Violets & Rainwater, revisted

An open letter to Musette:

Dear Musette,

I so respect your thoughts on scent, whenever you go ga-ga for something, I automatically activate search->sniff->prepare to purchase neurons.  (Unless it's going your preferred skank path, which I continue to leave free and clear for you.  I've got my issues, as you know.  ;)  )  So, when you started waxing beautiful about Liz Zorn's Violets & Rainwater, I knew I'd better get sniffing.

Which I did, and found a lovely--beautiful in a quiet way--little true violet scent.  I tried it a couple of times over the winter, even bought a share, feeling that perhaps I would eventually use it to replace my decant of Norma Kamali Violette and use it for layering opportunities.  Simple.  Light.  

I was wrong.

I tried it on this morning, and BLAM, greenery!  And then, not very long until this creamy element enters the dry down.  Oh, my goodness.  I think that this is what some people find/love in the Guerlain violets, this nuanced but sweet violet.  (Vanillic sweet, not the mouse sex of Caron.)  And because I entered through the happy green door, I don't resent it for being some sort of pastille.  I'm still early on, and will be happy if the green returns head on, or if it continues down this creamy violet path.  I have my memory of the green...

Is this what happens with you?  You had mentioned dirt in the past, which I never got until today.  Just in the 5-10 minute opening, mind you, but there.

That's a whole other bottle in that cute but stylish canister on my shelf.  Not the watery violet I experienced in the winter.  Who knows--I've certainly been finding a lot of shift in my sniffer as spring entered this year.  Could be seasonal; could be evolutionary; could be I was just daft.  All I know is, I'm suddenly feeling VERY clever for shadowing you.

Your friend in scent,

SS

P.S. I know that shadowing can lead to big disappointments; I won't hold any bum lemmings against you.  (OTOH, I'll be sure to hang on to them for a while, in case what was bum becomes ba-dum!)

Mixology #1: NK Violette over Ava Luxe Black Tea

I have a bottle of Ava Luxe Black Tea, which I quite like...it has both a sweet and an earthy aspect haunting the tea-ness. I also have a decant of Norma Kamali Violette, which I have chatted about before. This morning, I found myself wondering...how to represent a crisp fall day that I knew was going to get mild & sunshiny?

Layers! I had been knocking around the idea of smoke + violet (CB Burning Leaves? SSS Fireside Intense?), which I still intend to investigate. But this morning, I arrived at the Black Tea + Violette concept. Which I still like, as a concept. And which one arm tells me I like as a side-by-side one-two punch. But, when you put one on top of the other, as on the other arm...

...they become a kind of grape sasparilla. Bubbly, with the violet element now easily interpreted as a "natural" grape soda blended with sasparilla, which is what the tea became. Wow. That's chemistry in action. One atop the other didn't work as a palimpsest of scent; instead, it became a third something.

Eventually, as with most sodas, the bubbles settle and nearly go away. Then you are left with an intensified Black Tea, a scent which was probably sweet enough to begin with.

So, if you're searching for Natural Grape Root Beer, load up Black Tea + Violette. If you want to preserve the integrity of each scent, load 'em side by side, and run your nose across them in succession--as if your sniffer were a mouth and your arm a harmonica. Or, perhaps the best choice of all, skip this combination altogether...I'm pretty sure I won't be back myself.

I'll try other combinations in the future, and will undoubtedly report on those. Meanwhile, if you have a combo you like, please share!

Norma Kamali Violette

Imagine a sugar cookie done just right. You need to step back for a minute, and not imagine a thick, oversized, slightly chewy discus of every so slightly undercooked dough that is a pleasing lunk of comfort food.

I mean a not too precious in size, just right to the bite, hint of rosewater, dough blended with butter to just the right consistency, shimmer of crystal sugar on top cookie.

Norma Kamali Violette.

There is nothing fancy or tricky about Violette. It is true to the rising sweet note of violet without making it syrupy; it has enough green to give it a little something beyond the single tone. Not much, but a hint.

Clearly, this is a scent that would do well to be layered. But the nice thing is that it smells quality--a silk shell for going under the scarf/shirt/sweater you choose to put on with it.

***

As a side note...if your budget doesn't allow for the designer silk, you might consider Yves Rocher Vie Privee. The violet doesn't ring as clear, in fact there is no single note star...and there is a sharp opening that lets you know you've started clever shopping...but it has a similar effect. A few more notes to catch, all lighthearted; doesn't have the lasting power of the Kamali.

Kamali = $80 for 100ml; Rocher = $18 for 50ml when on sale.