I love the smell of violets, and when I’m dreadfully tired of winter, I long for violet scents. Since today is the first day of spring after a long winter, I decided to round up some of my favorite violet scents, and also write a little bit about violets’ scent and symbolism.
ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY
The Greek word for violet is io. In Greek mythology, Io was the daughter of King Argos, whom Zeus loved. But Zeus was afraid that Hera would discover their love affair, so her turned Io into a cow, and created the sweet-scented violet flowers for her to eat.
Another myth tells of Venus arguing with her son Cupid, about whether she was more beautiful than a nearby group of girls. When Cupid chose the girls, Venus flew into a rage and beat the girls until they turned blue and became a clump of violets. Because of the connection with Venus, violets were popular in love potions and aphrodesiacs.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have used violets as the symbol of his love for Josephine. Josephine loved the scent of violets, and wore them on her wedding day. Napoleon presented her with a bouquet of violets every year for their wedding anniversary. Napoleon is said to have worn an eau de cologne scented with violets, and to have favored food flavored with violets.
While in exile on the island of Elba, he told friends that he would return to France when the violets appeared in the spring. This led his supporters to refer to him as “Caporal La Violette.” When they encountered strangers, they would ask the question, “Do you like violets?” to determine if the person was a loyal supporter of Napoleon. When Napoleon died, he was found to be wearing a locket around his neck which contained violet flowers.
THE POETRY OF SAPPHO
Sappho was a lyrical poet born in Greece sometime around 615 B.C.E. on the Isle of Lesbos. She was born into an aristocratic family and married to a wealthy man, but she spent most of her adult life in the Lesbos city of Mytilene where she ran an academy for unmarried young women. Wealthy women from all over the Mediterranean sent their daughters to Lesbos to study under Sappho, she was a prominent teacher and poet.
Sappho was influential because she was one of the first Greek poets to write in first person, expressing her own feelings (as opposed to writing odes and poems to the deities and muses). Her poetry, which was accompanied by lyre music, often expressed her love for women, and for her female students. She wrote about the bitersweetness and challenges of love.
Sappho was so influential in Greece that the Isle of Lesbos minted coins with her image, and Plato called her “the Tenth Muse.” The modern words “lesbian” and “sapphic,” which are used to refer to female homosexuality, come from her influence.
I Have Not Had One Word From Her
Frankly I wish I were dead
When she left, she wept
a great deal; she said to me,
“This parting must be
endured, Sappho. I go unwillingly.”I said, “Go, and be happy
but remember (you know
well) whom you leave shackled by love“If you forget me, think
of our gifts to Aphrodite
and all the loveliness that we shared“all the violet tiaras,
braided rosebuds, dill and
crocus twined around your young neck“myrrh poured on your head
and on soft mats girls with
all that they most wished for beside them“while no voices chanted
“I Have Not Had One Word From Her” – excerpt from a poem by Sappho
choruses without ours,
no woodlot bloomed in spring without song…”
This poem, which describes women with great affection for one another wearing “violet tiaras” led to the use of violet flowers as a symbol for lesbian love.
LA PRISONNIÉRE (THE CAPTIVE)
The symbolism of violets in the lesbian community was further solidified by the play La Prisonniére (The Captive) by Édouard Bourdet. The main character of the play, Iréne, is in love with a woman, Madame d’Aiguines, but is pretending to be engaged to her old friend Jacques to avoid having to move overseas with her father.
Jacques agrees to the ruse, and ends up marrying Iréne, but the two of them are starved for love, as neither meets the needs of the other. In the end Jacques resumes a relationship with his former sweetheart, and Iréne succumbs to her longing for Madame d’Aiguines. She is never seen with Iréne in the play, but they exchange violets as a symbol of their love. In the final act of the play, a bouquet of violets is delivered to Iréne, and she grabs her coat and exits, presumably to be with Madame d’Aiguines.
La Prisionniére debuted in Paris in March of 1926. Lesbian women attending the play in Paris pinned violets to their lapels to show solidarity. The play was also staged in Vienna and Berlin, where it set records for attendance, as well as in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium.
In September of 1926, The Captive premiered in New York at the Empire Theatre. It was one of the first Broadway plays to portray female homosexuality. The Captive ran for 160 showings before it was raided by the police, and its cast arrested. The censorship campaign against The Captive (and a few other plays of the era) led to a New York state law called the Wales Padlock Act which effectively banned depictions of homosexuality in theater by allowing for the arrest and prosecution of actors or producers involved in an “immoral drama.”
Prior to The Captive, in America violets were often considered to be a symbol of modesty, virtue, and faithfulness. Violets were often carried by debutantes, First Ladies, and female celebrities who wished to appear demure.
Newspaper coverage of The Captive (and the controversy and drama surrounding it) publicized the idea of the violet as a symbol of lesbianism. For years afterward, violets were sometimes referred to as “Lesbian Flower.” Flower shops in New York City claimed the demand for violets decreased as a result. Today I think that the association between violets and lesbian love is less well-known, but it is a beautiful and thoughtful symbolism.
