Violette Précieuse
Caron (1913)

A nuanced violet devoid of some of the less desirable trappings of the note, including the excessively candied or the oily and astringent leafy qualities, Violette Precieuse is ethereal violet. It wafts, and doesn't leave a dense cloud, with an undercurrent of orange blossom that provides both a lift and a contrast.

It starts off with this harmony of orange flower and violet and then blooms with other spring flowers, the muguet that is the body of the heart; not a mere blob of hydroxycitronellal, but a soft, supporting chorus for the violets. In spite of this floral heart, VP is unisex, due to the woody and earthy underpinnings. There is also an herbal, vegetal element that makes this more of a natural interpretation; there's sort of a dance between realism and impressionism.

The vetiver in the base somehow lends a humus effect; damp, peaty earth lies beneath the spring flowers as the sun shines on a late April day. "Precieuse" indeed.

Caron – VIOLETTE PRECIEUSE (1913)

I am reviewing a decant of the original vintage formula and must confess that I can hardly smell anything at all. It may be due to the age of the juice.

At first I get a very very faint green mint note with a subtle woody undertone. This is most probably due to the restrained use of vetiver and iris. I detect a caramel-like note, which may be immortelle. As raspberry was not a note used at the time of the original formulation, it is not present here.

Even into the heart and dry down I get no violet at all, not even a hint of it. There is some orange blossom here, but again very restrained and only giving a hint of sweetness.

I must give it a neutral, as there is hardly anything here to smell, and what there is, while not being offensive, is certainly nothing to write home about.

Genre: Floral

This spicy-woody violet is bitter, chemical, and abrasive right from the start, 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 like burning Styrofoam, not like flowers. 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.

A green, naturalized sweet-tempered violet. On my skin this is mostly about violet and vetiver, even in the start-up. Iris is a head note here, with that dry powdered quality, but it is the vetiver which thankfully lends some earthy darkness violet needs to keep it natural and away from a flat dimensionlessness violet tends to flirt around. With the iris and vetiver this fragrance is a dryer violet. The sweetness is a piquant raspberry note, which works with the vetiver and iris to offset the cloying qualities of violet. I consider the quiet violet to be a fairly dominant note - it's quality is very distinct, and must be dealt with in a fragrance, or its amazing ability to imbue and quiet a fragrance will prevail. I have a love/hate relationship with this note - if dealt with superficially and clumsily, violet drives me crazy after a while, and I have to wash it off. It needs a delicate, deft, but authoritative touch to open the wonders it is capable of. This violet works for me - it's very wearable, not intrusive, and has a sweetly still but earthen character. It's not as much a pushover as it first appears.
But, I must say I haven't come across a violet fragrance yet that truly unlocks the mystery I know is hiding in this note. That is probably what makes violet so intriguing - you sense a depth, a secret to it that is almost impossible to get at. The best violet fragrances use this quality to their advantage, and this one verges into that territory a bit in a soft, quiet way.

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.

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!