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Browsing by tag: violet

Violets for (Almost) Spring: Nomenclature Lumen_esce & Agustin Reyes Royal Violets

Posted by Kevin on 17 March 2017 33 Comments

Nomenclature Lumen_esce

Niche line Nomenclature “celebrates design in perfume chemistry by showcasing today’s most inspiring, exclusive molecules.” The Nomenclature line presents synthetic perfume ingredients. I have a hard time thinking of an “inspiring” new scent molecule! Please comment if you have a favorite!

Nomenclature says:

While natural essences bask in the limelight, synthetics are the clandestine infiltrators that spark off fragrant revolutions. It was the discovery of coumarin that yielded the first modern perfume, Fougère Royale, in 1881. Aldehydes lent their abstract sheen to Chanel N°5. Ethyl-vanillin enhanced Shalimar’s plush cleavage. Hedione® breathed its radiance into Eau Sauvage. And no contemporary scent could do without synthetic musk or the ubiquitous Iso E Super. Whether they imitate nature, tease out its innermost secrets or veer off into botanically impossible smells, synthetics are the true building blocks of perfumery. Elegant solutions discovered by scientists, wafting from labs onto skin and into your nose.

One certainly would expect such talk from firms like Firmenich who developed and patented Violettyne®, the focal ingredient in Nomenclature Lumen_esce…

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You smelled like violets

Posted by Robin on 25 February 2017 5 Comments

If you grew up in Miami and are of Hispanic descent, chances are high that you smelled like violets as a baby and sometimes beyond your childhood years.

— Read more at Agua de Violetas: A Familiar Fragrance With An Untold Story at NBC Miami.

A summer of violets

Posted by Jessica on 14 July 2016 30 Comments

Violet beauty products, 1

After writing last week’s review of Fabergé Straw Hat, I took a look around and realized that my violet obsession isn’t restricted to perfumes. I’m applying and ingesting and inhaling other violet-perfumed products on a regular basis, too. Here’s a quick round-up of some favorites.

Lush Daddy-O shampoo (top center image) is anything but a “shrinking violet” —its floral aroma is rich and vibrant, with added notes of ylang ylang and violet leaf to add complexity. The scent will linger in your hair all day…

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Faberge Straw Hat ~ vintage fragrance review

Posted by Jessica on 7 July 2016 8 Comments

Fabergé Straw Hat, vintage advert 1

I seem to be in the mood for vintage fragrances this summer, whether they date to the 1980s or much earlier. This week, I spent some time with Fabergé Straw Hat, a scent that was originally released in 1938 and discontinued in 1976, after being offered every spring and summer as a limited edition. I only became acquainted with Fabergé’s other fragrances a few years ago. Aphrodisia is still my favorite, but Straw Hat feels is more seasonally appropriate this week!

Fabergé (the cosmetics brand, that is — not the jewelers to the Russian imperial family!) was founded in 1937 by the Russian-born businessman and philanthropist Samuel Rubin, who sold the company to a competitor in 1963. Fabergé continued to release new perfumes and toiletries, was subject to further mergers over the years, and had most of its products discontinued under Unilever’s ownership in the 1990s. I remember the magazine ads for Babe (1977) from my youth, and the Brut men’s collection is still available…

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Lush Sunny Day Anti-Static Hair Detangler ~ scented hair product review

Posted by Jessica on 19 May 2016 17 Comments

violet

Every spring, I reach for my favorite violet perfumes. At this point in my perfume-history, they include Guerlain Après L’Ondée, Annick Goutal La Violette, Atkinsons 1799 Love in Idleness and Balenciaga Paris. I’ve alway had a weakness for Lush’s violet-scented bath and products, too — my very first review here at Now Smell This was a look at Lush’s Bathos Bubble Bar — so I couldn’t resist a quick in-store spritz of their new Sunny Day Anti-Static Hair Detangler.

According to the Lush UK website, Sunny Day’s name is a reference to the Sesame Street theme song: “Sunny day / sweeping the clouds away / on my way to where the air is sweet.” Coincidentally (or not?), it has a weather tie-in to Don’t Rain on My Parade Shower Gel…

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