566 
Colognes  and  Toilet  Waters. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Poarm. 
\  November.  1902. 
know  what  is  in  the  bottle  after  the  label  has  been  washed  off.  It 
is  the  almost  numberless  variety  of  odors  that  pass  for  "  violet  "  that 
discourages  comment.  It  would  not  be  mentioned  in  this  paper 
were  it  not  that  the  widespread  demand  must  be  recognized.  This 
paper  might  be  considered  fatally  deficient  were  it  ignored. 
Violet  extracts  and  waters  may  be  divided  into  two  classes :  those 
made  with  ionone  and  those  which  depend  upon  a  combination  of 
rose,  bergamot  and  sandal-wood  for  a  vague  suggestion  of  violet. 
The  only  point  of  agreement  is  in  the  use  of  sandal-wood  and  musk. 
Sandal-wood  is  prominent  in  most  of  the  violet  perfumes,  and  some 
contain  quantities  of  musk  (artificial  or  natural)  far  above  what  is 
commonly  employed  in  perfumes.  Plainly,  "  violet  "  is  not  adapted 
as  a  refreshing  toilet  accessory  for  persons  not  in  vigorous  health. 
The  combinations  containing  ionone  may  have  a  suggestion  of 
the  real  violet  odor.  Ionone  itself  has  a  delicate  odor,  and  a  quality 
which  can  only  be  described  as  "  thin,"  and  it  resembles  the  odor  of 
violets  only  in  part.  It  needs  something  to  fill  it  out  and  give  it 
"  body  "  to  become  acceptable  as  a  perfume.  The  most  convenient 
single  agent  for  this  purpose  is  sandal-wood,  and  the  more  of  this 
the  perfume  contains  the  more  certain  is  the  user  that  "  something 
smells."  Ionone,  though  thin,  is  very  extensible.  Doubling  the 
quantity  does  not  double  its  apparent  power.  The  art  of  its  use 
lies  in  properly  developing  and  backing  it  in  a  mixture.  So  almost 
any  of  the  heavier  and  more  prominent  odors  can  be,  and  probably 
is,  used  in  its  combinations. 
The  following  resembles,  in  a  general  way,  a  number  of  com- 
mercial violet  odors,  but  it  will  never  be  mistaken  for  a  bunch  of 
violets : 
Ionone 
3,ij 
Oil  of  sandal-wood 
3J'V 
Oil  of  neroli 
3) 
Oil  of  bitter  almond 
niviij 
Oil  of  spearmint 
TT\,XV 
Heliotropin 
3) 
Musk  (artificial  preferred) 
gr-ij 
Tincture  of  civet 
3iv 
Water 
Oij 
Alcohol 
Ovj 
Cost,  about  $4.75  per  gallon. 
In  some  of  the  popular  "  violets  "  the  rose  odor  is  very  prominent, 
and  combinations  with  rose  are  almost  as  common  as  ionone  mix- 
