Violet Leather

Violet Leather opens with a soft rose-bergamot shimmer over a thread of coriander, quickly giving way to the star: a candied, semi-sweet violet that reads almost like a purple sweet. A faint birch smokiness gestures at the leather promised in the name, but here it stays buried under powder rather than stepping forward. The drydown leans on bourbon vanilla, labdanum and benzoin for a warm, slightly resinous finish. Against Armani Prive Cuir Amethyste, this Perfume Parlour take captures the violet-and-powder character that made the original a luminous floral more than a true leather, but it renders flatter and skin-closer - the costly luminosity and the slow, hours-long sillage of the Armani are softened into something cosier and quieter. Pleasant and easy to wear, it trades the original's expensive trail for budget approachability.