Photo via YMA on Instagram
Violet, with its vintage associations of Victorian postcard forget-me-nots and powdery antecedents, may not a flower that conjures a scent of tomorrow. But while ionones, the aroma chemicals that give violets their unique odor, can smell powdery or woody, they can also come across as metallic, fresh or green. In Violette Hay X Marissa Zappas, Redamance founder and creative director Marissa Zappas combines violet with notes of iris and clean musk that lend it a cool, modern feel, but then sexes the whole thing up a bit with a roll in the hay and some toasty saffron. This is space-age rococo, a fragrance for Barbarella’s boudoir.
Marissa Zappas, image via Instagram
Zappas was inspired to create Violette Hay after seeing the seductive work of fashion/lingerie designer YMA, whom Zappas met through Instagram and with whom she found an artistic synergy. YMA’s creations combine 18th-century-style corset-centric couture with ultra-modern touches (models are holding cells phones in nearly all the brand’s photo’s on Instagram). Zappas, who describes applying perfume as a way of “invoking a future self,” is keen to put violet – that shy flower so commonly used in genteel classics like Violette de Parma – on the map of modern perfumery with a by stripping away the powder. “I really want to bring back violet – this is like, my personal mission… it has become so associated with vintage powderiness, but I wanted to try and make it more futuristic, as I think ionones can bring this futuristic quality too,” she explains. By teasing out both the metallic and iris-like perfumes of ionones, Zappas creates a chilly scent that warms up gradually with tinges of hay, saffron and suede.
Jane Fonda as Barbarella, 1968
Violette Hay X Marissa Zappas starts with a romantic swirl of dark violet and soft-focus iris that spiral around each other like a perfume soft serve. Violet quickly becomes dominant; paired with iris, the flower becomes so intensely purple in smell it is almost grapey, its texture satiny and smooth. A sweet crunch of carrot seed that emphasizes the rooty quality of iris and adds a dash of sugar to the violet in a nod to vintage. Coriander lends its characteristic soapiness to the top notes before retreating behind the flowers. The impression Violette Hay gives at this point is of a diffuse, cool violet fragrance, a scent of early spring, pretty and slightly nostalgic. But that’s about to change as suede, hay and saffron move in.
The Other World, photo by rosesforher on DeviantArt
You’re getting warmer now. In the middle section, I first pick up the slightly dusty, bitter, rolled tobacco aroma of saffron. Its tobacco quality is accentuated by the dry hay that moves in next, bringing a touch of the farmyard. A few minutes later, a thin suede note, like the smell of high-end gloves, becomes noticeable and enhances the subtle animalic dabs of saffron and hay. The violet seems rounder now, with woody and velvety qualities coming through. I don’t quite pick up on apricot, which is listed in the notes, but am aware that Violette Hay, which started out cool, is heating up quietly but luxuriantly like a cat stretching in the midday sun. Later, as Violette Hay dries down, I notice the iris has circled back and joined the violet again. The carrot seed is still there, too, now mingling with hay and spice, and the musk and coriander have merged into a sudsy skin note.
In her first fragrance for Redamance, Queen Nzinga, Marissa Zappas created a luminous fruity-woody scent that glow quietly. Violette Hay is also soft-spoken at the outset. But wait a bit and you’ll begin to hear some husk in her voice as she pulls her silver boots on and powers up with that saffron and hay. This violet runs both hot and cold. Turns out, she’s a modern babe after all.
Notes: Coriander, carrot seed, violet, apricot, hay, saffron, suede, musk.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
I received my sample from Marissa Zappos, opinions are my own.
Violette Hay is available on violettehay.com.
Photo courtesy of Violette Hay and Marissa Zappas
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