Violet Perfumes & Fragrances

Violet in perfume is almost two notes in one: the powdery, sweet candied facet of the flower and the green, cucumber-like bite of the leaf. Together they give violet its unmistakable dual character.

Viola odorata, the sweet violet, yields so little flower oil that the powdery note is almost always reconstructed. The key materials are ionones, molecules isolated in the late nineteenth century that reproduce the sweet, slightly metallic, retro-powder effect. Violet leaf absolute, produced mainly in Egypt and France, gives a separate green, dewy, almost watermelon-like quality used in modern compositions.

Violet sits in the heart and works as both floral and powdery accent. Perfumers use it in classical violet sweets (Pour un Homme de Caron, Apres l'Ondee), to soften iris in makeup-powder accords, and to lift modern fruity chypres. Violet leaf adds a clean, cologne-like freshness to masculine fragrance.

Violet performs best in spring, autumn and transitional weather, and suits both vintage-inspired signatures and modern unisex compositions.