It's one of those tales--you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll call your friends.
Should you get hold of even a small driblet of the original Violette Precieuse, you'll experience one heckuva morph. I did, at least. It started as what seemed like yet another violet--you know, that note you can find in Penhaglion's, in a bar of soap your grandmother had, in the bath shop, the smell that says "I am a violet perfume." A hint of something else, maybe? But nothing worth working your drawers up about.
Had my driblet not been a precious resource from a perfume friend who has a thing for special scents, I would have scrubbed. Plus, I knocked around taking care of a few things, and it was getting late for my walk, so I just left it. And forgot about it.
A third of the way through my walk, I raised my hand to brush away a leaf, and WHOA! Something smelled interesting. I played a little game for a moment; I was wearing gloves, and I have a pair that have most serendipitously taken on the scent of L'Ombre Fauve. But I knew I wasn't wearing those gloves. Let's see...what could it be...scents that I would have worn that had an edge like this...but I didn't recognize it, so I must have only worn it once...okay, raise glove again...it's not on the glove. Cognitive dissonance...confused moment...and it hits me. It's the Violette Precieuse.
This smell is new enough to me I can't give it notes (not that I'm particularly good at that game, anyway). It's vaguely medicinal, vaguely leathery...and you'd only know there's violet running around in there if you had experienced that opening. I don't even know if I like it; I just know that I am enjoying spending time with it so much, I'll play with it again.
Which brings us to the sad part of the tale...when my driblet is gone, no more play pal. Because VP was discontinued long ago, reintroduced a few years ago--with a different formula. So I will be better off if I decide I don't like it.
I already know this: I'll never regret the introduction.
2 comments:
Sigh... vintage always brings up that "better to have loved and lost" dilemma, doesn't it?
I was *not* impressed with the current iteration of VP - my notes say "musty, powdery ick". Violets tend to go either musty basement or candied on me, so there are only a few I like: Penhaligon's Violetta is lovely, Aimez-Moi is entirely wearable (my teenager filches it), and then of course there is la grande dame Jolie Madame. Of which I have a relatively modern edt, and two small bottles of vintage parfum - one that's a leeetle scary and one micro-mini that is the Most Gorgeous Floral Ever. Of course that would be the small bottle... and I'm sad to think that its like may never come my way again.
But I'd hate to have never smelled it.
Better to have lost in 'fume, than never have smelled at all? :)
Ah! Jolie Madame. That is one of two re-do's, the other being Arpege, where I enjoy the current version. I have a vial of precious vintage JM next to the VP vial...the vintage Jolie Madame was a gift that I knew was coming, but the perfume angel also included the Violette Precieuse as a surprise! I do a disservice in a way, when I refer to them as driblets; vintage of any amount is like precious manna. I think I use the word to both emphasize a) I am not rolling in vintage juice, and b) I am not rolling in vintage juice, so I'd better dole it out with great thought! :)
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