You must have noticed by now that my motivation for writing has dropped significantly since COVID-19 spread its tentacles all over the world. I still love fragrance, no less than before, but in the back of my head there’s a faint voice saying that it’s kind of selfish to indulge in the world of smells when such bad things happen every day around, in Poland and other countries. But then again perfume is what helps me stay sane and lift my spirit. I’m a bit torn but you deserve this writing too!
Violet Shot starts with a bright and prominent mandarin that quickly takes on a pink hue of the pink pepper. This mild and playful spiciness is like a thread that connects all 3 of the new Olfactive Studio Shots. It’s definitely rounder than black peppe but it still can have some of the metallic or aldehydic tones. The perfume goes green relatively early with the leading theme of freshly cut grass. It’s a specific sensation for the nose – it smells of plant juice, green, but also a bit dewy and watery. To some extend. In real life I don’t really like the smell of cut grass but I don’t mind it in this perfume.
From the smell of mown grass, the green element extends to the heart of Violet Shot and transforms into that of violet leaf. Yes, there’s a floral aspect to it but this accord is mainly made of green, aquaeous facets with crisp & fresh finish that represent the thick and crunchy leaves of violet flower. You cannot mistake it with anything else. Then… a mysterious encounter. Violet, being more cool and reserved in nature, meets Safraleine – a molecule (Givaudan) posessing a warm, spicy, leathery facets reminiscent of saffron. So warm and cold collide, marrying in a dream team that you’d never expect!
Over time the warmth starts to dominate in Violet Shot and though the crispiness of violet leaf is there to stay, saffron-like, ambery tones turn up the heat. This leads us to the drydown, where Madagascar vanilla unleashes a full potiential of the “black gold”. It’s thick, viscous smell that veers oriental creates some sort of a neo-gourmand concoction with the violet – which now smells more powdery & candied. Labdanum and patchouli highlight even more the balsamic and resinous impressions. The perfume has depth and complex nature that will keep you thrilled through the day.
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The opening of Rose Shot is kind of astringent, with a little bit of sharpness coming from the bergamot. This initial impression quickly evolves into more sour & juicy citrus pulp with a hint of aromatic qualities of the peel. Within less than 5 minutes the perfume starts to resonate on the skin and the scent becomes vibrant. Pink pepper gives it an elegant, spicy tinge – to my nose it’s also slightly metallic and I even had a feeling of something aldehydic at the back. Elemi adds a little bit of resinous density to the top of the composition so that it lasts a bit longer on skin.
No surprise that in the heart of this perfume one will find a rose. I this particular case it’s a Turkish rose. Compared to rose de mai, the Damask rose is usually more oily and dense, with a richer scent. But in Rose Shot it’s more about its complexity. At different moment it seems to put on a new face, revealing a cascade of facets. In dominating part its obviously floral but with time it progresses, unfolding elements that smell a bit like geranium – crisp & green, a little bit herbal and minty. There’s even a faint impression of clove to it. This rose is surrounded by handfuls of white flowers.
They make this new Olfactive Studio softer, more ethereal. Floral aspect of Rose Shot might seem diffusive but it’s actually quite surprising for how long you can smell the rose on your skin. I guess this is how you recognize the talent of master perfumers, by the way they can play with essences to make even the lightest ones last longer. In the base you can find guaiac wood and cedar. Combination of these two woody notes gives a solid foundation to the scent. Tree moss introduces some rustic woody-earthiness with a bit of something dry and rough-textured. Lovely scent.
Among the 3 Shot fragrances that are launching in 2020 I now think that Iris Shot is the one that I like the most but the other two are not that far behind in this race. Iris Shot, Violet Shot and Rose Shot were all developed by perfumer Dominique Ropion and floral photographs that inspired the scents were shot by Roberto Greco. It’s a very solid trio. I hope they will be successful despite the difficult times we are experiencing right now. These fragrances come in 100 ml eau de parfum.
