iris perfumes: 58 posts

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Even if Ormonde Jayne Orris Noir does not present its promised black iris, it more than makes up for it with its exquisite combination of spices, incense ashes and velvety woods. Its form crafted out of resinous and balsamic notes is nevertheless rendered as luminous and weightless, like silk, rather than wool. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Nuit d’Amour is the latest limited edition from Guerlain, which follows the 2005 launch of Plus Que Jamais. The fragrance was inspired by Gustav Klimt’s Lady with Hat and Feather Boa (Dame au Chapeau et Boa de Plumes). I am rather at a loss as to what about the flat floral oriental blend is meant to evoke a beautiful Art Noveau painting depicting a flushed redhead tightly wrapping a dark feather boa around her shoulders. Although Plus Que Jamais was a level below the classical Guerlains and their depth and complexity, it nevertheless captured the opulence and romance marking the house’s creations. Nuit d’Amour, on the other hand, veers too far into territory that has already been well explored and exploited. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Inspired by the introduction of oriental and American spices to Europe, Hermès Paprika Brasil lost me before it even managed to set its sail. The watery and cold effect of the top note was rather anticlimactic, if one expected the vibrancy of spices and the richness of paprika. Instead of searing heat, at most Paprika Brasil conjures a damp morning mist of an autumnal day, a character it retains as the composition develops.

The dominant presence in the composition is that of iris. Its dove grey outlines are noticeable under the transparence of the vegetal top note. However, the iris is pale and sheer, a ghostly shadow of its rooty sumptuousness that one can glimpse in Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Wearing Jacomo Silences is like being caught in a moment before the rain, when the green sweetness of foliage becomes suspended in the wet humidity of air. The succulent green richness of Silences rendered via a classical combination of galbanum and hyacinth is foiled by the Hedione. This radiant lemony jasmine note threads the accords of the composition like pearls on a string, harmonizing the multifaceted arrangement. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Although many fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci and Calvin Klein, to name a few, are equally renowned for their fragrances, the new additions to Gianfranco Ferré’s portfolio have been long overdue. At last, here comes Ferré, a perfume of modern aesthetic sensibility and classical elegance. It artfully conjures the water drenched purple petals and the cool silk with its layers of transparent floral accords modulated by the weightless softness of its oriental base. The leitmotif of iris courses through the composition that maintains a fine balance between the sweet floral and the earthy metallic elements of iris root. Created by Pierre Bourdon in 2005, Ferré is a fine example of a modern composition fusing light into every single twist of its development. …

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