Penhaligon's Violetta eau de toilette

Penhaligon’s Violetta starts out like death by violets. But unlike Le Dix, the violets in Violetta are only slightly powdery, and way, way more crisp and green. The tiny powder note almost completely fades after the initial drydown, and the greens emerge: think leafy greens as opposed to stemmy. Violetta smells like after a rain shower (similar in many aspects to Guerlain’s Apres l’Ondee, although I haven't spent much time with that one). It reminds me of a fresh spring day after it rains, when the earth is steaming and you can still hear the water dripping from the leaves high up in the trees. To me, it smells watery without the dreaded marine note. Rather, it reminds me of a watercolor painting. It’s very cool, light and delicate, and doesn’t have much sillage. It stays close to my skin and ends up just smelling good. From time to time, I get the smallest hint of pine and woods. It’s a soliflore and was created in 1976, the year of my birth. It was meant to be! It’s tough reviewing a perfume I really love. After a while, I can’t analyze it anymore. It just smells like me, like something comforting, and carries with it all my past associations of it.

I visited Penhaligon’s on a whim while in Edinburgh in 2005. I saw it on my way to Jo Malone, and only stopped in because I’d read about Bluebell being Prince Charles’ and Kate Moss’ favorite scent. I was on a Jo Malone mission—-funny--now it would be the total opposite. I loved the Jo Malone experience, but made an unfortunate impromptu purchase. I'm sorry I didn't spend more time at Penhaligon's.

I didn't buy anything that day- it wasn't until a random stop in Glasgow where I bought the little tin of samples and asked them for a sample of Violetta. The first time I got around to try it was the summer of 2006. At the time I was living in a terribly uninsulated upstairs apartment and it was really, really hot. I fell in love with Violetta's cool freshness. It ended up being the first bottle of perfume I ordered online (save an inexpensive bottle of Fiorucci that I bought years ago from Sephora, unsniffed, because I love the store in Verona, Italy, so much. Thank god I liked it! A fizzy, fruity floral, nothing I would normally wear, but yummy indeed). With Violetta, I felt like I’d arrived. I was officially a perfumista. I’ve never looked back!