Violette Madame (1901)
by Guerlain

It's called 'Voilette (= veil) de Madame' actually, and Guerlain offers it as a limited vintage edition in their Champs Elysées flagship store for a hefty price. It comes in its original beautiful snail-shaped crystal flacon (also Mouchoir de Monsieur is available in the snail bottle, but the juice is the same as the 'regular', widely available Mouchoir) and was originally created for J. Guerlain's marriage. Voilette for the bride, Mouchoir for the fiancé.

With this romantic story in mind, one should assume Voilette de Madame was an utterly feminine, soft and cosy fragrance. Well, it is not.

VdM starts with an aldehydic, powdery burst of green leaves. Sharp, grassy and only with only a hint of flowers: iris, ylang-ylang, narcissus, violet. The drydown is very animalic (civet?) on a sandalwood base. It is a dry, musty, dirty fragrance and despite its name you also Monsieur can get by with it. There are some similarities to Miller Harris' L'Air de Rien, but VdM is more complex and much more fascinating.
Stunning, but not everybody's cup of tea.

6th June, 2007.

My sample is labelled "Violette de madame", and I guess it's a new edition from the Guerlain boutique. It's a cool violet, not too sweet, with an old-fashioned sopay/powdery/candied vibe too. I get a green, aromatic note in the top that reminds me of geranium, but perhaps it's just violet leaf. The basenotes are warm, musky, powdery and almost kinky - cumin perhaps? Not my favourite violet, but I like the dirty drydown.

10th May, 2007.