Veronica

[Venneh]

VERONICA
When we too are armed and trained, we can convince men that we have hands, feet, and a heart like yours; and although we may be delicate and soft, some men who are delicate are also strong; and others, coarse and harsh, are cowards. Women have not yet realized this, for if they should decide to do so, they would be able to fight you until death; and to prove that I speak the truth, amongst so many women, I will be the first to act, setting an example for them to follow.

Veronica Franco was born in Venice, the daughter of a famous cortigiana onesta. She did not wish to follow in her mother's footsteps, and so married a wealthy physician at an early age. The marriage was loveless, and ended badly. In order to support herself, she became a courtesan, and swiftly excelled in that profession. Veronica was distinguished by more than just beauty: she was well-educated, articulate, and possessed of an exceptional intellectual vitality, which earned her the admiration of many powerful men. Veronica used the freedom that she gained through her contacts to explore her twin passions of writing and philanthropy. She showed herself to be a brilliant author and poet, publishing essays that explored and defended the rights of women and poetry that extolled the virtues of love. Suiting action to her words, she also founded a charity that gave assistance to courtesans and their children.

Arum lily and Florentine iris with pomegranate, red amber, ylang ylang, blackcurrant, and oakmoss.

In the bottle, this is a lighter scent, and similar to my initial assessment of Lola; bright florals with a bit of redness underneath. On my skin, all florals and a combination of pomegranate and blackcurrant. Fades quickly, not quite my thing. Edited March 22, 2011 by Shollin

[Dharklady]

Veronica starts with a dichotomy of juicy red fruits and strong florals, primarily ylang ylang and lily (though that could just be because I’m not super familiar with iris so it’s harder for me to pick out). The florals quickly come to the fore, with amber and moss grounding them. Sadly the pomegranate and black currant seems to be overwhelmed and settle back as barely noticeable supports . I’ll admit I’m biased against floral scents but these seem remarkably inoffensive. As this dries down further the red fruits emerge a little bit from hiding and becomes much more integrated balance between the lily/ylangylang, moss/amber, and pom/blackcurrant. A good blend to try for those who can't always do florals or fruit.

[zankoku_zen]

Veronica is oddly a delicate floral. I get hints of lily and iris, and splash of oakmoss and blackcurrant on the drydown.

 

It smells like some truly refined soap.

[mistressfizz]

Sniff: Flower petals, light, bordering on aquatic

 

Wet: Ah, there's just a touch of pomegranate sweetness. I can pick out a very floral ylang ylang and something a lot like lilies. There's definitely a "dewy fresh picked bouquet" feel to this one.

 

Dry: There's a little amber, but mostly classic floral soap. Very faint and fades away in a few hours, hardly any throw at all. While it's pleasant, I think there are more complex and interesting floral scents out there.

[yeahbutnobut]

Veronica

 

In the imp: juicy pomegranate-similar to Lola but a bit sweeter.

Wet on skin: crisp red pomegranate and a very subtle hint of floral.

Dry on skin: interesting. The first thing this reminds me of is the Flower Song, the pomegranate is the same crisp, almost wine-scented pom with a hint of floral, the lotus of Flower Song replaced here by lily. I smell moss too, and a hint of iris. The lily is greenish but not soapy or unpleasant like it can be. It’s fresh and dewy. I can’t smell much amber but I do think there’s a bit of currant making this even fruitier. The ylang adds a deeper and headier hint of sweet floral.

After a while: this smells really nice actually once it’s settled-the ylang never turns cloying and the lily is really pretty-a fresh, cool white floral note with an undercurrent of crisp pomegranate, with a hint of ethereal iris that has a watery quality reminiscent of Nefertiti. I like how it smells clean and refined but not soapy.

Verdict: as lily scents go, this is really nice. It’s so rare to find a lily that works and this is one that does. This is mainly a lovely light fruity floral, a balanced blend of lily and pomegranate, dainty and dewy white lily with crisp biting pomegranate, and it’s nicely supported by a very nice iris note and hints of moss. I was hoping for a bit more amber though to add a slight resin-sweet depth. This is really pretty and I’m impressed by the way the lily works here, but I think when it comes to pomegranate courtesan scents, Lola’s spicy fruity flora complexity wins. So I think I may pass this one on.

