Tom Ford Private Blend Black Violet
You know I always have to try anything with Violet in the name, and this is one of those fragrances I loved from the get-go. It opens with a sharp citrus that dries down to a sweetish woody floral that is just divine. At $165 a bottle, the price is less divine (as is the experience of tracking down this hard-to-find fragrance), so a decant is the perfect way to decide if you really want to splurge.
The Posh Peasant
This fragrance site was recently launched by the charming Abigail. It has some very interesting niche perfumes, with an ever expanding line. Be sure to join Abigail’s mailing list, as she will send you updates and special offers. I recently sampled the following fragrances from the Posh Peasant:
Midnight Violet by Ava Luxe
The perfume notes are listed as violet, blue iris, orris, earth, black hemlock, galbanum, pink pepper, cinnamon, cedar, sandalwood, incense, wood balsam, moss, civet, and cashmere musk.
Midnight Violet is a violet with its petals singed by smoky incense. If you like smoky, mysterious fragrances, this is definitely worth a try. The dry down is glorious and I loved every minute I wore it; it made me feel like a 1940’s film star—sophisticated and sultry like Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not. The lasting power is excellent, so as always, spray with restraint the first time around.
Monyette Paris
The notes are listed as Tahitian gardenia, French muguet du bois, and hints of island vanilla orchid.
Monyette Paris is a French take on a southern California beach: fun, saucy, and a tiny bit naughty. The top notes are almost too sweet, but the dry down is a mellow, pretty gardenia. It’s one of the few sweet perfumes I actually like and the perfect accessory to a summer dress and flirty sandals.
Apart from the allure of getting packages full of perfume in the mail, one of the things I like most about perfume decants is that they are a way to educate your nose away from the pressures of the perfume counters without having to spend lots of money for something that may not suit you. There are certain fragrances that anyone who is passionate about perfume should sniff, try wearing, and give some thought to even if they end up being perfumes you don’t like, like Chanel No. 5 and Guerlain’s L’Heure Bleue. They are two of the great classic perfumes that have stood the test of time, yet they where created in a very different olfactory time than we live in now. If you are used to wearing a lighter, “cleaner” scent, you might not like either of these perfumes at first sniff—or ever—yet I think it is important to understand what makes them iconic, high quality scents. Decants are a wonderful way to find out what you like, what you don’t, and why.
