What is a cologne?

The story goes that these fresh waters popular among both men and women were invented by the Italian Giovanni Paolo Feminis in Cologne.

These refreshingly fragrant alcoholic lotions, made from herbs and citrus fruits such as lemon, bergamot and mandarin, were more of a medicine than a refined fragrance at the time. This miraculous water was used for its tonic effects.

Today, they are faceted with woody and musky notes to give us more depth, contrast and hold.

What does the violet leaf smell like?

You probably imagine a delicately floral smell, powdery and maybe a little sweet like violet candies. But make no mistake, this flower is mute, as we say in the industry. That is to say that his extraction is impossible. Instead, the perfumer uses its leaves with green, watery, earthy notes. The absolute of violet leaves is a raw material with a strong character. It can magnify and sign a composition or destroy it, the secret is hidden in the balance of the formula and the talent of the perfumer.

What does vetiver smell like?
Vetiver is surely one of our favorite raw materials. We use its roots, after distillation. Each terroir gives it very particular facets. Olfactively, an essence from Reunion and Java are very different!

› Java: rather smoky and green.
› Haiti: grapefruit, more bitter.
› Reunion: the rarest, clear and fresh.

It is part of the refined base notes. Here, it is the Haiti vetiver that the perfumer uses. It signs the 003 with woody, fresh and a little earthy scents.