VALENTINE’S DAY
Violets were also once the traditional flower for Valentine’s Day, before being overtaken by the rose.
Legend has it that when the martyred young Christian priest Valentine (who became St. Valentine) was imprisoned in Rome, he crushed violet blossoms growing outside his cell to make ink. He used the ink to write letters to his friends, which were delivered by a dove. Valentine’s Day cards and candy boxes adorned with violets used to be very popular.
I think that violets can be used as a beautiful, sweet-scented token and symbol for all kinds of love, friendship, and affection today. The meanings of violets according to “The Language of Flowers” are faithfulness, sweet beauty, modesty, and “I return your love.”
If you love violets, you are someone who attracts a lot of attention, even though you never push yourself forward. This has much to do with your charm and sweet nature. Yours is a beautiful soul, and this is probably reflected in your outward appearance.
The Secret Language of Flowers, by Samantha Gray
VIOLET SCENT
Violets get their scent from ionone. This is the dry, sweet, slightly powdery scent that people instantly recognize as violet. An interesting fact about ionone is that after stimulating scent receptors, ionone binds to them and temporarily desensitizes them.
For this reason, violets can only be smelled for a few moments at a time. After that, a temporary ansomia to the smell has set in. After a few more moments, when the scent receptors haven’t registered violet scent for a short time, they become responsive again and the scent “pops back up” as a new stimulus. This helps keep the sweet scent of violets from never becoming overpowering.
The discovery of ionones by Tiemann and Krüger in 1893 made it possible for synthetics to be used as a substitute for expensive violet flower oil. The ionones and methyl ionones are among the most important and versatile aromachemicals. Their discovery was revolutionary, and forever changed the face of perfumery. Natural violet is still used, but ionones in perfumery are ubiquitous.
Ionones have a range of scent that varies from violets in bloom to soft wood with violet-toned sweetness. Methyl ionones are stronger, and have a more pronounced orris and wood scent. Methyl ionones were crucial to classic fragrances such as Coty L’Origan (1905), Guerlain L’Heure Bleue (1912), and Balenciaga Le Dix (1947).
VIOLETS IN COOKERY
Violets have been used extensively in cooking as a garnish, and in candies and chocolates. Raspberries are often combined with violets (both contain ionones). Violet flowers can be used to decorate salads or as seasoning and garnish for poultry and fish. Soufflés and cremes can be flavored with violet essence, and candied violets are used as decorations for sweets. Violet liqueur can be used to make delicious cocktails, such as the Aviation cocktail.
“THE VIOLET INCIDENT”
I’ve always loved the smell and taste of violets. One of my first scent memories is holding and deeply inhaling the little fancy violet-scented soaps that sat near my grandmother’s sink. To me, violets will always smell “clean” and fresh.
I find the smell of violets to be delicate and romantic. In my wedding invitations, I had envelope liners made from delicate pink Japanese paper scented with Serge Lutens’ Bois de Violette. I also chose Bois de Violette as the signature scent of my precious, perfume-loving dog, Mr. Biscuits. Here’s a photo of him with his very own bottle. He loves wearing it, and it makes him smell heavenly. It really suits him.
Last year, at the end of winter, I had a bit of spring fever. I had been off work for months after a shoulder surgery, and in addition to starting this blog, I was doing a lot of online shopping (too much!). Packages kept coming, I kept opening them, and inside were violet perfumes. Bottles and samples, day after day, all with violet notes.
When I would tell my perfume friends and family what I’d bought, the pattern became even more clear. There were a few weeks that ended up being known as “the violet incident,” which we still joke about as a gentle way to say that somebody’s latest scent obsession has gone too far.
I still love violet, and I find it hard to resist a violet perfume. I especially love violet soap, and I’m continually searching for my “holy grail” violet liquid hand soap to keep near the bathroom and kitchen sinks. (Also, I keep waiting for the joyous day when Mrs. Meyers or a similar brand makes a violet dish detergent!)
SOME OF MY FAVORITE VIOLET SCENTS AND PRODUCTS
Rather than write in-depth about one or two of my favorites (because it’s so HARD to choose), I just gathered up some of them and put them in a photo. I’ve already thought of numerous other scents that I forgot, but these are some of the violet stand-outs from my perfume collection, and some of the other violet products that I love.
Roughly from top to bottom, they are:
- Choward’s violet candies
- Patisserie de Bain Sugared Violet Hand & Body Lotion
- Tempus Fugis Liqueur de Violettes
- Swizzels Matlow Parma Violets
- Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka
- L’Instant Magic by Guerlain
- French Kiss by Guerlain
- Kerbside Violet by Lush
- Violet Flame Perfume and Violet Flame scented leather bracelet from House of Matriarch
- Leone Violetta candy
- L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain
- Violette Comme Il Faut soap from Oriza L. Legrand
- Meteorites by Guerlain
- Le Dix by Balenciaga
- 1000 by Jean Patou
- Bois de Violette by Serge Lutens
- Insolence by Guerlain
- Violette by Berdoues
- Eau de Gaga by Lady Gaga
- Balalaika by Lucien LeLong
- Vjola by Nishane
