I'm on my second sample of Purple Love Smoke by Liz Zorn of Soivohle. I had it slated for review and also made a mental wishlist note as this is a fragrance I realized to be a true love and something I'd love to have a full bottle. Then, while putting together my notes for this post and looking for some links, I realized Liz Zorn has discontinued Purple Love Smoke.
One would think that this kind of disappointments would be easier to take for someone who already has a sizable perfume wardrobe. Maybe so, but I do feel a deep regret for not securing a bottle when it was still around. I adore Purple Love Smoke because it's the kind of violet fragrance that defies our expectation from this note. It's (at least) equal in beauty and complexity to a very vintage Jolie Madame in extrait de parfum. Very violety in its sweetness but also incredibly mature and self-assured. Purple Love Smoke is, indeed, very smoky with a hint of leather and something earthy and dirty, but also smooth and almost edible or perhaps drinkable. In her wonderful review of this Soivohle perfume, Ayala Sender of Smelly Blog points to a note that has a peaty scotch-like quality, which explains why one of my very first impressions was that Purple Love Smoke was somehow (and against all odds and reason) related to 2nd Cumming by CB I Hate Perfume.
Missing out on Purple Love Smoke made me think and question other perfume regrets I may have. Some are silly: not bidding high enough on a certain bottle of Iris Gris (I had no chance of winning it even if I went up a $100), not having enough backups of various reformulated treasures (is there enough vintage Mitsouko in the world?). Some can be corrected with a little effort, as long as Paris stays intact. I don't regret any of the perfumes I gave away to more loving homes or even selling that bottle of Armani Sensi for pennies years ago. I guess I'm lucky to have so few regrets.
Fashion illustration by Davin Downton via Trendland.
I've yet to try any of Liz Zorn's perfumes, but this sounds interesting. I love violets and smoke notes in perfumes, I bet this would be fabulous to try.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I've got quite a few perfume regrets. At the top of my list is giving away a bottle of Chanel's No 22 extrait in the early 90's. As a fragrance sales associate, I thought I had too many bottles (30 or so) in my collection and foolishly weeded some out. Silly me.
It's so true: no matter how many wonderful perfumes you have, it's the ones that got away that hurt!
ReplyDeleteThe absolute WORST, though, is to win a bottle of something precious only to have it leak or otherwise damaged in shipment. For example, an old apothecary style bottle of Guerlain Vetiver that the seller decanted into an empty Caron Bain de Champagne bottle for shipment. She was afraid the stopper would leak, which is a common problem, but the Vetiver is hopelessly contaminated with BdC. ~~nozknoz
Some regrets hurt to much to think about. One that I have been thinking about, just recently, Ava-luxe's Midnight Violet. How I long for this.
ReplyDeleteI just ordered some samples from Soivohle and Purple Love Smoke was available. I guess it's back!
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