Category Archives: Fragrances

April Violets

Notes according to Fragrantica: Top note is Violet; middle notes are Lily-of-the-Valley, Jasmine and Pelargonium; base notes are Musk and Vanilla.

Year: 1913

Pelargonium. The first time I smelled this fragrance I was taken away to an old Victorian house. And I imagined the room smelled of pelargonium.

This is a classic.

…Actually, smelling it right now I feel moved to buy another old bottle of this iconic Yardley cologne. My bottle is likely from the the 1940’s or 50’s.

The violet in this one is sweet…but also dusty, green and heartbreaking. This is a fragrance to be haunted by. It’s not as sophisticated as Misia, but it’s very old. It’s…like time travel smelling it’s. It’s evocative. It’s profound. It’s sad.

Misia EDT

Nose: Olivier Polge

Notes according to Fragrantica: Top notes are Aldehydes and Litchi; middle notes are Turkish Rose, Grasse Rose, Raspberry and Peach; base notes are Violet, Powdery Notes, Iris, Orris, Tonka Bean, Mimosa, Benzoin and Vanilla. 

Year: 2015

Named after Coco Chanel’s friend Misia this is a violet perfume perhaps hinting at homosexuality. Violets used to be a symbol of lesbianism. Although, it’s not that every time someone wore violets they meant to hint at being a lesbian. My signature fragrance doesn’t hint at that. I’m not attracted to women. …Coco Chanel might have been though.

Regardless…this is a buttery, sugar sweet, beautifully Chanelesque fragrance created by the great Olivier Polge. The mimosa, raspberry and peach notes are very noticeable too, if you look for them, so to speak. It also has surprising depth for such a sweet perfume.

Sillage is lighter than many perfumes, but for a violet fragrance it’s stronger than is usual.

This is a very elegant Chanel. The drydown is sublime.