Chemist in the Bottle 
Hi Lucas. I hope that you, your family, and your fragrant community are safe and well in these difficult times. Your little piece brought some cheer to this morning. Thank you. Violet Shot in particular sounds very intriguing. Keep writing!
Oh my goodness, Lynn! So lovely to see you here! It’s been a while.
I think we are all doing as good as we can.
Violet Shot is a beautiful scent!
I understand completely how you feel – somehow in these dark times perfume seems so frivolous. But then we need joyfulness to keep our hearts and spirits raised – and perfume is so much a part of you and your life that you should never apologise for appreciating its beauty. Please keep going!
Violet Shot sounds right up my street! These days I am wary of rose, even though I always used to love it; I have too often been disappointed lately by sour roses – I am not even sure exactly what makes certain rose notes seem sour to my nose, I only know that I like the “velvety” sort.
I knew you would Jillie, I knew!
I will try to continue to write any time I feel like there’s something I can share with you all.
I will definitely try to send you some Violet Shot to try when it’s possible. How is the post working in UK right now?
Perfume certainly does lift the spirits especially in these awful times. I like violet scented perfumes.
It lights up some hope at least, doesn’t it?
We need something to lift our spirits! Violet Shot sounds right up my alley but I am not surprised Iris Shot is your favorite – we know you love your iris! Thanks for the review of these. Hopefully will have a chance to sniff one day.
Yes for sure!
No surprise maybe but Iris Shot is also the most complex.
Thanks so much for this review. I’ve missed your wonderful posts about new perfumes. Fragrance is what’s getting me through this lockdown with some semblance of sanity! Fragrance and lots of body cream and hand lotion. I’ve never washed my hands so much ever.
I’ve been spraying my perfumes with abandon lately, often wearing 2 different scents in one day, one in the morning and one in the evening. I’ve been wanting to try all three of these beauties. Violet and iris appeal to me the most, but all sound so lovely and well done.
Stay safe!
Thank you! But you know, I’m afraid that soon I won’t have anything left that is worthy of a review. Without Esxence I’m not getting any samples and it doesn’t seem like brands are rushing to contact their writing friends (or press in general) to share samples with them when that’s possible.
That’s a bummer! Your readers will have to do something to remedy that situation, I think.
Oh that would be lovely! I’m always open to exchanges and swaps, they are much fun.
I was surprised, but out of the two “shots” that I tried (thank you 🙂 ), I liked violet slightly more.
I think that what’s happening now should not change how we treat things that we love: in our lives, not just now but always, there are so much possible negativity that we should make efforts to counteract that as much as possible.
I think you should keep writing. No new perfumes? It’s not a problem. You know so much about the topic now – do more of your ingredients series, or write a comparison posts for several perfumes you’ve previously reviewed. Or revisit any old(er) samples that you’ve previously dismissed or didn’t like and see if you’ve changed your mind. From reading discussions in the end of 2019, I noticed that people are not buying that many recent release bottles. I assume, partially because those are harder to get to try, partially because new perfumes usually are more expensive and harder to find on sale. So, even if you write about something from 2-3 years ago, it might still be of an interest to those of us who hadn’t tried those perfumes yet.
Hello, hello 🙂
Do you mean you like Violet Shot a bit more than Iris Shot?
You are right, yes. If something brings happiness we shouldn’t take it away from ourselves.
Thanks for your suggestions, I’ll need to have a look at what I can do.
Yep. For whatever reason the violet one spoke to me more than the iris – though, both are really nice.
That is absolutely fine, it’s pretty too, as you say 🙂
Undina took the words right out of my mouth! The Shot series sounds so intriguing and your descriptions make them even more so. I hope they come out as a coffret.
Thank you Hajusuuri!
They are very nicely done trio from this brand.
[…] this new series altogether if it weren’t for Lucas (Chemist in the Bottle), who first did an excellent review for these perfumes and later even shared his samples with […]