Violets have been long regarded for their delicate and sublime aroma. Although for the most part they are considered a shy, lady-like scent and are associated with Victorian times, when violets were most popular in history. Violets are also considered aphrodisiacs – though usually a “proper” and “well mannered” aphrodisiac. There is a hidden darkness and duskiness about violets that does not come through in all violet fragrances.

A quick visit to the most infamous violet scents will lead to the conclusion that there are no two violets that are the same. There are some green ones – such as Verte Violette, Ormonde and Viola; There are powdery ethereal ones such as Apres l’Ondee, and there are others that are sweet and floral with no question about their violetness, such as Violetta and Meteorites (a Guerlain limited edition).

The differences lays with the fact that the part of the plant that is used commercially is the leaves. However, the nostalgic scent that was so prized in Victorian times was the flowers themselves. These are sweet and powdery at once and quite unusual; Their unmistakable scent is very delicate – in fact, almost invisible in the fresh flowers themselves. Since violet flowers are for the most part man made compounds, the interpretations are limitless, ranging from powdery to green, floral and even gourmand-like, inspired by candied violets.

Violet Flower Absolute
Although violet flowers can be distilled into an absolute, the process is labour intense and non-cost-effective. When I use violet flower note in my perfumes, it is a compound made if various oils that are rich in ionone - such as orris root, violet leaf absolute, boronia along with other floral oils or absolutes to round off the accord and give it a soft flowery impression.

Violet Leaf Absolute
This dark green liquid from the violet leaves smells cool and green, just like cucumber. When diluted, it exposes its powdery and floral characteristics, rather than leafy green.

Boronia Absolute
Boronia comes from the shores of Tasmania, and is one of the most precious absolutes. It contains a lot of ionone – a key component in violet and orris. It has undertones reminiscent of sandalwood and hay, a yellow freesia and violet like body and a slightly fruity, almost like cassis and apricot top notes. More than anything else – it is reminiscent of fresh yellow freesias - fruity, green and spicy all at once.

Orris Butter
Orris has an important role in the creation of violet flower compounds. As much as orris root butter is expensive – it is far more cost effective than harvesting violet flower absolute. Along with chemicals from the ionone family, it helps to duplicate the delicate scent of violet flowers.

Lavender
Besides its innumerable roles in perfumery and aromatherapy alike, lavender has affiliation with violets. It is floral, herbaceous, powdery and sweet all at once and also, well, purple. The softness and warmth of lavender promotes the powderiness of violet compounds.

Costus
I have already mentioned before, in the article about musks, the unique characteristics of costus. However, it’s dusky, dark and slightly oily quality is not only valuable for creating vegetale musk accords, but also as a deep and delicately sweet and rich foundation for violet accords – especially when seeking a dark, more mysterious (rather than purely innocent) violet.

What is amber? Is it a gemstone? A fossilized tree resin? Fur-balls a-la-Whale? Is it an essence from a mysterious plant?

There are so many myths and confusions about what ambergris really is, and there are many reasons for that. First and foremost, because amber is a word that is used for a few different things: a short name for ambergris, the ocean-aged secretion from the sperm whale, a name of fossilized tree resin (Pinus Succunifera, to be exact) which is used in jewelry, as well as an umbrella name for many different compounds that for some extent or the other try to mimic the sweetening effect that ambergris has in compositions.

Let’s start with defining some of these terms:

Amber Resin
The fossil Baltic amber comes from an ancient, prehistoric pine called Pinus Succinifera. Amber dust is a by product of the fossil amber industry, and can be distilled to form a smoky-sweet-resinous and somewhat reminiscent of pine gum. This oil is occasionally used in perfumery as a base note, but very rarely. There are also some toxicity issues around this material and it is not recommended for use on the skin. If you ever try to burn amber “gemstones” to prove their authenticity, the smell that comes from the charred resin is the scent of amber resin oil.

Ambergris
Ambergris is a cured secretion that comes from sperm whales to heal its stomach from the scratches of the cuttlefish they swallow. It floats on the ocean, and by exposure to the sun and the salty water it changes its originally foul smell into one of the most delicate and sought after fragrances: Ambergris. Ambergris is sweet, soft and slightly powdery. It is animalic but in a subtle way – the raw chunks of ambergris on their own remind me of the smell of horses… Ethically harvested ambergris that was beach harvested (as opposed to ambergris that was procured from slaughtered whales and went through an artificial maturing process) is very hard to find. It is tinctured and used as a base note in oriental and floral compositions, in very minute amounts as it is powerful and its most significant role is as a catalyst, bringing out the best of each note and melding them all together seamlessly.

I have been fortunate enough to find some ambergris that was beach harvested in North Carolina (the photo above is of the "mother lump", courtesy of Will Lapaz), and today I finally tinctured it – which is quite an experience. Grating and powdering the ambergris – which is very much like a fragile yet hard resin – is an experience on its own. The scent is delicate yet animalic and intoxicating, but never overwhelming… The tincture needs to be matured for at least six months before a considerable effect is achieved. And from than it is said to become only better with time… Because of its rarity and preciousness I will use ambergris in bespoke perfumes or limited editions.

Ambrette Seed
Lastly, ambrette seed – which has nothing to do with amber or ambergris, except that its has a significantly similar name. For more information about ambrette seed in all of its forms and it’s important role as the most sought after vegetale musks, please see my previous article.

