Iris Ayes

Hi, Posse!  Today we’re going to discuss Iris because we’re finally in Iris weather (for me – ymmv).  For iris to work for and on me, it has to be cool/wet; too hot and it feels weird, like the iris is struggling to stay atop all of it.  Too cold and it makes me feel like I’m in a cooler – and somebody has just run an icecube down my back.  Believe me, that is NOT a good thing.

So right now, in the high 50s-low 60s (to low 70s) is the sweet spot for all irises, even the rooty/carroty ones. This is actually the ONLY time the… hey, did I ever tell you how I came to love those rooties?  (yeah, that was a ‘squirrel’ moment – deal with it!)… so.. way back in the wayback, Miss Patty came to Chicago and we had dinner.  This was back in the days when Lydia was still at L’Artisan and L’Artisan was still a standalone boutique – lordt, but I do miss those days… anyhoo, Lydia had been trying to get me interested in Iris Pallida, to no avail.  Try as I might, I simply couldn’t reconcile myself to that rooty note.  Le sigh.

Then Patty and I met for dinner…and she brought a little vial of Xerjoff Irisss.  Placing a dab on my inside wrist she instructed me to ‘hang on and wait a minute’ – so I did.  Then, as instructed, I brought my wrist to my nose.  And was transported.  Xerjoff had managed to tame the rootiness juuuuust enough to make it sweet – without tipping it over into the saccharine.  It was – and remains – sublime.  WAY above my paygrade – but gorgeous!  But even more important, Irisss reeducated my nose to the rootier iris scents, teaching me how to parse them.  Once taught, I kept that lesson and now feel much more able to understand them.  I don’t always feel comfortable in them – but I kinda like that, like having a slightly difficult friend you only see for lunch every now and then – or a very intense lover who transports you in bed – and then gets the hell out of that bed and goes away.  You’ll get back with him (or that fabulous, difficult friend) when you’re ready – but they’re definitely not daily fare.  Le Labo Iris 39 is one such ‘difficult friend’ – it does better for me on fabric than on skin, but there’s no denying its gorgeousness.  A degree too hot (or too cold), though… and it’s an instant ick.

Iris by Parfums Laboissiere – this, late of the much-missed Jacqueline in SF (hey, he was always lovely to me)… it’s one of those weird irises that bridges the gap between rooty and floral.  Try as I might I cannot find anything on the notes but I detect a hint of violet therein.  It starts out very sharp and green, then softens to a near-soliflore.  It’s perfect for a mid-Spring afternoon.

Irisss by Xerjoff – as mentioned above this was my gateway iris (thanks, Patty!) and it is glorious, indeed, nearly wearable in all temps (nearly).  Composed of ‘butter of iris’ (The dried roots of the plant are ground up, distilled and extracted into either a resin, an absolute or a butter. They have a buttery-soft, smooth and skin-like scent. Its powdery aroma is undeniable and can also be reminiscent of suede or even freshly-baked bread. carrot seeds, rose, ylang ylang (along with a host of other yummies) it’s one of the softest, warmest of the rooties.  I would spring for a bottle but, like Tom, there is car insurance looming – and I have to pay my Cranky Contractor.  Le sigh.

Iris by Donna Karan.  The most mutable of all my iris perfumes, it really does function as the Expensive White Shirt in Sergey Borisov’s Fragrantica review.  I cannot remove it from my Iris oeuvre because well, the name (I’m easy).. but also, like that shirt, it does evoke ‘class’ in that way a slender vase of white irises does.  There isn’t even a hint of rootiness in this one, which makes it suitable for mid-range temps and pretty much any situation.  Luckily it doesn’t evoke the Donna Karan Bodysuit, for which I am forever grateful.  I told y’all about the time I got stuck in one of those, halfway through the trying-on…right?  omg.  I. Magnin.  Size 4 me, stupidly forgetting that Ms Karan LIES about her sizes.  Trying to wrestle my way into a Size 4 bodysuit (in that signature DK midnight blue – I now HATE that color).  I needed a size 8.  Definitely. Took 2 people to get me unstuck.   Mortifyin’.

Last one, because otherwise we’ll be here all damb day and I think Tom is going to opine on some later in the tomorrow – Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile (the original 2006 version).  This is my HG Iris.  It’s delicate but the iris is never lost, making a quiet-but-firm statement from the first spritz.  I have a butter yellow iris that always reminds me of this perfume; I’d like to say the flower is better – but I’d be lying.  This is that butter yellow iris, surrounded by early Summer yellow roses (I think it’s the tuberose and mimosa that replicates the notion of the roses, because roses really aren’t in the perfume at all) – this is more about the whole garden than the iris as soliflore.  I would wear this daily!  The body creme is one of the most divine things on the planet, btw.  Trust me.

What are your thoughts on iris perfumes?  Are you a Rooty rooter…or a Floral fan?  Both?  What about weather – do you have temp requirements to make them work?  Do tell!

Btw…Iris Pallida?  Still a Nope.  Dunno why… any ideas?