Wit and West The Violetear (Whitney Swales) 2023 + Iris Enfleurage Giveaway

Whit and West The violetear

Wit and West The Violetear courtesy of the brand

“The earth laughs in flowers” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Springtime advances through buds, blooms, and bird song. The season for love in all its splendor arrives with its perpetual astonishment. Natural perfumer Whitney Swales knows that “the sounds of spring are brought to life with the buzz of the striking hummingbird known as the Mexican Violetear – a rare sighting for those in the Rocky Mountains to behold. Violet-colored feathers on its crown sparkle in the sunlight as it flits from flower to flower, reappearing only long enough to disappear again, a reminder of nature’s fleeting and enthralling beauty.” The Americas have provided a particularly rich environment for hummingbird evolution, creating a unique place in native cultural traditions. Aztec warriors who died in battle were believed to return and live forever in the bodies of hummingbirds, and the use of hummingbirds in love magic still exists today in charms such as Mexican chuparosa. The medium-size, metallic blue-green Violetear hummingbird is a vibrant and exceptional inspiration for a truly exceptional fragrance.

Violetear Hummingbird

Violetear Hummingbird via Wiki

The Violetear is new addition to Wit and West Perfumes line of limited release 100% all-natural Reserve Collection scents in an Eau de Parfum concentration. Reserve Collection perfumes include rare ingredients as well as handmade tinctures and enfleurage extraits extracted from flowers grown in  the Wit & West garden. Unique in the contemporary fragrant landscape is the opportunity to experience an iris enfleurage. It is a myth that iris flowers are incapable of producing fragrance. Most irises native to the “wild west” of the United States really do produce scent. Accurate headspace observations of these odors are beginning to be conducted and catalogued. Smells can be light to heavy, ranging from orange blossom inflections to grape soda and even chocolate. Violet and freesia are often reported to be the comeliest of “wild west” iris blossom scents. These odors can be fleeting; indeed, one ground iris plant may produce the loveliest of scent, but its neighbor won’t. While there is much yet to learn, with Wit and West The Violetear we have the rare chance to experience an iris flower enfleurage right now!

Natural Perfumer Whitney Swales

Natural Perfumer Whitney Swales

Whitney Swales describes her enfleurage process in detail, a labor of love she spent two years completing for this special Reserve perfume: “the Wit & West iris enfleurage extrait is an in-house extraction obtained from the actual flowers of the bearded iris (yes, there are species of irises where the flowers themselves do indeed have a lovely, violet-like aroma). Enfleurage, or the process of using odorless fat (e.g., coconut oil) to capture the fragrance of fresh flowers, utilizes a glass tray with a thin layer of fat with a layer of fresh flowers on top which is then recharged daily until a desired scent is achieved. The remaining product is known as an enfleurage pomade which can be used as a base for solid perfumes or extracted further for alcohol-based perfumes by washing the pomade in alcohol to draw the fragrant molecules into the alcohol creating a product known as an enfleurage extrait. The Violetear includes an iris enfleurage extrait that is extracted using the same USDA organic grape alcohol base used in all Wit & West fragrances. This enfleurage extrait required over 40 charges of fresh iris flowers gathered from the Wit & West garden over the course of two seasons.”

Iris Enfleurage

Iris Enfleurage courtesy of Whitney Swales

Wit and West The Violetear is a fresh Fougère, shimmering with the special radiance of the blue-green metallic, Mexican Violetear hummingbird. A herbaceous lavender opens the scent, with a subtle coumarinic undertone. Just as its namesake balances in the air, this fragrance does spectacular work of balancing the relation between lavender and coumarin that defines a traditional Fougère – effortless and refined. A skilled interweaving of rose de mai absolute (rose centifolia) and rose damascene provide a warm honeyed voluptuousness with superb lemon-citrus undertone and spicy green facets, the very breath of a fresh bouquet of roses. Mimosa adds powdery floral airiness to the fragrance, layering light honey-like floralcy with woody backtones.

Best Iris Perfumes

 Irises from the Wit and West Garden courtesy of Whitney Swales

The violet opulence of the reserve iris enfleurage rises in a rainbow of amethyst, mauves, periwinkle, and plum. This is a stunning violet candy scent with slightly earthy and musky undertones and a delicately soft talc texture. In the base, tonka bean absolute is rich and slightly caramel-like, with new mown hay and warm herbal aspects. Soft tobacco undertones mix with a nutty almond and hazelnut tendency. A hint of cinnamic-colored balsam rounds out the natural complexity. Frankincense adds a resinous and citrus, slightly peppery, diffusiveness. Oakmoss provides damp earth backdrop, smooth and green, evocative of the spring mysteries of life.