Is it a keeper? Not sure-this one is nice but I prefer Lola.

If you like this, try: Lola, The Flower Song, Mlle Lilith Fortune Teller, Persephone, Venice

Edited April 9, 2011 by yeahbutnobut

[edenssixthday]

Veronica - When first applied, this is absolutely stunning. It's full of juicy pomegranate, bright ylang ylang, tart black currant and the powder softness of iris. As it warms up on my skin, the dastardly lily starts to turn a little soapy on me and beneath it all, I can smell the warmth of the oakmoss grounding the bright notes. The black currant never does turn to cat pee on me, which is amazing. If I don't sniff it too close, I don't smell the soapy lily, which is good. It wafts gorgeously around me. Overall, it's a beautiful, beautiful fruity-floral, but has more depth than the average fruity-floral scent.

[Blood onmy hands]

Veronica is a strange scent. Blackcurrant is usually a note that I love, and it's very sweet and dark on me, almost like a dark, fruity jam. Bpal's pomegranate usually smells like sweet tarts to me. But Veronica smells like a dark, bitter wine and heavy, perfumey/ musky/ hairspray floral with a touch of soap. I can't pick out any of the listed notes and there's not any sweetness in this scent. My husband said that this smells 'like darkness and soap.' Veronica also doesn't morph on me at all, which is unusual. It clings close to the skin, but is bitter and strong for about four hours. It's too dark, bitter, and sharp, and the lack of any sweetness makes it unwearable for me.

[filigree_shadow]

I was worried this would be one of those in-your-face florals, but it's more complex than that. It is floral, yes, but it's sweet and has a very nice oakmoss base. Not your run-of-the-mill floral, that's for sure. Just enough fruit in it to keep it interesting. Pretty.

[milo]

Not sure what the culprit is here, but Veronica is going horribly wrong on me. I'm getting strong, musky floral, aka female axe. Sometimes pom smells like fungus on me, so yeah, perfumey fungus. Not for me.

[Voleuse]

Oooh, this is cool and sweet, the lily and iris notes predominant. It's not at all fruit-like on me, and the oakmoss provides the grounding note. The scent fades quickly on me, leaving a faint echo of iris--I think--and moss.

[thekittenkat]

In the decant: Pom and ylang ylang, backed by the iris and lily, and deepened by the blackcurrant.

 

Wet: Like what I sniffed in the decant, but a tad lighter in feeling.

 

The dry-down: This really doesn't morph from beginning to end. I'm not really a fan of lily and iris. The red amber doesn't go all powdery, and the blackcurrant doesn't overwhelm, which I do appreciate. I like it just fine, but the decant will be enough for now. I was hoping that the pom and ylang ylang would be more obvious, as those are fave scent notes of mine.

[stellans]

Oh, yum. Pomegranate is one of my favorite notes, and so is iris. This blend takes both these lovely notes and stirs them up with a few florals and blackcurrant to create this lovely blend.

 

When first applied, it's pomegranate which is at the forefront to my nose but the florals (with iris in the lead) quickly bloom, sweetened just a bit by the blackcurrant. Sadly, this isn't a very long-lasting scent and I have to really bury my nose in my wrist to catch it after only an hour, but I do like it enough to reapply - I just don't think my bottle will last very long due to multiple reapplications. Two of 5 stars.

[EmmiKristiina]

A very nice floral, soft and feminine, sophisticated and the pomegranate is so yummy. In a way kind of a formal scent perhaps, I think this would be amazing paired with the right dress and some killer heels . There is a slight soapiness in the scent, but I personally love it, it's really fresh and clean.

[Ajila]

In the bottle - A soft, almost citrusy green floral

 

Wet on me - Almost chemically green florals with a hint of musk

 

Dry on me - Nothing at all

 

Overall - It just disappeared very quickly on my skin

[Lucchesa]

Veronica Franco is a heroine of mine, so I tried this for the name, not the notes. I got very little fruit from this; it was a delicate floral dominated by the iris, with some fuzzy oakmoss in the background, and it didn't last long on me at all. Sadly, not for me.

 

ETA Retested this today and thought Veronica was glorious? Why is this in my swapbox, I wondered. Then an hour later she was gone, and I remembered why. Oh well, I'm glad I got to try this one.

Edited March 28, 2018 by Lucchesa