Vivacious – floral and spicy and, well, vivacious

Photo: Courtesy of Hiram Green

I was catching up with a dear friend the other day over the phone. Our easy conversation rambled over our favourite topics, including gardening. She is a Master Gardener, I am not, yet her creativity, talent and passion for gardening combined with an encyclopedic knowledge of plants, trees and shrubs is awe-inspiring. And whenever we speak, I always learn something valuable from her. As we are just on the wet edge of spring, we started talking about our favourite flowers – peonies (hers), irises (mine) and lilac (both of us). After our call ended, I realized I hadn't mentioned violets. How could I have forgotten how much I love violets? Maybe because I’ve been getting my fill from Hiram Green’s latest fragrance, Vivacious. 

Hiram Green is a Canadian-born perfumer who has been creating small-batch, handcrafted perfumes that are 100% natural since 2013. In just a few short years, the immensely talented Mr. Green has become one of the most highly esteemed noses in niche perfumery.

In an email to me, Mr. Green talked about how this violet-themed fragrance came about:

I started work on a violet flower fragrance years ago. I could not get the perfume smelling the way I wanted and switched my efforts to making a tuberose perfume. The result for that was Moon Bloom, my first perfume now almost 8 years old! Over the years I have revisited the violet theme but was only happy with my efforts last year and decided to launch this perfume as Vivacious.'

The Hiram Green website says: "Vivacious is a violet-themed perfume that takes its cue from those prim Victorians who adored this precious flower so much. Updated for the 21st century, this scent has a happy and carefree flair."

Vivacious opens with burst of effervescent bergamot. Bright and fresh, it leads to a floral heart of violet and carnation. The violet is beautiful and natural smelling. At first, it smells sweet and reminds me of those little French violet candies, but this passes once carnation adds its cinnamon/clove spiciness that brightens the violet making it playful and flirty. This is not your wistful Victorian violet. Orris root - rooty, carrot-aspected, powdery and violet tinged, adds a creamy opulence to Vivacious, while amber, soft and warm gives it a smooth sensuality.

What makes Vivacious so unique for me is the interplay among the violet, orris and carnation. It's a balancing act that gives the fragrance a cheerful liveliness that is the very spirit of spring that a man or a woman can wear all year round.

I’ve made a note to myself to mention my love of violets to my friend the next time we speak, after all she’s not just a gardener, she loves perfume too. What a coincidence!

Check out Vivacious in our Shop.