Penhaligon's • Violetta • Fragrances

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*TOP REVIEWER* BigEars on 9/28/2011 5:31:00 PM more reviews by BigEars

Age: 44-55   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

So, I am presuming that you like violets because that is what you will get with this one. I love this particular violet although, it does tend to remind me of sweeties. Not so powdery as the Annick Goutal which btw, I also love, and much better staying power. This is a violet like the Devon Violets of my youth, fresh and green. Gorgeous and a touch soapy. The packaging is twee but pretty and the matching bath oil is fabulous. Not much else to say, one of the best violet soliflores out there.

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*TOP REVIEWER* zeynepd on 1/11/2011 9:27:00 AM more reviews by zeynepd

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Red   Eyes: Hazel    

This is a very English violet that performs almost like two different scents on my skin. With a modest spritz, Violetta is a sheer, non-candied violet with darker, green undertones and the coolness of gray, melancholic English weather on my skin. It has an austere ambivalence, hinting at both the English countryside and an urban lifestyle with a chich trench coat and an umbrella. More application reveals Violetta the Vile, a daringly natural violet dirty with fertile soil, the root and the stem. It is earthy, not so powdery, ugly but daring and attractive in an uncanny way. I like both versions, but not enough to call it FBW. Medium sillage, good lasting power. The bottle is sweet.

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shirl195 on 4/30/2010 10:31:00 PM more reviews by shirl195

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Olive, Cool   Hair: Black, Medium   Eyes: Black    

this is a very single note interpretation of violets. so please. make sure you like violets!!!!! i didnt know what violets smelled like and i was so horrified after getting my sample, i didn't even have the gumption to put this on

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haddison on 3/12/2010 10:36:00 PM more reviews by haddison

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

Smells exactly like English violets, which I discovered with delight on a visit there. (What a shame that American violets are scentless!). A quiet, well-bred fragrance, with a soft drydown.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Sayoko on 1/16/2010 4:43:00 PM more reviews by Sayoko

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Dark, Neutral   Hair: Black, Relaxed, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

The first spray is a shocking and surprising green burst of violet, not at all powdery to me this is more wild in a pleasing way, It's not as sweet very reminisicent of Borsari's Violetta di Parma! I would definately buy again.

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Whiffnotes on 7/11/2009 2:22:00 AM more reviews by Whiffnotes

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other, Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

The drydown in this perfume is the winner. I tried it on during a visit to Aedes de Venustas and was very pleased with the way it smelled on my wrist. Definitely a keeper.

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*TOP REVIEWER* iberian on 6/26/2009 2:17:00 PM more reviews by iberian

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I'm a fragrance newbie, but I have to review this. I love the smell of violets, and this fragrance is heaven. I had given up on finding a fragrance that wouldn't turn musky on my skin or gave me a headache, but thanks to a super generous mua'er, I discovered niche fragrances. I've been using this sample almost everyday. It's slightly green at first, but the dry down gives a true violet scent that's very warm yet clean, not at all soapy on me. Lasting power isn't great, but I don't mind that. I'm beginning to suspect there's an ingredient in the fragrances that have tons of lasting power that reacts with my skin and gives me the headaches. I'm going to purchase this as soon as my sample is done, as I've finally found a subtle, beautiful fragrance I can wear everyday.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Melloney on 5/23/2009 12:11:00 PM more reviews by Melloney

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Other   Eyes: Blue    

This is another one of my favourite Penhaligon's as I love violets. It's bright, crisp fresh green and floral violets. I adore this. Bosari's violet perfume is not to my taste .

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snowcherries on 1/31/2009 10:09:00 AM more reviews by snowcherries

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

When I started my quest for a violet soliflore, my top two choices were this and Violetta di Parma. And as it turned out, I love both of them.
This opens strong, which is nice, since a lot of violets fade away quickly. It has a slightly spicy green note to it (celery or vetiver). This note sits on top of the dark violet underneath, almost as two separate fragrances competing.
The green spicy scent softens down into a mossy note, which blends nicely with the deep violet, making a mystical, fairy-tale type of scent. I read a review that describes Penhaligon's Violetta as the scent of an enchanted forest, dark and mossy.
By complete drydown, this settles into the violet scent I've been searching for, it's dark purple with a hint of mossy green. I could wear this to work, to an event, or simply on a Saturday morning at home.

The bottle is the most beautiful I've ever owned. The pale blue liquid just adds to the ethereal mood this lovely perfume creates. I found this for very reasonable prices at various vendors online, but I would pay full price for it because it is that good. Not sweet, candied, chalky or powdery, just deep dark introspective violet.

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*TOP REVIEWER* 52pigtails on 7/15/2008 5:43:00 AM more reviews by 52pigtails

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This is a good candy violet, a bit on the green side, opening with a festive spring of citrus. Lovely. I wouldn't wear it for myself, though, because I think it's a bit childish. I sometimes dab a little on my kids' necks (they hate it, but they smell divinely yummy).

