Three extracts of Florentine iris constitutes the body of Equistrius (Parfum d’Empire), where silk is layered with velvet. It is a quiet richness, buttery and comforting - the scent is rounded and enveloping yet also fine and delicate, well-proportioned with additions of ambrette butter, sandalwood, and powder notes. Not a scent designed for projection, but more like the finest wine - consumed with reverence and attention. Utterly exquisite. Angel’s Dust is a rich homage to the bygone era of vintage boudoirs and face powders, heady and decadent with balsams and floral unguents. A rich iris extract blends with rose and mimosa to give the scent a floral force, supported with meltingly good tolu balsam, benzoin, vanilla, musks, and a sandalwood frame.
Iris de Nuit (Heeley) is the softness of shadows, which begins with a freshness extracted from the earth, all the way to the roots. It has an unshakable nerve, with an alluring dryness against the rich textures of the terrestrial - a medley of angelica seed, ambrette, and carrot seed, amplifies the effect of iris absolute, which ranges across buttery and waxy, woody and dry, stemmy green, and sweetly floral facets. Its feeling is indeed nocturnal – melancholic, tempestuous, and grey – and yet remarkably velvety and cool. While Iris Cendre (Naomi Goodsir) simply sets these aristocratic notes alight, resulting in an iridescent flame. Creamy and vegetal iris butter is married to the nostalgic note of violet, which are strewn and cinders and ashes of labdanum, tobacco, and amber.
In Velvet Iris (Essential Parfums), legendary perfumer Dominique Ropion pairs the wood and velvet effects of iris with the pungent greens of galbanum, mastic, and buchu leaf. It altogether reimagines the textures of iris - first with the dusty orange heat of turmeric leaf, finding base on a fantasy saffiano suede accord and milky sandalwood. Finally, Encounters (Francesca Bianchi) is a 60/40 of iris and oud, as decadent iris butter melts on the surface of potent oud, sweetened with orange and grounded with balsamics. It is a moment of contact where East meets West, soft and mysterious, and utterly mesmerising.
