No perfume post for this week.
All of us at the Posse are sad to note the passing of our friend Robin, known to all in this internet perfume world as VioletNoir. It’s hard to believe that she’s gone- I saw her less than three weeks ago at the ScentBar holiday party, and she was her usual energetic and magnetic self.
Those of you who knew her in cyberspace of course know her humor, her sense of fun and her deep knowledge and appreciation for all things related to scent. For those of us lucky enough to have met her in person, we can add that she also was a lovely lady with a ready smile, an infectious laugh and huge amounts of personal style. Her kindness and generosity was legendary. She was one of those people who, five minutes into meeting her made you feel not that you were meeting someone for the first time, but that you’d reconnected with a good friend with whom you had inexplicably lost touch.
I’ve heard people deride the online world as somehow anodyne to the “real” one. People I have met online have become real friends to me, whether I see them every few months, every few years or never. There are several people in this little world that I consider closer to me than some people that I might see every day. Although I saw her with relative infrequency, Robin was one of those people.
Farewell, VioletNoir. You will be missed.
Thanks to Karen and IrisLA for passing along the news. Please share your memories of this fine lady in the comments if you wish.
I never met her, but remember her comments and posts. She’ll be missed.
I feel privileged to have met her several times in person… I am so sad to hear she has gone. I met her through Neela Vermeire, when I hand carried a bottle of perfume for her from Neela during a visit to Paris. Godspeed, VioletNoir.
I did not know VioletNoir (wish I could have), but it is so sad to lose any member of our wonderful perfume community. Thank you for the touching post, Tom and Posse.
this just makes me so sad. She was such a lovely person, and I’ll grieve the loss of her scattered all over the perfume world. I met her just the one time, but she felt immediately like an old friend.
D.A.M.N. Not how we on earth like to start the New Year – BUT!! Robin is NOW totally WELL, and sailing on violet/pink clouds in a clear blue sky above us 🙂 celebrating her restored LIFE!!!!!!
I’m so, so sad to hear this. She was always ready with a pithy comment and a “hugs!” And when we went to LA we had a blast with her. A lovely person. I will miss her very much.
I never met het but enjoyed her comments as well. So sad. Seems like every day I’m hearing bad news…
Oh, this is so sad. I never met her but she was one of the commenters I had a crush on when I first started reading the blogs. She always seemed so carefree and glamorous to me.
I remember fondly her posts her and on NST; she tended to a ‘sweet tooth’ in fragrance, and was so very dear.
I send my love to her family and loved ones. May her memory be for a blessing
I’m so sorry to hear that. She commented on a number of my posts on PST, and I was always happy to hear from her.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this. I only met Robyn once, (at the LA Times Festival of Books, actually, she had many interests) but was always struck by her vibrancy and kindness. RIP.
There was always such a warm, happy vibe in her posts; I can well imagine how lovely she was in “real” life, and how much her friends and family are mourning the loss of such a wonderful lady.
This is particularly sad for the Los Angeles fragrance community as she was a vibrant part of it. Besides sharing her warm enthusiasm and easy laughter, she was generous in sharing juice too. Every time we met, she made and brought samples from her fragrance discoveries. Robyn turned me onto Shalimar parfum, Acca Kappa Calycanthus, and Hermes Doblis. Robyn also loved nail polish and she got me into that as well. I’ll miss her friendship and zest for life. RIP Robyn.
I only met her once, but our online relationship was wonderful. I am so sad to hear of her passing. She will be sorely missed.
So very sorry to hear this. I enjoyed so much her comments and the personal touch she brought to the Posse and other blogs. She will be deeply missed. I’ll be keeping her family and friends in my thoughts and prayers.
Tom, this is really such sad news. She was much appreciated here on the Posse and, like Rosarita, I always enjoyed her signature ‘hugs’! Our Posse ‘peeps’ become a bit like family and you all mean so much to us! My condolences to her family and friends – and also to us. She will be missed!
xoxoA
Tom, I’m so sorry to hear this. I only *knew* her from her comments and blog, which was one that I read avidly as a new perfume lover. Her passion for scent and signature *hugs* will be missed.