Once in a while I do an online search for a particular fragrance or other scented product and stumble across one of my old Now Smell this reviews. I recently took a look at a post titled A Summer of Violets (2016!) and laughed because I’m still purchasing and enjoying several of the items I listed in that review — my tastes have remained consistent. I’ve also been trying some new or new-to-me violet perfumes this summer, so this must be a favorite warm-weather note for me, despite its springtime connotations. Here are three violet-focused scents I’ve tried lately.
A couple of months ago, a visit to a well-stocked perfume boutique gave me a chance to browse some of 4160 Tuesday’s extensive catalogue; I left with a bottle of Hush Hush. Created by Sarah McCartney, 4160 Tuesdays’ founder-perfumer, Hush Hush was composed to conjure the mood of a “secret 1920s party: iris, violet and musk, a paper cigarette packet with a hint of silk stocking and rose petals.” Hush Hush certainly smells inspired by the classic ionone-based fragrance of early 1900s cosmetics (and, perhaps, the violet-scented cigarettes that were marketed specifically to women in that era). I own the Eau de Toilette concentration, which stays close to my skin and has moderate persistence.
Overall, Hush Hush feels definitely retro yet not stuffy, and it reminds me just enough of Chowards violet candy to make me smile. If you ever wanted to love Serge Lutens Bas de Soie but found it a bit too aloof and chilly for your personality, or you wished you had an office-appropriate descendant of Frédéric Malle Lipstick Rose in your scent wardrobe, Hush Hush might be whispering in your ear.
Next up: Sora Dora Mallow. Sora Dora is the sort of niche perfume brand I find very easy to ignore: blocky square bottles, nonsensical promotional copy, a vague back-story involving a young man’s sensorial epiphany in Grasse. However, a longtime fragrance-friend posted a highly complimentary remark about Mallow on Instagram, so I had to try it. This fragrance (developed by perfumer Anne-Sophie Behagel) might be named for the flowering mallow plant but there’s nothing natural-smelling about its vibrant “fleurmand” composition; this is a fantasy of neon-purple violet and hot-pink raspberries, plus a “doll’s head” heliotrope note. (Other notes include pink pepper, sugar, violet, almond, orange blossom, musk and ambrette.)
An hour or so after application, Mallow’s dry down is more of a musky cherry-almond blend that reminds me of the arrival of Guerlain’s La Petite Robe Noire series in the 2010s (or, going even further back, the cherry notes in early-niche examples like Etat Libre d’Orange Bendelirious and Nez-à-Nez Bouche Baie). It has excellent staying power and feels ready made for a summer party that involves fruity cocktails and loud music.
And lastly, please allow me to share my deep affection for one of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’s latest releases, The Stratosphere {Heirloom Elixir no.34}. Dawn herself describes this as “an aldehydic indigo-violet and deep red rose fragrance with green violet leaf edges, Bulgarian rose otto, wild berries and cassis in the heart, and a rich vetiver-chypre drydown” and mentions the violet liqueur Crème Yvette as an sensory inspiration. The Stratosphere’s notes, which are very accurately described in that line above, melt into one another like the ingredients in a well-crafted cocktail (have I ever mentioned my love for a good Aviation?).
I’m not technically a synesthete, but I do like to make connections between the olfactory and the visual, and the Stratosphere’s superimposed layers of violet and black currant and dusky moss, with a twinkly dusting of aldehydes, make me picture James McNeill Whistler’s mistily evocative “nocturne” paintings. Just like those works of art, or a high-quality cocktail, The Stratosphere makes me feel content and pensive and just a little bit (pleasantly) dizzy. I might need to order a small bottle once I’ve used up my sample vial.
How about you? Do you have any new (or old) violet-centered favorites?
4160 Tuesdays Hush Hush is available as 50 ml ($95) and 100 ml ($135) Eau de Toilette at Perfumology and the 4160 Tuesdays website. Sora Dora Mallow is available as 50 ml Eau de Parfum ($220) at Luckyscent. DSH Perfumes Stratosphere is available as 10 ml ($58) and 60 ml ($175) Eau de Parfum and a variety of other sizes and concentrations via Dawn Spencer Hurwitz.