Another myth I would like to break here (since we are talking about animal/plant equivalences) – I deeply disagree with the common knowledge often presented in aromatherapy books that Clary Sage is the closest thing to ambergris in the plant kingdom. It is not. In fact there is very little in common that I can see or understand. The wine-like quality of Clary Sage must have had some influence on their nose… Unless, of course, those lucky souls had their hands on a very unique stash. I am yet to find that Clary Sage… Clary Sage can be used as an accent in amber compounds, but cannot be relied upon to make a compound smell like ambergris.

Amber
Amber used to be used as a short name for ambergris. However, because of the cost and rarity of ambergris, perfumers have constructed many different compounds to assimilate ambergris or to create a warm, sensual, ambery impression by using other aromatics. Natural amber compounds usually contain a combination of Labdanum, Styrax Levant, Benzoin and vanilla. This creates a soft, sensual, warm, comforting and sweet aroma that lingers for many hours and also acts as a fixative for other notes.

We see that amber in perfumery context is really a name for compounds with certain characteristics in common. All ambers are sweet base notes, and act as a fixative as well as add a sweet, soft and round note to a composition. However, ambers can differ greatly depending on what they are made of. There are synthetic ambers of different kinds and characteristics (i.e.: crystalline ambers are sheer and not as sweet as other ambers), and the same goes for natural amber compounds.

Let’s look at the three key ingredients that are essential for creating natural amber compounds:

Labdanum
One of my most favourite scents – the gum resinoid from the rockrose is as close as plants can get to ambergris. The ambery, sweet, honeyed aroma of labdanum plays a key role in many chypre and oriental compositions and is an important ingredient in amber compounds, along with Styrax and Benzoin. Labdanum absolutes vary in quality – some are lighter, some are sweeter than others, and some are more leathery and animalic.

Styrax Levant (Liquidamber Orientalis)
One of the essential components of amber compounds, Styrax Levant has top notes reminiscent of epoxy glue, yet it is sweet and pleasant, and has a smoothing ambery effect. It is sweet, floral and balsamic.

Benzoin
Benzoin is a sweet balsam from a tropical Asian tree with fixative qualities. It is reminiscent of vanilla but does not overwhelm delicate floral and citrus notes. There are two varieties of benzoin: Siamese and Sumatran. The Benzoin from Siam (grown in China, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam) is a bit dried and powdery. The Benzoin from Sumatra is sweeter and richer, almost caramel-like, and comes from Sumatra, Java and Malaysia.

I have created a basic amber formula which contains these three essences only – Labdanum absolute, Styrax Levant and Benzoin. This amber on its own is quite boring (though it has a nice fixative quality and will not overpower delicate heart and top notes). To transform this basic amber into a unique amber compound or even a complex amber perfume – I like to use accent notes. My favourite ones to use are the following:

For sweet, mouthwatering gourmand amber, I like to add essences such as honey absolute, vanilla absolute, tonka bean and Peru balsam.

For a warmer, drier amber – I add spicy notes such as cinnamon, cloves, Tolu balsam and cassia. Herbs such as sage, clary sage and juniper can be used in minute quantities as well.

To add mystery and allure - patchouli and incense (sandalwood, olibanum, etc.) can be utilized to great effect as long as the proportions are right.

And of course – minute quantities of floral notes such as rose and jasmine will soften and round the amber compound, giving it depth without turning it into a flower.

To learn more about natural amber compound and the amber/ambergris/Baltic amber resin confusion, read this article.

Rain shower may leave a trail of scent behind, or may draw an invisible curtain hanging in the air; suddenly brightening the spirits and reviviving the thirsty plants and soil. Suddenly, one becomes aware of the possibility of other realities, of luscious greens and patience and calm. After the first rain in the dry lands, the earth releases a special scent emitted by the myriads of organisms inhabiting the upper layer of the soil – a musty and clean scent of wet earth. However, in places blessed with rain all year around, those scents are less than evident except for those times when the earth had enough time to dry and lust for water.

When I first heard of Après l'Ondée, I was longing to try it and could not find a trace of it anywhere until a few years later. However, I was so fascinated by the idea of it, that I immediately set to design a perfume as an homage to the scent after the first rain in my home village. The result was Rainforest – ironically a scent that is more similar to the rainforests of the West Coast, the exile in which rain bares no precious values. Nevertheless, it gives on the feeling of a veil that have been lifted after the first rain to reveal life and hope, while also portraying the wild greenness of the West Coast rainforests.

Après l'Ondée paints a completely different post-rain olfaction scenery, one that was for the most part foreign to me, until I traveled to countries where rain showers appear uninvited in the midst of summer, shuttering the delicate and fluffy blossoms of tiny purple flowers. Après l'Ondée is shy and quiet, like the cyclamen flowers hiding in the hollows of grey rocks, as if to escape the raging thunder storm.

The cool and distant powderiness of orris and violet is soft and obscure, warmed by anise and carnation, and underlined with a quiet resonance of jasmine and subtle vanillic accord – like a dreamy summer-stroll along the dusty paths of a flower garden that suddenly was given away to a gently showering overcast, a reminder of the intimate closeness between beauty and melancholy.

Top notes:
Bergamot, Aniseed

Heart notes:
Violet flower, Jasmine, Rose, Carnation

Base notes:
Iris roots, Vanilla, Heliotrope