Voile de Violette

Ah, a very nice, refreshing, and retro take on violet. Definitely an ode to a traditional violet perfume of yesteryear. Not overly powdery, which is a nice change from the typical violet-iris powderbombs that seem to be all over these days. I am finally beginning to understand that I do like violet after all. Voile de Violette reminds me of Balenciaga's L'Essence because of the fresh, green factor, almost like violets housed in a greenhouse. There is something in this composition that calls to me--and I think it's vetyver! I smell lots and lots of grassy, dry vetyver in Voile de Violette. I also detect just the slightest bit of bitterness from the myrrh. Voile de Violette is a very special, naturalistic, full bottle-worthy violet.

When I first tried The Different Company's I Miss Violet I immediately thought of this, and I wasn't wrong; now I have them side by side I can see how similar they are, yet different. I Miss Violet has this slightly off-putting synthetic sweetness (a melony note) that's not found here, which makes this all the more pleasant! I've never smelled fragrant violet before but I bet this is the most realistic one out there! It has just the right amount of everything (green, fruity, powdery, floral); it's soft and nice but definitely not character-less or pretentiously purple in color while smelling watery.

Well, I never regarded myself as a violet-fragrance-lover, but after becoming familiar with the Voile de Violette I have to change my mind. Violet flowers, leaves, moss and that nice feeling of sitting in the shadow of big trees - that's what I can find in it. It's just extremely beautiful, natural and long-lasting - especially as it's a fresh summer fragrance! I'm finishing my first bottle and definitely will buy another one.

Oh, I like this very much! Voile de Violette is like finding a patch of violets in the middle of sunlit forest. I like the greenness mixed with violet at the beginning, and the slightly powdery iris and woods in the dry down. This will be perfect for summer where I live, when it's so sweltering hot that anything too sweet or spicy becomes cloying.

I love it. It reminds me of Devon Violets (the stuff was emerald green color and came in little tiny glass bottles with a satin bow attached (and little white ceramic bottles with violet decals on them).... only this is better. It also reminds me of Geoffrey Beene's Grey Flannel.... violets and cedar, I think.