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damselfly1213 on 2/23/2008 12:06:00 AM more reviews by damselfly1213

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

As a violet fan, I really, really wanted to like this. The charming, apothecary style bottle, the delicate blue color of the juice...charming. But the actual scent itself is very strong and very green on my skin. Like an earlier reviewer said, it smells more of stems and leaves than of violet petals, and it also has a musty, dirty smell on me - as if it were violet stems caked in mud. It's actually quite unpleasant. After an hour or so, it does mellow and get sweeter, but it retains a dirty, musty note. I've tried it several times, wanting to like it, and I may even use up my two samples, but it won't be a purchase. I prefer the sweeter, slightly powdery smell of Guerlain Meteorites.

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sweetpeas on 4/10/2007 5:56:00 PM more reviews by sweetpeas

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

This, along with My Fair Lady (which also foregrounds violet, but marries it with rose) is my most favorite violet scent. I will preface this by saying that I am inconsistent in my likes and dislikes of powder-based scents. For whatever reason, I don't like powdery violets. On me, Violetta gracefully avoids becoming powdery, even after a significant period of drydown. It is a bright, longlasting, and truly uplifting violet soliflore. I don't detect much else in this scent, and frankly, I couldn't want for more. A beautiful fragrance, especially in spring, and I am surprised by how much I am reaching for this one this spring season.

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chvatal on 9/21/2006 4:54:00 PM more reviews by chvatal

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Blue    

This could possibly be my signature scent. It's not too powdery or sweet but rather smells cool, light and delicate. It's very unique and I can't wait to try the lotion, soap and bath oil.

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*TOP REVIEWER* SpinDiva on 8/10/2006 12:34:00 PM more reviews by SpinDiva

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination   Hair: Other   Eyes: Brown    

Fresh? YES!, Clean?, YES!, Unisex? YES! Light and office worthy? YES! A perfect light vioet, even for those who are shy of the little purple flower? YES!

Is there a but here? YES!

Violet fades fast. I've been told that ones nose adjusts to the scent of violet very quickly, so I don't know if it fades, or my nose adjusts....

Either way... it turns a nice clean soapy fresh scent within an hour or two... with a nice sharp bit.

Also - on a side not. The bottle is GORGEOUS!!!!

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*TOP REVIEWER* mudpud on 7/12/2006 8:10:00 PM more reviews by mudpud

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

For 30 minutes or so after I've sprayed this on myself, it is an "UGH!"-inducing mess of harsh, HARSH Play-Doh and nasty violet candy. The final drydown, however, is the most pleasant surprise. It's light, dainty, and delicate, and brings children-just-out-of-the-bathtub connotations to my mind. I hesitate to use the words "clean" and "soapy" since they thrown around to describe a wide-range of fragrances IMHO, but I think I feel comfortable w/ a bath, lol. I don't think it smells much like violets, though (well, the initial smell does. I get the Play-Doh scent from quite a few violet-based perfumes).

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*TOP REVIEWER* willemtje on 4/27/2006 3:36:00 AM more reviews by willemtje

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Grey    

Penhaligon's Violetta starts as a true violet, but soon changes into a rather bitter scent without violets on my wrist. It is close to the skin and it has a classy undertone, but overall I can't coop with its bitterness. It reminds me very much of marzipan -not the smell, but the taste of well made, fresh marzipan, which can be more bitter than sweet - and I do love marzipan, but as a fragrance, no thanks. Penhaligon's Violetta reminds me more of JM's Wild Fig & Cassis than of a violet scent, as if they used only the stems and not the petals. I prefer Guerlain Meteorites and Violetta di Parma over this. Must be my chemistry, as I read totally different reviews here...UPDATE: my friend tested it from a bottle, and it turned out a little sweeter on her, but the bitterness and darkness was also present. It's a gothic scent to my opinion.

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*TOP REVIEWER* amykelley on 4/21/2006 10:43:00 PM more reviews by amykelley

Age: Unknown   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

Penhaligon's Violetta is my second-favorite violet soliflore after Devon Violets. It starts out with a tiny hint of the same sourness Bluebell has, but it quickly fades to a sweet, slightly powdery violet. I'll probably never own it because Devon Violets is less powdery, less headache-inducing and much less expensive, but Violetta's bottle is exquisite.

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*TOP REVIEWER* ewojdula on 4/12/2006 11:35:00 PM more reviews by ewojdula

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Green    

This is kind of harsh on me but at the same time, it's a guilty pleasure. There's something about it that screams "You're not supposed to like this!" But I kind of do. On me, it smells like those wonderful Choward's Violet candies and gum. It has a clovey-kind of edge to it. I think my preference is for greener, less cloying violets, but I do like this and it might grow on me. Such a pretty bottle too!

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*TOP REVIEWER* dancingoutlaw on 1/30/2006 7:27:00 PM more reviews by dancingoutlaw

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

This has a rather fruity kick to it at the beginning and then it begins to remind me of Salon Selectives--but in a good way. Then it smells like violets; yes, the leaves and stems are there. Sweeter than sweet, and it lasts a considerable amount of time.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Clearing on 12/18/2005 10:34:00 AM more reviews by Clearing

Age: 44-55   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

oleaginous... Ok had to look that up. "Influenced by olive oil" (?) "Falsely or smugly earnest; unctuous " (?) I guess I'll have to try this one on again.....When two reviewers say the fragrance smells oleaginous ... well, I do take notice. Still, I am sticking to my impression of a green violette...comparatively speaking.

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