Launched in 2013 by Mona di Orio, Violette Fumée was the personal fragrance perfumer Mona di Orio created for her friend and business partner Jeroen Oude Sogtoen.

Violette Fumeé opens with a note of fresh lavender – not the sickly synthetic stuff you find in scented soaps and sachets, but the aromatic, herbal, floral scent of fresh lavender sprigs that have been crushed and rubbed between your palms. Bergamot adds a crisp sparkliness that’s a nod to champagne, as is the muselet that covers the stoppers on all 100 ml. Les Nombres D'Or perfume bottles. Oakmoss gives the opening a delicate earthiness. Skin heat brings out the heart notes – tender violet, bolstered by lush Turkish rose, dance through tendrils of a soft, smoky pipe tobacco accord created by vetiver and clary sage. Violet leaf, green and fresh, is warmed by spicy saffron, which makes Violette Fumeé smoulder on a resinous base of resinous opoponax, bitter myrrh and musky, woody cashmeran.

The drydown is creamy, soft and tender with a freshness that livens it up just enough, but it’s that violet/smoke pairing that wafts up from my wrist to my nose from time to time that makes it unforgettable.

Notes: lavender, bergamot, oakmoss, violet flowers and leaves, Turkish rose, vetiver, clary sage, saffron, opoponax, myrrh and cashmeran wood.