Lieu de Reves Lieu de Reves, or place of dreams, combines soft floral notes of violet and rose with a base that balances sweet notes of heliotrope, tonka, amber, vanilla, and musk with woodsy notes of cedar, vetiver, orris, and very subtle leather. Gentle aldehydes add elegance and the intriguing base notes add unique accents to this modern take on the classic powdery floral heliotrope theme.

One of Monet's famous paintings of his garden at Giverny.

Perfumer's Comments: I've had this blend in mind for a long time, wanting to use violet, rose, and heliotrope in a powdery scent with a gourmand touch but with some soft woodsy notes and less vanilla than most scents of this genre. The heliotrope, rose, violet, and cedar make nice companions. Like most rose and violet combinations, this scent feels a bit romantic to me, but the drydown is on the quiet and reflective side rather than being a full-blown floral.

Fragrance Notes: Heliotrope, violet, rose, jasmine, cedar, amber, vetiver, tonka, orris, vanilla, musk, very soft aldehydes and even subtler leather. Released Feb 2009.

Blog Reviews of Lieu de Reves: Shelley's review on Notes From The Ledge Elena's review on PerfumeShrine reviews on MUA

heliotrope

Common garden heliotrope, Heliotropium arborescens, is a perennial with purple flowers that smell like a mix of almond and vanilla. It's easy to grow as an annual for the summer for those who live in cold climates. Perfumers use the aroma ingredient called heliotropin to add a similar almond vanilla note to perfumes.

Iris root, also called orris, is a fine perfumery ingredient that contains ionone-like substances called irones. The oil is extracted from the aged dried roots of Iris pallida, but the dried roots can also be tinctured. Orris has woody and mild powdery floral characteristics and is a fixative base note.

Iris pallida plant Iris pallida bloom

Photo shows the 34 ml bottle. To purchase Lieu de Reves bottles or samples, please return to the Fragrance page.