Ava Luxe Perfumes Midnight Violet

The elf-knight sits on yonder hill
Fine flowers in the valley
He blows his horn both loud and shrill
As the rose is blown

He blows it East, he blows it West
Fine flowers in the valley
He blows it where he liketh best
As the rose is blown

Lady Isabel sits a-sewing
Fine flowers in the valley
When she heard the elf-knight’s horn a-blowing
As the rose is blown

‘Would I had that horn a-blowing’
Fine flowers in the valley
‘And yon elf-knight for to sleep in my bosom’
As the rose is blown ~ The Elf Knight, Child ballad #4

Orlando Bloom as Legolas via imdb

Be wary of stereotyping: there are those who immediately assume that I’m not a fan of fantasy or sci-fi purely because I tend to lean towards the academic side of things. This is patently untrue. I live for the mysterious, the shrouded message, and the fanciful – and am a Lord of the Rings fan. Many years ago, when Ava Luxe Perfumes Midnight Violet was first released in 2007 – my immediate associations were of Elrond, the elven king of Rivendell; his beautiful daughter Arwen; and elven warrior prince (and skilled archer) Legolas in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003). I began to hear The Elf Knight in my mind’s ear – cajoling and irresistible as the melodies of the legendary Lorelei.  Ava Luxe Perfumes Midnight Violet is all of a piece for me. 17 years later, independent perfumer Serena Ava Goode has brought back this much-sought-after scent, which is now available to all. Like her much loved Madame X, Midnight Violet was a groundbreaking fragrance back then, and it retains its fascination and originality almost two decades later.

Ava Luxe brand image of violets

In the current day panoply of violet perfumes, Midnight Violet continues to hold its own. The perfumer has honored its formula, and has not tweaked it (having flacons of the 2007 as well as the latest, I can attest to this).  It insinuates its way into a room rather than announcing itself with clarion fanfare: Midnight Violet presents as a dark, soulful etude by Chopin – unlike Madame X, which is more symphonic in nature. This perfume more or less defies categorization – unless musky incense green woody chypre may be considered a classification of its own.

 

Liv Tyler as Arwen on horseback via imdb Return of the King

Midnight Violet may be perceived by some to be a Gothic fragrance, and perhaps it is – but unlike any other, it never feels ponderous, overwhelming, or dank. It is as if shafts of moonlight pierce the omnipresent darkness with a specter of optimism.

Sasha Matic via Unsplash

Pink pepper, cinnamon, and galbanum provide the sources of this illumination with their spicy piquancy and galbanum’s verdant resinous presence. What ensues is a tapestry of earthy (in this case, Geosmin and moss), creamy (sandalwood), softly floral (orris, violet, iris) and balsamic notes (black hemlock, with its berried, sweet woody character) partnered with graceful animalics which growl, not  roar (musk, civet). The incense which Serena has chosen to employ is meditative and wonderfully moody, with nothing strident about it; when all is said and done, Midnight Violet proves harmoniously warm and dry. As the perfume dries down, my impression is that of being drawn into the nocturnal forest, enveloped in an otherworldly bower scented with the haunting vestige of violet reminiscent of Queen Marie of Roumania. Not long before you enter, there has been a fire lit and suddenly snuffed out; the haints of the past linger in this sylvan setting, surrounding you with subtle smoke. There is a measure of peace in the last, faintly melancholic and ineffably lovely, a comforting haunting that makes you shiver with delight.

Notes: violet, blue iris, orris, earth, black hemlock, galbanum, pink pepper, cinnamon, cedar, sandalwood, incense, wood balsam, moss, civet, cashmere musk

Perfume purchased by me from Ava Luxe Perfumes. My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

Please enjoy Ida’s The 3 Ava Luxe Perfumes you should be wearing here, and Madame X

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