One of my favorite winter-themed songs is the American standard “Violets for Your Furs.” Billie Holiday’s interpretation is the one I love most, although I’m very fond of Frank Sinatra’s version, which was probably the one that introduced me to this song. The nostalgic mood, the intimate gesture, the contrast between a wintry urban setting and some fresh flowers — it would make a wonderful inspiration for a perfume. And now that winter has arrived in my own city, I’m suddenly in the mood for any and all violet fragrances. Here are two new ones that I’ve recently tried…
Hiram Green Vivacious ~ fragrance review
The violet may be a spring flower, but I seem to enjoy violet-scented products most in the summer. A few years ago I even wrote a round-up of violet-fraganced body products and Robin titled it “A summer of violets.” Now that time has become weirder and more fluid than ever in 2020, why not enjoy any flower whenever we choose — via perfume? Since violet fragrances often make me feel a little more serene and pulled-together than I really am, I’ve been wearing them often these days.
Netherlands-based indie perfumer Hiram Green has just launched a new natural fragrance named Vivacious…
House of Cherry Bomb Iris Oud, Alchemologie Nethermead, Regime des Fleurs Willows ~ short fragrance reviews
Although I tend to wear rose fragrances of all kinds when I’m “off-duty” and not testing something to review here, I also keep an eye and a nose out for interesting violet perfumes. Some of my violet-y favorites over the years have been soliflores (e.g., Annick Goutal Violette) but others are more complex or quirky. I also enjoy encountering violet when I don’t necessarily expect it, or when it’s included way down in a list of notes but turns out to be one of the stars of the composition.
House of Cherry Bomb Iris Oud is a recent example of the “stealth violet” experience for me…
A Lab on Fire Hallucinogenic Pearl ~ fragrance review
I like to check in with A Lab On Fire on a regular basis, just to see what they’ve been up to. This brand has won my respect over the years, not just for what they do but for what they don’t do. They work with top-notch perfumers to offer unusual but wearable fragrances with quirky back-stories — some of the characteristics that originally attracted me to niche perfumery. Meanwhile, the brand maintains an opacity and reserve that are all but extinct in 2019: no interviews with photogenic creative directors (indeed, no photos of the creative director at all!), no launch parties, no ingratiating social media presence, no peppy PR emails, no free bottles sent to “influencers.”
I’ve owned What We Do In Paris Is Secret and Rose Rebelle Respawn for a long time, and I’ve liked nearly all the other fragrances I’ve sampled from this house, even if I’m chronically lagging behind the newer releases…
Violets for (Almost) Spring: Nomenclature Lumen_esce & Agustin Reyes Royal Violets
Niche line Nomenclature “celebrates design in perfume chemistry by showcasing today’s most inspiring, exclusive molecules.” The Nomenclature line presents synthetic perfume ingredients. I have a hard time thinking of an “inspiring” new scent molecule! Please comment if you have a favorite!
Nomenclature says:
While natural essences bask in the limelight, synthetics are the clandestine infiltrators that spark off fragrant revolutions. It was the discovery of coumarin that yielded the first modern perfume, Fougère Royale, in 1881. Aldehydes lent their abstract sheen to Chanel N°5. Ethyl-vanillin enhanced Shalimar’s plush cleavage. Hedione® breathed its radiance into Eau Sauvage. And no contemporary scent could do without synthetic musk or the ubiquitous Iso E Super. Whether they imitate nature, tease out its innermost secrets or veer off into botanically impossible smells, synthetics are the true building blocks of perfumery. Elegant solutions discovered by scientists, wafting from labs onto skin and into your nose.
One certainly would expect such talk from firms like Firmenich who developed and patented Violettyne®, the focal ingredient in Nomenclature Lumen_esce…