Review: Violette Eau de toilette from Fragonard #perfume

Recently I had been lusting after a new perfume, it seems as if I am at the end of all my bottles and looking to find something new and exciting for summer. My husband (probably tired of my whining) surprised me the other day by giving me a lovely gift: a bottle of Eau de toilette ‘Violette’ from Fragonard, a perfumery we visited whilst on honeymoon.

For our honeymoon in 2012 my new husband and I embarked on our round-Europe honeymoon, stopping off in numerous countries including Belgium, Austria, Italy and France. Whilst in France, on the move from the Cannes region, we stopped off at Fragonard – an amazing perfumery which has been creating beautiful fragrances since before the First World War.  We were lucky enough to have had the opportunity to tour the factory and learn all about the process, ingredients and history of the brand.

The original idea was set up by Eugène Fuchs, an entrepreneur who developed a love for perfume,  who saw a gap in the market for directly to tourists who were discovering the French Rivera’s. 1926 saw the opening of Parfumerie Fragonard with Eugène Fuchs choosing to name it, as a tribute, after the famous Grasse-born painter, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and to express his desire to run a traditional business – a quality that still remains today having travelled through 3 generations.

Jean-Francois Costa, an avid art collector who amassed a unique collection of unique collection of antique perfume related items, was the owner that pushed Parfumerie Fragonard through big expansion and modernisation, giving Fragonard and it’s hometown of Grasse a new cultural dimension. Today, Agnès and Françoise (Jean-François Costa’s daughters), run the perfumery and continue to grow the company whilst ensuring it is in touch with modern tastes.

I was super happy when I unwrapped the Violette Eau de toilette, having had a few small samples in my dressing table since the honeymoon. Violette has a lush top note of orange and blackberry layered with a sumptuous violet (I love anything to do with violet!) middle note mixed with a soft summery rose and jasmine on a sensual background of fruity raspberry musk.

This is perfect for the warm weather and puts me in a great cheery mood whenever I give myself a spritz. Fragonard offers fragrances in a range of sizes, my husband gave me the largest 600ml aluminium refill bottle which I have decanted out into a little atomiser – perfect for slipping into my handbag. From now on I will consider Violette my signature scent and won’t be whining any more!

This is a beautiful fragrance from a fantastic perfumery and I award Violette Eau de toilette from Fragonard 5 out of 5 stars.