Perfume Pilgrim

Owing to a rare find of a vintage Devon violets bottle and a request for violet perfume, my attention has gravitated towards a violet theme this week. (The bottle on the right with a hand painted violet still smells great, with notes of absinth, actual violet leaf and sweet violet top notes.) For those who know me as obsessed with roses, it seems an act of betrayal to write about violets first, but I will brave the recriminations. I already had a collection of rose sweets from around the world, including the  Japanese Kanebo rose bubble gum, rose water, boiled Gulab sweets from India, cachous from England, rose shaped drops from Italy, rose creams, fondants, syrups, confit, jam, crystallised petals, rose honey from Bulgaria, turkish delight, Iranian rose ice-cream, German rose elixir, rose sugar and Chinese rose tea, not to mention other rose oils and rose themed collection. (Yes, I will write about them another time..)

Violets have traditionally been the flowers that were exchanged on Valentines day and ebay still sells hundreds of vintage violet postcards. Here in the UK we can still buy parma violet sweet rolls. Charbonnel and Walker even supply rose and violet creams to the Queen. So, violets are not extinct yet, though definitely not as popular as at the turn of the century.  The Liberties Store florist were selling bunches of violets just this week, though only lightly scented.

My first memory of violets involved a visit as a child to an old lady who had a dresser full of violet perfumes and purple Nick knacks. She taught eye exercises and promised that if I did them daily I would have good eyesight. I still perform them and when I do I recall the smell of violets and all things sweet and purple.

My journey for the perfume coincided with a search for all the edible violet sweets I could find in London. I found violet cremes from Fortnum and Masons, both smothered in milk or dark chocolate,  Prestat, Bendicks and Rocco’s violet cremes and violet chocolate block, even little purple violet boiled sweets in a cube, thick violet syrup and crystallised violets, tins of violet sweets from Italy, French Flavigny violet cachous and even petite round tins of violet sweets from Harrods. I tasted violet tea at Laduree’s, who also do a charming violet room spray,  bought violet perfumed turkish delight and licorice pastilles scented with violet too. I even found long purple lollipops.

There were also more violet themed perfumes than I thought there would be. My favourite would have to be Berdoues Violette de Toulouse, sweet but not cloying, a powdery iris with a soprano voice. Another charming fragrance is the Penhaligons Violetta range. Courtesy of a very enjoyable and informative “Fragrance Profiling Appointment” I had the opportunity to explore their fragrances in a salon upstairs with a cup of tea and chocolate. I bought the lush Violetta hand and body cream and the old fashioned violetta talcum powder.

My favourite men’s fragrance shop, Trumpers do a masculine Ajaccio Violets fragrance, shaving soap and shaving cream. Apparently, Italian men in particular love this fragrance. This is a citrusy violet with light woody undertones, eminently wearable. Previously I have smelt and enjoyed Borsari’s Violetta di Parma, though it was nowhere to be found this week. A sublime and very popular violet fragrance, coupled with rose is Lipstick Rose editions Malle, available from Les Senteurs. I can’t imagine any woman not liking this one. Yardly also do a presentable Violet perfume, though a little sweet and cheerful and have been making it for many years and at around £11 it is also affordable. Even Jo Malone has a violet scented item in her collection, the Parma Violets Tea Linen Spray. Thanks to a complimentary arm and hand massage while exploring their fragrance range, Sarah the facialist introduced me to the secret spray, which she admitted using copiously in her own bedroom and on her clothes. I just had to have it too, with its lemony tea and light floral scent, it was an impulse buy.

A new, fresher and greener take on the violet theme is Violette by fresh. This has top notes of Bergamot and mandarin and a woody base with Patchouli and Sandalwood. Laura Mercier has a relatively recent addition to her fragrance line called aptly Violetta and sweet like the others. The company from Grasse, L’Aromarine also make Violette Eau de Toilette, amongst other single note fragrances. I found the Caron Violette Precieuse a little heady though blowing with a breeze of violets. I also bought a Violet Bath and shower Creme from the Rose & Co Apothecary, which is only reminiscent of violets, but still delicate.

Believe it or not, the hardest fragrance to find were the Devon violets perfume, from here in the UK, whose vintage bottle started this violet excursion. Please let me know which store in London stocks this, as I could only find it online. I will end with a quote from my spiritual teacher who upon noticing I was not particularly pleased with something, urged me to go and smell some violet perfume to make me happy! I did, and it did..