Violette Précieuse (1913)
by Caron

Green violet comes across as green bananas on my skin .Fortunately this does not do this. Still quite fresh violet saved from descending into green banana territory by raspberry which I think is a clever touch . Slightly candied and powdery ,still quite a true violet in the way you may remember violet scents to be. Light juice and needs re application.

15th July, 2010.

Violet reconstructions must be hard to work with. While some are pretty in a melancholy sort of way, many are over-sweetened, and many others are loud, crude, and harsh. This spicy-woody violet is bitter, chemical, and abrasive from the get-go, qualifying immediately for my repulsive top notes hall of fame, right next to Carolina Herrera’s Chic, Montale’s Wood-Spices, and Délices de Cartier. Except for some welcome diminution, things don’t improve much with development: it still smells more like burning Styrofoam than violets. While perfume critics Tanya Sanchez and Luca Turin have opined eloquently that women ought not aspire to smell like flowers, I don’t think they should aspire to smell like Violette Précieuse, either.

2nd March, 2010. (Last Edited: 4th March, 2010.)

Sweet-ish but not candy sweet. I love the iris/orange blossom/violet trio here. Powdery iris lends a dry, chalky feel and the slightly indolic orange blossom contributes a bit of 'flesh'. So this violet is not pure innocence at all, it is all grown up and would be wearable by a man (IMO). Also worth noting, Violette Precieuse is not a powerhouse frag. It is more on the quiet side, but does have decent longevity. Hard to believe it's almost 100 years old!

4th March, 2009. (Last Edited: 17th June, 2009.)

At first I applied too lightly (those Carons can be potent!)- was soapy powder soliflore. Reapplied- now I can smell the green, wood & darkness, slightly musty, powdery, fades out 3-5 hrs. A little plain to me compared with Aimez Moi, a rich & ambery violet.

25th June, 2007.

Although this is not my favorite violet, it is a great scent--clean, green, violet-y, a bit sweet and a bit dark in the drydown. it is neither candied nor herbal nor soapy, like so many violet scents-- on me it's a clean skin scent with a twist of gentle yet firm violets...if that makes any sense. On me it does not have the heat I usually associate with Caron (in scents like Parfum Sacre, Bellodgia, and Poivre) but it does have some of the 'depth', even as a single-note perfume.

26th August, 2005.

Whereas Guerlain’s Meteorites is a lusciously sweet violet, Caron’s Violette Precieuse is a richly luxurious, creamy fragrance. This is a violet jewel mounted with deep emeralds. Absolutely wonderful; a miniature work of art. A way to dress up without dressing up at all. In and out of production since its first release in 1913, this one has recently been discontinued by Parfums Caron yet again. One can only hope they’ll reconsider and re-release it in the future. Violette Precieuse sweetens on the skin as time passes. Lemon, orris, and vanilla illumine the notes of violet and emerald. Delicate and compelling at the same time. Marvelous.

3rd August, 2005.