Not at all like Shalimar to my nose except for the general guerlinade element.

I call this one “my Arabic scent”. Vanilla with spice, amber and wood, sensuality and a hint of bergamot to lift up the dark and sweet. A big love in winter and summer. I wear little of it because it is quite heavy and at the same time I can long for this deeply.

The spicy, warm opening had me wary - the patchouli almost felt overwhelming. But then the dry down surprised me, delivering full-blown Guerlainade vibes at a fraction of the price.

(20) ★★★★★ your pashmina shawl upon which your pet kitten sleeps soundly, dreaming

"There was something different about her. Her attitude, her way of talking, even her way of walking. It was like she was from another Era, another life... She just radiated confidence and beauty. Maybe even royalty. Yes, royalty ..." Maison Violet was founded in 1827 by Mr. Violet. It was then a cosmetics manufacturer with great success. It sadly disappeared somewhere along the way, up until 2017, when 3 young perfume enthusiasts: Anthony, Paul, and Victorien, restored it back to life, honoring the perfumes that once made the brand famous. The one i'm telling you about today, Sketch, was once called 'Ambre Royal', way back in 1924 ... And to me, that was a perfect name for the scent. Sketch is a gorgeous classy fragrance, and you know how sometimes you associate colors with different scents ? All I see for this one is the color purple, and it does feel like something royal. The fragrance opens up spicy with some dry nutmeg and pink pepper, and a beautiful mix of bergamot and rose in the background. Then, the best part. A dusty patchouli on a sensual veil of vanilla, with some tonka bean and a musky playground. It all results in a beautiful 'lipsticky' and sweet scent that stays on the skin and lasts all day. Natalie Lorson did an amazing job at creating a fragrance that is gorgeous, but also that feels timeless, and even royal, yes, royal ... 💜

Pink Pepper is often a problem note, and I was initially concerned. But fortunately after about 20 minutes it begins to meld with other notes, namely nutmeg. Tuberose is also hard to detect in this mix. Sketch is a powdery amber scent with a pronounced dry vanilla note. The drydown reminded me of root beer. I’m picky when it comes to Amber and vanilla, as there are so many stellar perfumes in this category. And I think from Violet Maison, I have other favorites that I’m discovering as I work my way through the sample set. A good Amber perfume—but not a great one. Sketch is a nice mix of synthetic and natural textures, with above average performance.

Sketch is a nice vanilla perfume. Strange name. Starts off w/ a spicy nutmeg, pink pepper and a crisp bergamot but as that fades it becomes a very powdery, dusty sweet vanilla. This reads feminine to me as it progresses. Starts off unisex for sure but turns feminine quickly. This would be a lovely date night perfume. Warm, cozy, soft, pretty and charming.

Its like Shalimar with elemi. Except elemi is not listed in the notes so it could be the nutmeg giving it some sharpness but not in an unpleasant way, more medicinal way which works to cut the tonka base. I almost prefer this to Shalimar, Sketch is somehow a bit easier to be in. Very very warming and comforting, like a white, furry cashmere sweater.

With it's ambery colour this was an instant love for me - thought it may be an amber based perfume but now looking at the notes it makes sense. Huge vanilla patch with lots of spice. Gorgeous autumn perfume with a lot of oomph and pepper. Not getting tuberose thankfully, not a huge fan. There is a creaminess to it though. I smell cinnamon....

the combination of notes in this is beautiful. the nutmeg in the opening gives it the perfect amount of punch and the drydown of this becomes sweet powdery vanilla. it comes off like a powdery fragrance to me, but spiced powdered sugar, and feels more mature. but if you're under 30 and you wear this, you know what you're doing

Warm cozy resinous amber-vanilla with a shalimar-like drydown. It's fine, but it's not giving me much more than a cheapie Kuumba Made fragrance oil from the natural foods store. For this type of amber I'll stick with my favorite Ambra del Nepal

A non-gourmand vanilla perfume very much in the Delacourte lane (a sort of green, spicy, vanilla scent). The combo of vanilla and patchouli is done really well, and a good dose of nutmeg at the beginning. Good performance overall. Stays linear.

This fragrance instantly reminded me of my mum but in a good way. Enough that it smells like most of her frangances in the 90's and modern and unique enough to make it my own. It's retro, modern and sensual. The dry down is my favourite part.

This is a classic vintage amber fragrance. Opens up slightly medicinal and develops into a deep powdery resinous vanilla. Lovely and not floral at all. Suitable for cooler weather and good for layering. Very long lasting

Shalimar-esque at a discount. But why. Just get Shalimar. It is a nice scent. I just prefer Shalimar. However, after sitting with it more, the drydown also resembles Moustache a tad. I may be crazy. But it is nice.

For some reason I don't get the indicated notes but something else. Anyway this is a very good expression, very harmonious and smooth. Not anything WOW but still a pretty good inoffensive frag

I really enjoy the combination of the patchouli and vanilla in this fragrance. It's really well balanced. Very ambery, so if you like that kind of scent, you'll enjoy this one.

