Perfume Review: Caron - Violette Précieuse

I have had such a craving Charbonnel et Walker violet creams these days! Anything violet seems to fit so well with the first days of spring where it's still a bit chilly, but bright and sunny. There's a freshness to the smell of violet that is very appropriate. This lead me to buy Violette Précieuse, believing it would be a great early spring perfume. I wish it were so!

Caron - Violette Précieuse in the old formulation used to be a magic thing from what I have read, a seductive scent straight from 1913. Unfortunately, this is not true of the current version. It doesn't smell too modern in spite of the raspberry base, but it's not seductive, and it's not what its name leads you to believe; it's  not precious and certainly not what you'd expect of a perfume from House Caron. I have the EdT formulation, but even for an EdT lasting time is poor. It leaves behind an almost undetectable sweetish smell, but it's nothing to write home about.

I was really looking forward to trying this one which of course means I am pretty disappointed with what I got. I do regret buying it before sniffing and trying it on, but up till I got this all the Caron perfumes I had tried suited me and my taste. It's too light and leaves no lasting impression. It's the bimbo of Caron perfumes I'm afraid!

I do wear it, but I usually layer it over something more substantial like Caron Montaigne (I will review this, too) which makes things better. We've had a few happy days like this, but soon I'll move to my proper spring perfumes! One day I hope I can find the old perfume to sniff.

On a final note I would say that if you want to buy a perfume for a pubescent girl, I think this would be a good choice. A light floral perfume like this would suit a young age and it's not like the sickly sweet horrors that are passed on as perfumes for these ages at the minute.


Top Notes: Violet Flowers, Violet Leaves, Iris, Orange Blossom 
Middle Notes: Jasmine, Lily of the Valley 
Base Notes: Raspberry, Vetiver

Winter tales: Caron Parfum Sacré, the midwinter fire

It's been very cold these days, the temperature is below zero, the winds are strong and frosty, the days are short and dark, a layer of frost is covering everything and as soon as you step out of the front door you want to run back inside and hide under the covers until spring arrives. It's hard not to feel lonely, gloomy in such weather. If you are exposed to it for too long, you forget what it feels like to be warm.

On days like these, right in the heart of winter, I need something to remind me of everything that is pleasant and inviting in this world; it's on these days that I -almost instinctively- reach out for my bottle of Caron's Parfum Sacré. This beautiful oriental perfume is so warm it feels like a small, glowing fire when I wear it. It's one of the few perfumes I spray on my wrists so as to be able to reach for a sniff easily when I need it as it instantly puts a smile back on my face. It's too strong to wear on normal days, definitely more appropriate on formal/evening occasions, but when the the cold is this intense it's the only thing I want to wear. It's woody, it's peppery, it's spicy, it's alive!

My bottle is 100ml EdP (reformulated

Top Notes: coriander, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, cardamom and lemon.
Heart Notes: mimose, orange blossom, jasmine, rose and Brazilian rosewood.
Base Notes: amber, musk, civet, vanilla, cedar and myrrh.

Aromatic Navy Blue

Barry M - Navy is a rich true navy blue with super fine blue shimmer that makes it very special. It looks sophisticated and very grown up, but there is a major disadvantage to it; it stains big time. In the two years I've had it I've only worn it five times (this being the fifth), four of which within the first month after I got it. My nails by the end of that month were yellow and horrible which is something I had never had before. And yes, I was wearing a base coat under it. I often like to have my nails bare and back then I simply couldn't because they looked disgusting! 

I had really missed it, however, and I have yet to find a navy blue as vibrant and cool so I decided I would only wear it for 2 days and I would use an extra coat of a sheer polish over my top coat to keep my nails doubly protected. Here it is!

Fluorescent light

Then the next day I noticed an uncanny similarity between my polish and the lid of my Guerlain Shalimar perfume. The fine shimmer makes the polish look like a metallic sheet on your nails, and it is a couple of tones more cool than Shalimar. They are unquestionably pretty together though!

Natural light (cloudy)