Thursday 19 November 2009

Start Them Young - Violet And The Sacred Vial

I was visiting a friend's for supper a while back, and as well as taking round the usual bottle of wine, I decided on a whim to bring along a 1ml sample vial of Borsari's Violetta di Parma as a gift for his seven year old daugher, Violet. I figured that though she was probably too young to be wearing perfume yet, she might at least be curious to sniff a scent that smelt of her name, and who knows what seed of interest I just might plant in her impressionable young mind...

As I entered the hall, Violet came down the stairs to greet me, ready for bed in pink pyjamas and hugging a teddy bear to her chest. I explained the reasoning behind my gift and proffered the little organza bag with its lone vial of scent. In a flash Violet had scampered back upstairs to bed with it, whispering a shy: "Thank you".

Some time later I thought to inquire of my friend in an email how the Violetta di Parma was going down. He wrote: "Violet is guarding her perfume as closely as if it were the meaning of life itself in elixir form".

To which I replied: "She's very astute for seven."

8 comments:

lovethescents said...

Oh how cute! Now our two-year-old son goes with me everywhere, even on my monthly sniffathons. He's used to seeing me thrust my fragranced wrist under his/husband's nose to illicit a reaction. He has started doing the same with his own tiny, clean wrist. I've never gotten a reaction before last week when he insisted on sniffing Vol de Nuit on my arm, to which he exclaimed, "no, no, no, no, no!"....'nuff said ;-)

Vanessa said...

Love the image of your son's "tiny, clean wrist". And am right with him on Vol de Nuit. Maybe you should break him in gently to the "scene" with PdN's Petit Ange?

lovethescents said...

Actually, strangely enough, he particularly enjoys Plus que Jamais!! (and Jubilation 25). As for the PdN, you won't find a drop of that range in this house! Maybe Petit Guerlain?

Vanessa said...

Great taste for a little 'un! I guess any scent prefixed by "Petit" is worth checking out...

Andreea said...

That's so sweet! I was even smaller, maybe 2-3 years old, when I started to hang out in fornt of my moms small cabinet with toiletries (8x4 musc deodorant, soaps, she never had perfumes) and saif: Pfft, pfft asking loud for the sound and pleasent scent coming with it. I could not speak at that time, so I guess I was even younger.
Now my BF calls me "pfft-pfft"- because each night before going to bed I have some gentle spritz of perfume.
See, it is somehting to start very early on! I have refined my smell since then, no musc deodorant coming my way, but the sound remains a part of my memories...

Vanessa said...

Your story is also very sweet - and "Pfft-pfft" makes such a cute nickname!

Kate said...

I'm sure you have inspired little Violet to great things. What will you take her next time?

My baby girl likes perfume and is a great aid in eliciting samples! If she grows up loving perfume I shall be very happy.

Vanessa said...

I do envy you having a little girl to induct in this way!

I thought of Penhaligon's Violetta for my next visit...or Annick Goutal's La Violette.