Indie perfumer Liz Zorn, formerly doing business as Zz's Petals, has renamed her perfume business Soivohle', and has launched several new fragrances:
BOV-08-N (Blood Orange & Vetiver) ~ "Spicy, green and warm. With a hint of smoke and wood. The paring of Blood Orange and Vetiver is like a match made in heaven."
VVL-08-N (Vanillaville) ~ "A rustic, smoky vanilla, with the essence of pipe tobacco and leather. Notes include Almond, Tonka, Tarragon, Birch Tar and Coffee."
CDR-08 (Cordovan Rose) ~ "Leather and smoke with a hint of plum. A moderately dry rose perfume with an astringent earthy undertone. Not your typical rose scent."
DVO-08 (Domino Viole') ~ "A dark violet with a touch of fresh green dancing in the opening. not too sweet, or cloying. A violet for the night. Full and inviting, with a rich balsamic dry down."
The fragrances are available in Extrait, 32 ml Eau de Parfum spray or 5 ml Eau de Parfum mini. Samples are available. (via soivohle)
Update: According to Liz Zorn, Zz's Petals is still the name of her boutique in Ohio. She has started using Soivohle' as a brand name for her ready-to-wear perfume line to distinguish from other artistic work she does under her own name.
Reposted for Cheezwiz:
On May 18, 2008 Cheezwiz said:
Blood Orange and Vetiver sounds like an interesting and nice combo, and is not a pairing I've seen before in perfume (not even in men's colognes)! Sounds like the sweetness of the orange would be a nice complement to the freshness of the vetiver. The violet sounds appealing to me as well.
Agree on the Blood Orange/Vetiver, sounds great. I have a few of her scents I've been meaning to review & must get on the ball…
Oh my. BOV, CDR and DVO are definite maybes.
BOV sounds like something I need…
Some of her stuff sounds good, and I'm a little tempted to order some samples, but I'd like to know why she uses the un-word “parfume” all over her website. In French, it's “parfum”. In English, it's “perfume”. “Parfume” is just wrong, and pretentious to boot.
I really don't think it's pretention. She seems to have an unusual way with words that's maybe a bit distracting sometimes, but I can live with that because her perfumes are fantastic. Several became instant favorites of mine as soon as I smelled them. And they are identifiably hers too – there's something that links them all together. All in all, she has a well-edited line that should appeal to many people who try it.
Pyramus, I wonder if she is trying to emphasize the original “through smoke” meaning? Just guessing though, I've no idea. But the scents are worth trying if you can get over the un-word.
Gail, if you happen back through, which are your favorites?
At the moment, I have four favorites. For my gourmand mood, Pink Praline with it's wonderful coffee and maple notes is delicious and not nearly as sweet as you'd expect from the name. Underworld satisfies my vetiver gollum nicely with a dry vetiver, leather and smoke. I love Chado's burst of cypress upon first spray which dries down into a spicy tea scent. And then there's Solstice, semi-survivor of the Bond dust-up (which, by the way, smells MUCH better than Scent of Peace). Non-indolic white florals with incense.
Also, while it's not a favorite of mine because I'm not a fan of predominantly jasmine or tuberose fragrances, lovers of those should try Sunset Rider. The name is a complete misnomer to me, because my literal mind expects leather and smoke from this, but it's citrus and jasmine and if I could stand jasmine, I would totally wear this. I believe she offers sample sets, so go for it!
R, do you have any idea how we're meant to pronounce Soivohle'? I'm hearing Swa-voal-eh, but that's a French pronunciation, and I don't think the word makes sense in French. Also, what's with the single quote at the end?
What's wrong with just calling the line 'Zorn'? It's a great name!
Gail, thanks so much, I have tried a few of those but not all. Will have to see if I can get a sample of Sunset Rider & Solstice.
Sorry, no idea!
Vanillagirl, I think that you pronounce it right.
Soivohle and Zorn are both not such easy names for a company I would say.
The names of these fragrances are so easy to forget or difficult to remember.
Liz is a true iconoclast, and write things the way it suits her;
if it 'feels' right- that's how she does it.
No pretension intended.
When Liz is ready, she'll explain the reason for the new name…
It makes sense, once you figure it out.
No, it's NOT catchy
Gail- Robin !
I love the blood orange / vetiver- it's superb. Smoky, fresh, smoldering.
Love Domino Viole- it's a beautiful thing.
Vanillaville is a bit smoky, very wearable, not too sweet.
Cordovan Rose has a great leathery drydown.
Thank you chayaruchama. I think that you know her well.
What is happening to me, not even feeling patience when it is about perfume?
Thanks, looking forward to trying BOV especially.
Is it the new trend to have such complicated names for fragrances now? I'm not even sure how to pronounce soivohle in English or in French… Sounds like something a drunk person would stutter at a barmaid in some remote country village of Germany : ''please, give me a double shot of that whatchamacallit… soooi-vohh-hle''
Eee, first comment I've made! =D
I'd love to try all of them but Domino Voile and Blood Orange Vetiver sound like the front-runners.
Also, aren't blood orange and vetiver the new notes in the new Miss Dior Cherie Eau de Printemps (of which I am a really big fan)? Man, if it smells like that, this would be so much more convenient than buying a ton of Eau de Printemps before they leave shelves….
Either way, I'm gonna be getting a sampler.
I doubt the vetiver will be prominent in the MDC though…and guessing the Liz Zorn version will be less fruity/sweet
Don't know about complicated, but French names are obviously an ongoing trend. And it actually does sound like a liqueur!
I'm French… *hides under a rock* :-p
LOL — then if you can't pronounce it, none of us can!
That's true; I'm sure they're after different demographics. I just recognized the notes and made a leap in logic (the Fallacy of Similar Notes Begetting Similar Smells or something to that extent). xD
Seeing common notes with something I already like gets me a little excited. It'd be fun to compare.