Pré de Provence – Violette

“Second Dessert”

This is another wacky variety from Pré de Provence—I'd really like to try them all, but it seems like they just keep making new ones, and I'm only one man. The color is a pretty, tasteful, almost subtle, kind of earth-tone purple. Isn't purple the craziest of all colors? I mean, in that there are some that are gross and off-putting, and some are compelling and beautiful. Very seldom are any just blah, though, like quite a lot of blues. It's got an insane fragrance—you almost get drunk just smelling it! Intense. And hard to put my finger on. I'd say it's the essence of violets, the flower, but that's a little too easy—and maybe I can't trust myself, since the power of suggestion is at work here. Let me try again. I just can't put my finger on it—it's the most intense smelling soap I've come across in awhile. Now, actually, I don't think it smells like violets, the flower—it's hard to say for sure, though, as I don't have any violets around to compare. I really think it smells like something you could eat. Smelling it again, I do believe it smells like some kind of baked good—maybe a birthday cake! Or maybe a soft drink of some kind. It definitely reminds me of when I lived near the Kool-Aid factory somewhere, can't remember where—and when you'd walk by it, you'd just taste the flavor in the air.

Soap Review No. 104