Sonoma Scent Studio Voile de Violette

I interrupt my rose drawing week broadcast to rhapsodize briefly about one of my new favorite violet scents. I love violet smells—love the way the violet fades in and out of focus as it wears on my skin—and happily sniff any and all violet fragrances, most of which smell old-fashioned in very comforting ways. When Abigail over at I Smell Therefore I am kindly sent me a sample of  Sonoma Scent Studio’s Voile de Violette, I characteristically sprayed it all over me as quickly as possible, losing not a moment of time.

This is a different kind of violet, more modern than old-fashioned and I love it. It is juicy and full, where many violets are consumptive and bone dry, reminding me of little candied dried violets, not something which drinks in the sun and has liquid running through its veins. This fragrance captures a living violet, rounding out the ever-so-delicate scent with something cherry blossom-like and something that smells a bit jammy—not in a potted fruit sort of a way, but more like a freshly made jam that seems more like the fruit than a preserve.

The cedar basenote is equally lovely, since it has that sort of disintegrating molecule feel to it that violets also have. The iris root lends a binding creaminess to the duality of the violet and cedar. All together, they make a supremely delicate yet robust fragrance that is a joy to wear and think about. I think this may be bottle-worthy, and I am very grateful to Abby for introducing me to it. I must also try Sonoma Scent Studio’s other violet, Wood Violet, since I imagine I will love that as well. I get the green notes too, but they are not strong, and for me, the colors in my head when I smell this are light brown and, of course, violet--not green—it’s more like an ever-evolving sequence of light colors cast on a white wall from tiffany glass or something. It is supremely woody and violetty, but the strawberry jam note pushes it towards the fruity side too, but not in a mass-market, tasteless way. This is a fruitiness I can live with, and it comes closest, in a way, to ending my search for the right perfume to accompany strawberries and cream.

Another thing: this scent lasts quite a long time on me, and garners lots of compliments from others, so I imagine the sillage is pretty decent even though it is a violet scent, which tend in general to stay tight against the body. Altogether, a masterful creation; I am very happy wearing it.

read Abby’s review here

 

 

Credits:

art nouveau poster from: zazzle.com

postcard from: eyedealpostcards.com

Tiffany lamp image from: http://www.bedbathstore.com/