Violet Ray

[HamletsKeeper]

White mint, purple musk, violet, lilac, ylang ylang, lavender moss, and sandalwood.

This is a dominantly violet, lilac blend with a hint of wood and musk. It's an extremely soft and quite sweet blend. I got no mint at all and likewise lavender seemed absent. Unfortunately it also didn't last longer than 20 seconds on my skin. But what did show up while it was there was an ethereal, pretty, sweet and innocent floral. Along similar lines to titania, fae and unicorn. If you like ethereal florals then this one should be on your list. Don't let the mint and lavender scare you off as they are very minor players in the blend.

Glad I got to try it as I would have been tempted to buy this blend unsniffed and then discover that it would have been a waste on my skin.

[tartchef]

Oooer. I can feel this in my mouth - like biting down gently on a thin sheet of ice-cold silver. So chilly & delicate, with a brush of warmth from the sandalwood.

 

Alas, the ylang ylang turns after a few minutes, thick & cloying & pleh.

[Thursdae]

I'm not much of a fan of violet, so this imp of Violet Ray has waited untested for many months.

 

Once on, I'd describe it as violet tea with a lump of sugar, served in a carved wooden cup. There's more purple to it--lilac, which I like a lot--and I don't detect any mint, which is probably just as well, because sometimes I find both violet and mint to be sharp. But this is much softer and sweeter than I was expecting. Wearable, a little nostalgic, with a restrained assertiveness. I just made that last part up.

[SophieCedar]

I started on BPAL with a request for suggestions. It stated that I could be swayed if violet was mixed appropriately as I usually hate it.

 

I've been converted! This scent is lovely and I soaked my arms in it when I got my order. The mint smells so cool that it feels like this scent has a forcefield around it. The violet is so non-offensive that I'll be buying a bottle.

 

[trinitysite]

Where is that chocolate coming from? On application, it's chocolate and flowers.

 

A few hours later, it's some sort of candied flowers, the kind that might be on a pretty pretty cake with pretty pretty frosting. Crystallized violets (which is what one sees on cakes, although I'm sure there's lilac or lavender somewhere in there, but you don't eat those) with a hint of chocolate and mint dusting on top. Not sure if I'm going to get a bottle of this, but I can see it making me happy once in a while.

 

[impolight]

:::VIOLET RAY:::

This is hypnotically good! Having actually had the good fortune to smell a number of passiflora this past summer, the note in the Imp of Violet Ray was immediately noticeable.... Oh, wait...That's Ylang-ylang, isn't it? Shucks and heck.

Violet happens to be one of the fragrances that, while obviously floral, melds well enough with other notes to have the capacity for being quite masculine; thus, this journey was embarked upon with more than a modicum of hope.

In the Imp Violet Ray is so potent that there could be Stargazer Lilies to bolster this formula's throw.

There is also a creamy undertone that's difficult to place, and without the site's description handy, will have to be guessed at. Sandalwood...

No?

Open fire...

On the skin this brightens and sweetens fantastically! Battery-powered fluorescent violets.

The fragrance is similar to the taste of the Violet breath mints by Chowards. This is REALLY good.

This COULD be unisex, yet doesn't quite have the stride to it that Saturnalia & Bluebeard do.

Excelsior steampunk!

The hits keep coming...

[surf-tormented]

Wow, this is very delicate on me. Almost not there.

 

What I got a sniff of reminded me a lot of Ultraviolet, which is one of my favorite scents. Except without a cold note. The mint in this blend is not showing up at all on me.

 

After a few minutes, it is beginning to smell violet candies. Not overly sugary, but a more sweeter violet. The person above me had it right: violet breath mints. I want to have what they are having, since I keep reading these great, poetic reviews, yet my own impage is failing to live up to the hype!

 

Ultraviolet is more for me, I can barely smell this and rather trade my imp of Violet Ray than try to slather it completely on me see if it works more on my clothes or in a locket.

 

I have seen a Violet Ray machine in a museum, but I don't think this captures the essence of it. I wanted a scent that was even colder than Ultraviolet and that would remind me of Tesla. I wanted to get a sense of wax, plastic, wood and ozone. Ozone being the coldness it leaves on the skin.

 

Violet Ray is a very Victorian smelling floral, but I don't find it very mechanical or steampunk. If you want powerful violet and mint, I would recommend Ultraviolet over this one.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Madame Nyx

[skyelyric]

Ooo...I like violets. This is kind of a cool purple sweet scent on me, reminds me of the violet pastille candies. I don't really get many of the other notes, probably because musk amps to holy hell on me and gets really sweet, but at least the violet it strong enough to stand up to it.