Scent memories are the best. Sketch is not something I would ever wear – on me it's a stuffy concoction of sickly sweet vanilla, dusty rose, and dry patchouli. Heavy, dated, grave. But it is also a dead ringer for whatever it was that my recently deceased grandmother-in-law, Lily, always wore. I adore Lily, the fiercest little lady from the North! She was my best friend and table companion at every family dinner, wedding, funeral, and birthday party and, although I don't believe in ghosts, I hope she keeps her promise to haunt my house every now and again. (Yes, she was superstitious! Or realistic, as she would say.) Wearing Sketch feels like giving her a hug. I can't rate Sketch any higher than OK. If I was judging based solely on how I personally like it on me, it would be a hate. But as I'm writing (and wearing) this, I could swear that Lily is right here, patting my hand and insisting I'm being too strict. ❤️

The vanilla and patchouli are predominant here. The mix of both give this perfume like a baked bread or baked cookie smell. A little spiciness/powderiness in the dry down but a tiny bit. A nice smell if you like patchouli. I'm not a fan, it's just ok in my opinion. Definitely female oriented smell.

Sketch is a Woody Oriental, Sweet, very opulent. More for night, the sillage and longevity are very good. 1 spray is enough. 1 smell: wood, vanilla, patchouli. For night and you want to be noticed... Unisex to my opinion. 6/10

Smells beautiful on the tester but on my skin the opening is very spicy and seemed very familiar. After a few minutes I could place it - Kenzo's jungle! Not something I would personally wear with my skin chemistry, unless it was closer to the tester scent which was a very pretty and not the least bit boring vanilla.

This fragrance is so annoying as there's bits which are lovely such as the vanilla which in my opinion is the second most noticeable note in here but mostly and unfortunately it smells super strongly of baby powder to the point I don't feel I'd be able to pull this off

The Violet Parfums Discovery Set is great value at €13 inc. shipping to UK for 6 x 2ml, you can’t really go wrong. I actually found all except one (which I hated because I don’t like jasmine) I received really quite lovely, but this is my favourite. I honestly thought this was a vanilla and amber perfume until I saw the notes. It reminds me A LOT of Grand Soir by MFK, there’s a big similarity between them for me. I like this one a lot. Edit: This is performing much better than I honestly anticipated. Like it even more the longer I wore this. It’s 12 hours later and it’s still going, though softer now, but it’s absolutely gorgeous. Soft powdery sweet vanilla (not really foody vanilla tho)... love.... maybe FBW.

-Addictive vanilla-amber scent. -Another top-notch creation from the house of Maison Violet. -It's almost linear. -Dries down retaining the beautiful vanilla-amber opening, along with a hint of woody notes. -Contemplating a full bottle. -Psst! Maison Violet isn't a violet-perfume centric house. "Violet" is the surname of the founder. (Pronounced: Vio-lay) *Update* -This feels like more a sweater-weather scent. -While wearable in tropical climates, it'll likely shine brightest in cooler weather. -In tropical climate: Comes across as a patchouli-amber with a lactonic quality to it. -Linear scent. (-)

On paper: Boooooozy & very chocolaty patchouli with a slightly bitter and very green, herbal, wormwood-esque liqueur tone to it. Which brings the mind to liquorice and anise. Not overly distant from other scents with the same focus but this one has a certain higher pitched sweet mint and arrack in the background that not many others have. On skin: More leathery and with tobacco making a clear presence. A more well rounded experience here. Would make for a distinct winter scent to keep strangers noses interested and curious.

I once owned a bottle of Caron's vintage Parfum Sacre, and ever since I have not been able to enjoy other Vanilla spicies. Sacre really laid it down how these should be composed and no other can compare. This is an interesting fragrance, I admit. But at the end of a deep sniff I get a watery note that I don't enjoy and the pink pepper is so strong it makes me sneeze. on the right skin chemistry I can see this working, however.

I Had the original version of this perfume,called Ambre Royal,was bought in 1924 from my Great Grand Mother..I had the original bottle,and i had a tester of new version. The smell is the same,we lost the original bottle,but i rembere that smell,if was today,And i guess he new version that is call Sketch is the same smelling.Is a perfume that last too long like the original version of 1924.

This perfume offers a sweet, ambery patchouli scent that evokes comfort and meditation, reminiscent of Psychodelique but with a Shalimar twist. Its absence of rubbery notes and animalic tones, along with a hint of citrus in the opening, creates a unique and inviting olfactory experience.

Had it on my collection for over 2 years. It's a stinging spicy dry patchouli, with some vanilla infused around the edges. The patchouli and spices combo render the perfume a dry and fuzzy sensation. I wish vanilla would show up more on my skin

Beautiful i don’t know notes but i smell there woods, almond or heliotrope, itis, violet and leather. Very elegant and good quality Modern vintage

Opens very spicy with nutmeg, dries down into a dark sweet vanilla. Good performance