Viola Essenziale

Viola Essenziale is a soft, velvety, fruity, white, purple &yellow floral iris centric fragrance with a creamy, semi sweet vanilla dry down. Smells absolutely divine and this comes from a person who’s not big on iris centric perfumes!! It’s a scent reminiscent of all these classic, strong iris perfumes, but modernised. Here, iris is combined with mimosa, litchi, lily, heliotrope, patchouli and powdery notes and it’s not overly irisy. I am not an iris fan but around two years ago, when I’ve sampled Prada’s Infusion d’Iris for the first time, I realised that I can love iris scents if the iris is paired with multiple notes I love and it’s more balanced, not the sole star of a perfume. Like it’s the case here. This Tuscan creation from SF is superb. Bottle and packaging ultra luxurious. Bought mine from an online discount website so very affordable. The downside, as mentioned by previous reviewers here, is the performance. It’s a very subtle, subdued, skin scent type of perfume. When over-spraying, it lasts on clothes until next day. But even if I overspray heavily, it won’t go past having an intimate sillage, which I’m not very happy about to be frank...But it does smells really good! If you’re an iris fan/powdery perfumes lover, you need to get your nose on Viola Essenziale. Also, if you love Chanel’s latest release, Comete, the dry down of Viola Essenziale is very comparable with the dry down of Comete! Currently my number one iris forward/powdery perfume in my collection. The more I wear it, the more I get to appreciate its otherworldly beauty!

Externals: Box is gorgeous, bottle is beautiful and made of heavy glass, a substantial lid wrapped in leather, and a finely diffused mist when sprayed. Scent: Smells elegant and chic, of powdery soft iris with a hint of peach and vanilla. Dries down to a skin scent which reminds me of a hot steam iron on freshly laundered linen - very clean, very subtle. This is for the person who wants to smell like money without being overwhelming. I imagine Italian aristocrats smell like this as they rattle their jewels while wandering through their palazzo. OK, that's just my personal fantasy.

Viola Essenziale by Salvatore Ferragamo is a beautiful bright Iris fragrance that feels fresh and clean, not overly powdery. The litchi hovers faintly in the background providing a gentle tartness that creates an uplifting aroma and compliments the subtle sweetness that develops in the dry down. Viola Essenziale is an airy Iris, and though the sillage is intimate, those in close proximity will be able to appreciate its elegant effect.

Clean and elegant. Very womanly. Iris and violet are the stars here. When I wear this fragrance, I feel poised and chic.

It seems to me that when Sonia Constant thought of violets for Viola Essenziale, she envisioned them blooming in a forest, among mosses and lichens, in damp earth sprinkled with last year’s pine needles. The opening accord of peppery vetiver and patchouli reads this way on my skin: a dark, shaded space of spicy greens with a gentle flicker of delicate petals. To enjoy violets in the wild, one invariably has to kneel, surrendering first to the tart aroma of the forest floor before even touching the blooms. The coolness of the air above the moist soil is translated here by a blend of lily and heliotrope, which lends a crisp, breezy facet. Iris, mimosa and patchouli then extend this mood into something more textural: sharp-bladed leaves and rough bark in the undergrowth. The floral heart emerges only after an hour or so, once the fragrance has warmed on the skin. It strikes me as distinctly lily-forward, shaded by iris and a breath of golden vanilla. The composition then shifts into smooth, silky-cool blossoms, delicate and poised against their ostensibly challenging habitat. These are violets as an impression, a sensory and olfactory memory of the perfumer, rather than a photorealistic botanical study. The fruits are revealed last. To my mind, they suggest the tart, powdery fuzz of peach skin, echoing the fine down that can be seen on violet stems early in the season. I would not wish for any more fruit than this: a stronger dose would risk overpowering the carefully tuned, fragile florals. The drydown settles into a sunlit cloud of vanilla, light and insouciant. The composition is straightforward and essentially linear in its development, yet never dull. It remains close to the skin while maintaining a reasonable, intimate presence. Viola Essenziale is a supremely versatile, easygoing scent for spring and summer, one that truly needs warmth and daylight to unfold. Like a bouquet of violets, it is never overwhelming, never out of place—an ideal companion for everyday comings and goings as much as for evening pleasures. A quietly delightful partner, it speaks with a gentle yet original voice, both in its construction and its presentation.