 

I'll have to pick up Ultraviolet at some point because I love the violet note in here, it just gets a little too sweet for my tastes.

[lilwhiterabbit]

I really like how this smells in the imp; sort of a smooth, icy violet. I rather like violets in blends, so I decided to try Violet Ray, despite the fact that I sometimes amp mint (it's hit or miss really). For the first several minutes after application, I thought I'd gotten lucky, because on me it smelled exactly like it did in the bottle. Unfortunately, my crazy body chemistry kicked in and, in the end it was overwhelmingly mint with a tiny hint of violet. So, sadly, not the right blend for me. I didn't want to waste it, however, so I layered it with Brusque Violet, which definitely amped up the violet enough to be noticed, though it still wasn't as pleasant as I'd hoped it would be.

[hmelt004]

My go-to floral when I need to feel strong and feminine. Violet Ray reminds me of purple skittles, but there's no grape here. If Morgause is royal purple, this is true violet, sweet and strong. Grounded, too by the mint and sandalwood, but everything blends together seamlessly. And if you're like me and can't do ylang ylang, don't worry.

[KesHiro]

Frimp in one of my orders.

 

I approached this scent with some trepidation. The florals and I . . . we do not have a good relationship. Unless it's gardenia/tiare, florals tend to amp into a single note or turn into high-end hotel soap on my skin. I kept my fingers crossed since violet sometimes plays well (like in Le Serpent Qui Danse). In the case of Violet Ray, it did not.

 

In the imp, I get plastic and musk. Oh no. This is not a good sign. Wet, it's plastic, mint, and wood. If that plastic note would go away, it would actually be pleasant. Fortunately, the plastic note does go away . . . only to be replaced with floral soap. DANG IT! Dry, it's pretty floral soap in a lovely wooden dish.

 

I've tested this several times in order to see if this was a fluke, but sadly this is one violet that does not want to go along with my skin chemistry. It's a shame, because this sounds like it would be so lovely and feminine, with the moss and sandalwood balancing it out. If you like pretty florals, I would recommend this.

 

 

[CitizenBree]

I am a big violet fan so this of course was on my wish list to try. I love Nocturne, Le Serpent Qui Danse and Faith (i have bottles of each), but this one isn't doing it for me.

 

The violet is there, but I think there's too much lilac coming through. I like lilac also, but not enough to seek it out as a note. Here it is sort of overpowering, so i feel bad for my precious violets.

 

I don't smell anything minty (though agree with others on that "cold" feel that this has so maybe that could be the mint) or lavender.

 

This is pretty, and kinda perfect for this rainy day, but not a bottle purchase for this violet-lover.

[ModderRhu]

Violet Ray

Dry, bitter, and astringent. I don't get the coldness that other people have. After a while, the woodiness comes out. It's a dry woodiness that's a little bit harsh. I do get a mentholated feeling in my nose if I sniff it directly from my wrist after drydown. Other than that, it's woody and warm. Very odd. Hours after application, the violet finally comes out and it's very soft and candylike.

3.5 out of 5

[tailoredshirt]

On me, Violet Ray is a soapy floral. It's sweet, with a bit of coldness from the mint. I also get ozone, which is probably contributing to the soapiness. Hmm. After a while, I also get more lilac, which I don't really like because lilac usually makes me sneeze. It's just strong and sharp in my nose.

 

I was looking forward to this because I like violets, but ozone never plays well with me, so I guess I should have known.

Edited May 7, 2010 by tailoredshirt

[raisin]

Without knowing the notes (except for violet, of course) I was able to pick out the mint (mostly because of a high coldness to the scent than any obvious mint smell) and some kind of wood. These do some interesting things to the violet and lilac, keeping it from going definitively floral. I think I get the lavender moss (I'm not terribly familiar with this note, so it's tough to say for sure) and the musk. Those two help to do interesting things with the flowers as well. (I definitely need to keep an eye out for more purple musk scents. I liked this one!)

 

It's certainly unique, and I'd say it's definitely a feminine steampunk scent (the sort of thing that belongs to a gal with a bustle and some fancy ray gun). This may go very nicely with my next steampunk costume!

Edited May 7, 2010 by raisin

[milica]

Another violet I can wear! After testing Ultraviolet, this another nice surprise.

