Perfumes with a strong violet note tend to go in one of two directions: powdery, candied violets or green violets. Broadway Nite definitely falls under the second category. It opens green and bracing, which makes the always-pleasing-but-somewhat-cliche violet/rose combination feel new and exciting. Broadway Nite has a sparkling feel that I associate with aldehydes; imagine a bottle of champagne on a Broadway diva’s dressing room table. Eventually Broadway Nite becomes creamier, with vanilla and musk creeping in. If you smell closely, you can detect the scent of the Lancome lipstick (Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose employs the same lovely trick) that the diva applies before she belts her heart out on stage.
Broadway Nite was aptly named- it is undoubtedly the most flamboyant of Maurice Roucel’s creations. Broadway Nite is a Josephine Baker kind of gal, the type to buy her pet cheetah a diamond leash and take it for walks along the Champs-Élysées. She pities those who save false eyelashes and red lipstick for special occasions. I find this kind of high-personality brassiness delightful, but I suppose it could also be considered vulgar in some circles. Broadway Nite reminds me of my best friend’s mother, a former broadway actress and the most fabulous woman I know. I can give it no higher recommendation.
Josephine Baker. Too fierce for words!
Broadway Nite can be found at Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods, Bond No 9 boutiques (which are all in New York), and on the Bond No 9 website, http://www.bondno9.com/. It is available for $45 for 7 ml, $140 for 50 ml, and $205 for 100 ml.
Disclaimer: I got a sample of Broadway Nite at Saks Fifth Avenue.
SCENTS OF SELF 
This is the only Bond that is really a great scent I think. I think the most common violet category is one you didn’t note: powdery violet. There are throngs of powdery violet scents out there, I think it’s what people often expect of this note.
I just added powdery next to candied, thank you! 🙂
Broadway Nite is definitely one of Bond’s best. The one coming out (High Line) certainly sounds interesting, although I have no idea what it will smell like.
Have a sample of this that I haven’t tried yet.
I don’t care for powdery violets, and the candied ones are often TOO sweet on me, so fresh-green violets are my favorite. (My preferred violet scents so far: Penhaligon’s Violetta and AG La Violette.)
Somebody (Marina at PST, maybe?) compared this to Tocade, which I love. Got to try.
Mals, absolutely give it a try. There’s no powder whatsoever. I find this to be such a weird perfume- it almost feels like there’s electricity crackling in the top notes. But it’s the kind of weird that elevates something from a good smell to a great perfume, I think.
I found Tocade for $14 at TJ Maxx, and even though it’s a Maurice Roucel, I didn’t buy it! So ashamed of myself. And everyone says it’s so lovely, too. Of course you would love Tocade- you are the queen of rose perfumes.
Yep. Love That Slut Tocade. It’s getting too warm for that, though.
Will have to try my sample of BN soon.
Turns out that next to BN, Tocade is merely a sorority girl with loose morals. You know, slutty, but not in the Vegas showgirl sort of way that BN is…