plant
Violet
Viola odorata
Origin
Historically cultivated around Grasse and in the region near Toulouse, France, where the sweet violet was grown for both flower and leaf. The leaves are solvent-extracted to produce a green absolute, since the flowers yield almost no extractable scent.
The smell
A delicate, powdery floral with a cool, dewy greenness and a faint, candied sweetness. The leaf material smells sharply green, cucumber-like and watery, while the flower note is soft and almost rooty. It fades quickly, leaving a faint, soapy-powdery residue.
Key quality
The flower's scent contains ionones that briefly saturate and anaesthetise the olfactory receptors, causing the perception of the smell to repeatedly appear and vanish.
Historical use
The violet was the personal emblem of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose followers adopted it as a secret symbol during his exile. Violet-scented products were enormously fashionable in Victorian and Edwardian England, with brands such as Parma Violet built on the flower.