 

No mint for me, nothing cool about this scent. This is a musky woody floral, mostly violet, just a bit sweet. And it doesn't turn to gradma's soap after a while, it stays very pleasent for 3 hours and then it's gone. That is the only thing that I don't like about this scent. Will be wearing it a lot this summer...

Edited June 6, 2010 by milica

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This is a lovely floral, violet dominant, with the mint, lilac, and ylang ylang wreathing it. It is very purple and youthful. I can’t wear mint, so I’m not skin testing, but it’s beautifuly blended and well designed for it’s concept.

[voorishsign]

I don't know why it took me so long to try this - the white mint, musk, lavender, ylang ylang and sandalwood are all right up my alley. I guess I'm worried it'll be too feminine.

 

In the imp - minty lavender.

 

On wet - powdery musk, sweet moss, lavender, sandalwood and lilac. Ehh. Not as great as I imagined it might be.

 

Drydown - ylang yland and lavender - lavender soap and nothing more. No thanks

[Sultaana]

Oh this gorgeous perfume! Purple, minty, and sweet violet, I don't think you could ask for much more out of Violet Ray. As if I needed another bottle of perfume, Violet Ray had to come and sweep me off of my feet.

[plainjean]

This is a really lovely violet blend. Honestly, I don't think I would have ever tried violet, in fear that it'd be too floral on me. But I was desperate to try at least one of the Steamworks blends, and this is the first one that caught my eye. In the imp, it's a slightly herbal violet scent. Quite nice, actually. Once it hits my skin, it turns into a sweet, almost candied violet. I really love it! I I'm happy to say I don't get any of the lavender, which I was really worried about. I'm slowly learning that I can't take lavender in huge doses.

 

I noticed a lot of people have compared it to Ultraviolet, so I thought I'd do my own comparison. Ultraviolet is much, much harsher than Violet Ray. On me, Ultraviolet is mostly eucalyptus that is merely softened by the slightest hint of violet.

 

Personally, I prefer Violet Ray. It's smoother, and I feel like the notes work better on me.

Edited August 17, 2010 by plainjean

[Invidiana]

I tried this at NYCC and figured I might as well review it before I completely forgot what it smelled like.

Violet Ray is like Silver Phoenix's more bracing cousin. It's a fresh violet scent, like a cool violet breeze with the mint. I do feel the two main players are the mint and violet, grounded by the the rest to keep it from venturing into too-sharp territory. It's pleasant, but I do prefer Silver Phoenix because it's sweeter.

[icekat]

In the vial: a sweet but unplaceable scent. Really well blended.

 

On skin wet: still sweet but is that a hint of cat pee? Something doesn't seem to be liking my skin chemistry.

 

Dry: still sweet but now powdery

 

An hour later: powdery sweetness.

 

Overall impression: the sweetness is nice but I'm not loving the powder scent and the cat pee smell when wet is very off putting.

[lahdeedah]

I am a lucky girl. Upon hearing about the discontinuation of both Violet Ray and The Coil, I was dismayed. I had really wanted to try both of them, but hadn't got around to it yet. (Familiar story) Lucky for me, I knew Knows Perfume in Seattle had both of these blends, and I immediately contacted the shop to ask if a bottle of each could be put on hold. Last night I took Violet Ray for a spin and I'm very pleased with it. Immediately on, I get a strong blast of violet, with a sugary flavor, and a chilly mint undertone. It's really pretty, and if stayed in this phase, it would definitely be topping my violet scent list. However, the lavender moss adds a note that I first thought was ozone, taking the scent a bit into aquatic territory, which I'm not crazy about. I like it enough to be happy to have the bottle, and can see myself reaching for it on occasion, particularly in the warmer months.

[countessmouse]

I was feeling sort of down because I lost out on a bottle the Lab had recently put on ebay, but after trying the imp I had on hand, I'm not so unhappy about it. Violet Ray is a very pretty scent, and every once in a while I get a whiff of floral, but I'm not keen on smelling like violet candy all day long and that's the predominant note for me.

 

Nice, but I'm not going to drive myself crazy trying to track down more.

[Dani87]

Imp: violet with a hint of mint.

Wet: the violet really amped on me, the little bit of mint gives it a metal/ozone scent. Very cool. Very interesting scent.

Drydown: the mint comes out some more, but noe it smells like minty baby powder.

Dry: very overwhelming powder, with mint, starting to give me headache.

Overall: this started out pretty, but turned to powder on me within minutes. Off to swaps.