Notes: artisanal bearded iris enfleurage extrait (iris germanica), organic bergamot FCF – furocoumarin free (citrus aurantium var. bergamia), tonka bean absolute (dipteryx odorata), rose absolute (rosa x damascena), mimosa (acacia decurrens), lavender absolute (lavandula angustifolia), frankincense (boswellia sacra flueck), patchouli (pogostemon cablin), vetiver (vetiveria zizanioides), rose de mai absolute (rosa centifolia), oakmoss – low atranol (evernia prunastri).

Disclaimer: Bottle of Wit and West The Violetear extrait kindly provided by Wit and West Perfumes. My opinions, as always, are my own

Rachel Ng, Contributor

The Violetear by Whit and West

Whit and West The Violetear

Thanks to the largesse of Wit and West Perfumes, we have a draw for The Reserve Collection Sample Set (includes 3 x1.5 ml samples of the Reserve Perfumes: Gardenia Ono, La Valse and The Violetear) and a $20 Digital Gift Card to use toward the purchase of a full-size bottle of the perfume of your choice for one registered reader in the U.S. (contiguous 48 states) only. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Wit and West The Violetear from Rachel’s review and confirm you live in the US. Draw closes 4/112/2023

Please support our artisan perfumers and order directly from their website. It is often the smallest brands that sponsor the majority of our giveaways

All photos belong to Wit and West Perfumes unless otherwise noted.

Whitney Swales was the 163rd American Perfumer in our ÇaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery Series

Please read Rachel’s review of Wit and West’s Brumaire Woods

Wit and West was featured in Steven’s video 3 American Indie Brands You Should Know

Please read Senior Editor Lauryn Beer’s review of Wit and West’s Honeysuckle Halcyon

Curious to learn more about the art of enfleurage? Please read former Contributor David Falsberg’s Perfumer Workshop on the subject here

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22 comments

  • Chayaruchama says:

    What a delightful review, dear Rachel!
    This fragrance has all tantalizing aromas – and your description is envoûtant.
    Please count me in. I’m in sunny South Boston.

  • starsnek says:

    I have a special place in my heart for natural perfumery, and I’m continuously amazed by the creativity of perfumers like Whitney Swales. I would love to sample the offerings from Wit and West Perfumes — they already caught my attention through previous reviews for Brumaire Woods and Honeysuckle Halcyon. I love natural iris fragrances, and The Violetear sounds beautiful! Crossing my fingers in the US.

  • JulieeCee says:

    I’m captivated by Rachel’s writing about the lore of these striking blue-green hummingbirds as the inspiration for this gorgeous scent by Wit West. Love the Walden quote too.
    In the U.S.

  • RonaldProkes17 says:

    This sounds phenomenal. I loved how much work went into this perfume. The patience that it must have taken to find the right flowers and then wait for there to be enough of them to create the perfume.
    Rachel’s review also made it feel like this is a very unique and delicate take on a fougere. I think this is so unique, because barbershop fougeres can historically lead too masculine and overpowering – perhaps because they have been done by predominantly male perfumers, so I would love to try this very delicate, intelligent and unique take on the genre that honors the source material. I also loved the detail Rachel put into educating us about how absolutes and extracts are made.

    I am in California, USA.

  • kate says:

    i love everything about this. i am a love of iris perfumes and this one sounds amazing. i also love the information about how iris *does* have a smell. also the hummingbird mythology story is really intriguing to me…this post reminds me a lot of my father. he loved hummingbirds as well as irises, which was his favorite flower. he passed in 2021 and one of the most beautiful things he left behind was his backyard which was full of plants and birds, including irises and hummingbirds.

  • kate says:

    i love everything about this. i am a love of iris perfumes and this one sounds amazing. i also love the information about how iris *does* have a smell. also the hummingbird mythology story is really intriguing to me…this post reminds me a lot of my father. he loved hummingbirds as well as irises, which was his favorite flower. he passed in 2021 and one of the most beautiful things he left behind was his backyard which was full of plants and birds, including irises and hummingbirds.

    *sorry forgot to mention that i am in california, US.

  • snowflake15 says:

    How exciting to finally have the scent of the iris flower itself. The hummingbird is so beautiful, can’t wait to sample the fragrance. NY state. Thank you for the drawing.

