Iris Perfumes – Atelier des Ors Iris Fauve, Coolife Le Sixième and Armani/Prive Iris Celadon

It’s iris day!  Three new iris releases or releasing soon – Atelier des Ors Iris Fauve, Coolife Le Sixième and Armani/Prive Iris Celadon.  Can there be any better day on the face of the earth than when three great iris perfumes materialize in perfume world?  No, there is not.

Atelier des Ors Iris Fauve has been getting a ton of hype for months now, since it showed up at one of the Italian perfume cotillons.  The lovely, talented and amazing Josie at Osswald sent me a sample (yes, some to share too!).  Notes of Bergamot, Cinnamon, Iris, Patchouli, Haitian Vetiver, Cypriol, Myrrh, Cistus [amber resin], Musks, Liatrix.   Kafkaesque reviewed this a little while back, and her review is really in-depth.  For me?  Spiced iris and incense with a little vanilla dolloped on enough to make the journey smooth.  Pure love.  From the open and a couple of hours in or more, it is complicated and evolving, and the iris transforms into almost a backdrop for all the other action. Cinnamon iris punches you in the nose on the open with a little bitter myrrh.  If you aren’t fond of that – and I love it – just wait, and the cinnamon will smooth out with a light spicing that stayed for a long time, just softer and more subtle as time goes along.  Incense and vanilla warm this up, take out some of the myrrh bitter edges, and under it all is the iris.

I find it distracting in all the best ways. This is an absolutely must-smell for anyone that calls themselves an iris fan.  Yeah, that’s better.  Atelier des Ors has rapidly become one of my favorite perfume brands.  I’m thinking of combining this in close proximity on my arm to Lune Feline. Oh, yum!

While we talked about Iris Fauve, Josie also hooked me up with the Coolife Le Sixième, another of the handful of iris perfumes that just released and is also available at Osswald’s.  Floral woody with notes of lemon, bergamot, pink pepper, iris flower, osmanthus, jasmine, suede, patchouli, ambroxan, cedar, labdanum and musk.  This is a bright slightly greenish iris on the open. Hey, I like that.  This stays very upbeat and bright with an emerging leather and incense.  None of that is overpowering, it adds a lot of interest. Okay, Josie was completely right on this – a great iris and any iris lover worth their orris butter should try it.

Armani/Prive Iris Celadon was just released.  Notes of Iris, aldehydes, bergamot, cardamom, chocolate, mate absolut, musks, ambrette seed and patchouli.  A somewhat sparkly open, the ambrette seed is interesting there.  I’ve always wanted a chocolate iris, so yeah!  I’ve loved what Armani/Prive did with those super-exclusive iris scents – well, everything but the price tag.

Armani/Prive Iris Celadon has an almost buttery smell/feel to it after the open.  Patchouli has more of a presence than I expected, but not in a bad way.  It’s a milder effect on the chocolate than Serge Lutens Borneo, which is all good. Love Borneo, but the patchouli is overkill for me in it.  Nicely done. So basically a very iris buttery Borneo.  I really love it. It’s subtle and doesn’t amp as far as projection.

Listen, when the universe plops down three great iris perfumes in your lap at the same time, you just thank anything and everything you believe in. They are each different and unique and all worthy of sniffing.

Winners of the perfume sample grab bag plus a sample of the Atelier des Ors Iris Fauve  – Lena and Doreen. Just click on Drop Us a Note at the top, send me an e-mail, remind me of what you won, give me the ten samples you want and get me your mailing address. I’ll send you a quick e-mail to let you know I got your e-mail and it didn’t land in a spam filter and then get it on the way to you.

And we shall give away FOUR sample sets of these three gorgeous iris perfumes.   Post a comment on this post to be entered.   Samples of the Atelier des Ors Iris Fauve is courtesy of Osswald’s in NYC.  So if you love it and want it, when it releases, grab it from them as a thank you for the sample donation.