CB I Hate Perfume- Wild Pansy

Wild Pansy is one of CB I Hate Perfume's most accessible perfumes, with nothing scary or dark lurking in its shadows. Christopher Brosius created a perfect springtime fragrance, outdoorsy and green, that stays on the skin for long hours with just a hint of sweetness.

Wild Pansy opens up very grassy, with a recognizable note you find in several of CB I Hate Perfume's green fragrances. In some it develops into Brosius' overwhelming hay accord, but Wild Pansy has smaller, softer and juicier leaves, and it only takes a few minutes before the floral art of the scent makes itself known. We're talking violets here, wild or not (the wild violets that currently dot my back yard don't have much of a scent, other than a vague greenness). Whatever these violets are, they smell incredibly real (though I'm pretty sure it's achieved with a synthetic molecule).

The overall feel of Wild Pansy is like opening the window that first day of your spring getaway. Maybe you're staying at B&B in the country, so everything around you is green and the landscape stretches for miles, as is your vacation. The air is sweet and clean and you're looking forward of walking barefoot outside (you, not me. I'm allergic).

Wild Pansy is pretty linear and the only development of the fragrance is into a very mild sweetness that is not quite musky, but almost. It might be a skin chemistry thing, or maybe this violet note is just a little sweet, in a natural, non-sugary way. In any case, this is one of the most consistent and long-lasting almost-soliflore perfumes I know, and it's a delight to wear. I can see it working for men and women alike, as a casual or even office fragrance. The sillage is minimal (at least when wearing the absolute), and the effect is mostly of a big bouquet of wild flowers.

CB I Hate Perfume- Wild Pansy ($12, 2 ml perfume absolute) is available at the Brooklyn gallery and from cbihateperfume.com.

Photo: Wild Pansy by avico.com