  • BostonScentGuy says:

    Wow–this sounds lovely! And it sounds like a version of the fougere that appeals to me…kind of bright, diaphanous, and combining the herbal and floral aspects in a way that evokes pastoral scenes. Especially interested in the usage of the homemade iris flower enfluerage! Thanks for the generous draw–I’m in the US (Colorado).

  • drjedi says:

    What I found interesting in Rachel Ng’s review of Wit and West The Violetear is that it took two years to complete the enfleurage process. And it was all from the flowers from Wot and West gardens. Natural ingredients, attention to details, patience in creating Wit and West The Violetear (not a rush to market product) – all these are very appealing. Also enjoyed reading about violetear the hummingbird, and connections to native cultural traditions. The quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson at the beginning of this review is so apt – “The earth laughs in flowers”.

    Thanks for the review and draw. From continental United States.

  • Trinity33 says:

    The Violetear hummingbird is so pretty and a great inspiration for a fragrance! I love the scent of iris and I also find that some of my plants are fragrant while others are not. The enfleurage technique is fascinating and I imagine, time consuming but as Rachel described seems to yield a lovely violet opulence. I would love to try this! MD, USA.

  • opalbear says:

    Finally!! As someone who lives on the west coast and has smelled irises all my life from wild meadow ones – stalky, lanky and weedish to big voluptuous sensual Schreiners Garden winners to short squat sweet foothills ones…. They DO have scents!! It’s not just in the root. I am absolutely ecstatic that a house has given this much love, attention and skill to bringing us the Iris fragrance! Now is when the true beauty of Naturals will shine.
    Oh I hope I win!! Thank you for the opportunity.
    In the US

  • Gnossiennes says:

    Wow, the Violetear hummingbird seems so lovely to inspire a fragrance! Iris, mimosa, frankincense, oakmoss… all these notes sound so promising. Look forwards to how Ms. Swales will recreate that adorable little creature!
    Greetings from San Mateo, California.

  • Torax says:

    Rachel did a fantastic job here.
    I have to admit that this is the first time I read something about Wit and West Perfumes but they surely look promosing. I hope I can get my nose on The Violeatear. I love that violet and iris are the main characters here and they are very rich and opulent. I think this may be the perfect fragrance for spring.
    USA here.

  • JohnHenry says:

    The whole process in the creation of this fragrance is so artisanal and painstaking! Beautiful! I did not know that some irises smell like violet. I would live to smell this! I’m in the US.

  • amanna says:

    I’ve yet to try any Wit and West perfumes, but I hope to remedy that soon! I love natural perfumes, especially and above all ones that include the kind of tender loving care so obviously put into The Violetear with the use of bearded iris enfleurage and born from careful observation and appreciation of American surroundings. Best wishes from the US!

  • mmerline says:

    I haven’t tried any Whit and West perfumes yet, but I’ve enjoyed your coverage of the brand, and I’d like to try more natural perfumers. I’m also impressed that the brand’s Reserve collection includes locally grown and extracted materials; Whitney Swales’ description of her enfleurage process is really interesting! The Violetear sounds like a wonderful fougère, and it’s dosing of rose notes and “violet candy” iris should separate it from the crowd.

    I’m in the USA. Thanks for the giveaway.

  • Teresa C says:

    I was caught at teh term ‘violet candy’ followed by the description of soft, cozy iris. This sounds amazing. The hummingbird itself is also so very beautiful. I live in the USA.

  • sephrenia300 says:

    Lovely review Rachel! What strikes me about Wit and West The Violetear from Rachel’s review is learning that, contrary to the popular belief and myth that iris flowers are incapable of producing fragrance, most irises native to the US do produce scent. That scent, while delicate and difficult to capture, is nevertheless used as the focus of The Violetear using the expensive and labor intensive process of enfleurage. That makes me quite eager to try this rare perfume! I live in the U.S.

  • dLin says:

    The fragrances sound like very versatile floral fragrances for everyday wear based on Rachael’s review, and I’m interested to see how they dry down over time. From TX, USA.

  • foreverscents says:

    I always try to attract hummingbirds to my garden. Each time one flies to the nectar, I celebrate inside. The Violetear sounds so opulent. I respect the painstaking work to extract and use the violet in this composition. There are so many beautiful notes in The Violetear.
    I live in the USA.

  • wallygator88 says:

    Thanks for the great review Rachel.

    I was fortunate to win Honeysuckle Halcyon and have been keeping an eye on their offerings. I love the fact that the recent fragrances have been fougeres.

    I absolutely loved the fact that she did an enfleurage of bearded iris for this.

    I would love to get my nose on this.

    Cheers from WI, USA