At Le Jardin Retrouvé, we’re lucky to have our very own in-house perfumer. Maxence Moutte has taken up the baton from our founder, Yuri Gutsatz, and so we wanted to find out a little bit of background to his new creation… the exquisite Violette Kew.

Where did the original idea for Violette Kew come from?

A year ago, at the launch of my second perfume for Le Jardin Retrouvé, someone in the room asked me, "What ingredient would you like to work on next?” I instantly replied, “Violet". Clara and Michel gave me the go-ahead right away, and so I began to gather ideas, trends and also create my first attempts.

What does the smell of violets mean to you?

For me, violets are first and foremost memories of family outings. When I was a child, my parents used to take us to pick them in the grounds of the château de Suze la Rousse, in the south of the Drôme. I can still feel my childhood excitement at spotting the pretty little flowers, picking them, assembling them and, above all, smelling their delicate scent as if we'd found a treasure.

Have you worked with violets before?

As a perfumer, I've noticed that violets are rarely used in their own right in perfumery, and are never sufficiently showcased in my opinion. Also, violet was an ingredient in the palette of Yuri Gutsatz, the founder of Le Jardin Retrouvé, and which he used in his moving Cuir de Russie. 

What extras have you added to help showcase the violet scent?

To bring out the best in my violet, and also because Yuri lived in India for many years, I worked with sandalwood, cumin and cardamom to gives Violette Kew its depth.

What result were you aiming for with Violette Kew?

My intention with this work was to create a deceptively innocent violet: delicate and discreet on the surface, but ultimately very carnal with the sensual, milky, almost “pheromonal”, very “skin-deep” effects of cumin combined with sandalwood.

Violette Kew is available to pre-order from our website.