What does Iris smell like?
Iris is powdery, cool and a little distant, like vintage face powder or a suede glove. Nuances of earthy root, carrot, butter, violet and sometimes bread or cocoa come through. Depending on the material it can feel waxy, metallic or creamy. It reveals itself in the heart and lasts for a long time, spinning a soft, melancholy veil that gives compositions great distinction and a certain restraint.
Origin and production
Rhizomes of Iris pallida, grown in Tuscany, and Iris germanica, grown notably in Morocco and China, are harvested after several years in the ground and then dried for around three years. During this ageing the irones form, the molecules behind the smell. The roots are then steam-distilled into orris butter, sometimes refined into an absolute. The minuscule yield explains the price, and perfumers often support it with synthetic irones and ionones.
How perfumers use it
Iris belongs in the heart. It gives an elegant powderiness to rose, jasmine, violet and aldehydes, and a cool sophistication to masculines alongside lavender, vetiver and leather. Chanel's N°5 folds it into its abstract floral heart, Dior Homme turned it into the emblem of a softer masculinity, and Prada's Infusion d'Iris sets it between incense and neroli for a cool, luminous, almost ecclesiastical effect.
How to wear it
Year-round, especially in spring and autumn. It suits lovers of powdery, refined, quietly classic scents.
