Viola Odorata

A nice waft of extremely powdery violet on application with some bittersweet, almost caramelized orange in the background. It quickly settles down to a discreet sillage and I start getting more of a dilutted mandarin juice. I do like the combination. I wish it had more projection, but it does last surprisingly well on my skin. It reminds me a bit of Insolence in that both smell of violets and jellybeans, but here the jelly beans are citrus-flavoured and of course, being a cologne, it's much softer, the sweetness is much more discreet, making it far more wearable for me. I also think this is a bit more unique. Seems to me Berdoues is highly underrated. I am eager to try more from the brand.

Judging by the ratings at another site, people must not like mandarin with their violets--that is the only explanation I've been able to come up with for the disparity in reactions to Berdoues Violettes de Toulouse eau de toilette and Berdoues 1902 Eau de Cologne Viola Odorata. Also present in this cologne are neroli, bitter orange, and lemon, but I do not find the composition overly citrus at all and would still characterize this a violet soliflore as well. To me, both creations smell quite nice! Of course, I am a long-confirmed violet-ho, but who else would go to the trouble to seek out and buy these fragrances from the relatively obscure traditional perfume house of Berdoues, founded in Toulouse way back in 1902? I had already acquired four of the original six 1902 colognes (all but the lavender, which I'll probably skip since I own about a gallon of Puig Agua de Lavanda...) and loved them all, so the only thing preventing me from adding this one to my collection was that it was not being sold anywhere, as far as I could see. Recently I spotted a 100ml bottle at an "advantageous" price, as they say, so naturally I bought it blind. In truth, these colognes are always modestly priced, even when sold at MSRP, and they are made with essential oils, so there's really no way to go wrong with them. Yes, they are colognes, but they do indeed smell natural--as advertised--and may even have the aromatherapeutic benefits boasted of on the boxes. In the case of Violata Odorata, the essential oils are described as: "Déstressantes et Rafraîchissantes" The scent of natural violet: de-stressing and refreshing. Agreed!

A beautiful refreshing cologn . violetts on the sweet side with Tangerin and citruses , but also i feal i can detect a slight touch of Cardemom and also a touch of Heliotrop powder , Lovely lovely, refreshing, relaxing but sadly very short lived . well its a cologne , Wish it would last forever its a beuaty