Violetta
Santa Maria Novella

I'm reviewing the soap bar of the same name. Like Saintpaulia I have been particularly interested in violet scents for a long time and I'm always looking for convincing interpretations of the violet, as well as violet leaf scents. An accomplished and very charming violet impression I would call "Jolie Madame" by Balmain, however this is very much on the sweet side and conveys rather a platonic violet than an empirical one. As much as I love it, it left me looking further for something a bit more objective and unisex. I agree with Saintpaulia that SMN's Violetta stands out in its subtlety and proximity to a natural violet impression. There is something sugary about it, but it is not a sweetness which marks it as "feminine" in a binary sense. It's more like the sugariness of a real violet or somewhat candied real violet, not loud. It has a subtlety that makes it wearable and something I would rebuy for sure.

My Favorite Scent (and it's not just for women) Well all I can say is that this is my favorite fragrance par excellence. As a botanist and ornamental horticulturist, I am partial to "botanically based", pure flower note fragrances. When I began my fragrance journey in 2011 I did a study via samples of all of the major violet scents by the various houses. The violet from Santa Maria Novella stood out as the most unique in terms of sharp, crispness of fragrance, not the cloyingly sweet scents of such violets as Penhaligon's. And not off the reservation altogether like other houses make.   The fragrance that gives violets their distinctive scent, ionones, was the first such element to be synthesized, this in the 19th century, and at that time it was popular with men, your basic "Victorian gentlemen". Nowadays any review of a violet will list it as a woman's scent. I do not agree. But it has to be the right violet and this Violetta by Santa Maria Novella is the right violet.Pros: Sharp violet scent, not cloying; moderate lasting; High QualityCons: Too expensive.

So this is what violet is supposed to smell like! Instead of the sugary sweet violet note I've come to associate with this note, SMN's interpretation is of a dry and vibrant floral with a touch of powder in the background. I normally interpret violet as a feminine note, but this fragrance is very much unisex. As you can expect with SMN, the quality and longevity is incredible.An obscure fragrance for sure - but worth checking out if you either have the opportunity or happen to like violet and want a non-sweet interpretation.