Florentine Iris

I remember traveling on a train to Melbourne on a sunny spring day and testing this in a department store. Totally fell in love with it, it made my day and lasted so long, complimenting the sunny weather beautifully. Owning such an expensive fragrance like this was a pipe dream, so I sadly moved on. 4 years later, and I managed to find Florentine Iris, 125ml in the box for a great deal. Upon spraying this, memories of that sunny day in Melbourne came flooding back to me, instantly filling me with happy memories and good feelings. It's one of *those* fragrances. This is sunshine captured in a bottle, it knows it, and it'll make you remember it. This iris is powdery, but not in a feminine lipstick-y way (which I also love). This is a dry sort of chalk-y and bright iris. Totally unisex. Guys, don't be afraid to wear this. I've also tested Indonesian Oud, and I have to say that there's something similar between the two fragrances. Maybe they share the same base somehow, similar to how Annick Menardo's creations all have a similar base. I can't ignore some strange similarly here, even though they're polar opposites. This goes on my list of fragrances that I'd wear if I was getting married or going to a wedding. That list also includes Cartier Declaration D'Un Soir and Guerlain Habit Rouge. Elegant, quality, masculine florals that are somehow hopeful, youthful, confident and joyful. There aren't many out there like this! Since I got this BNIB, it came with an info pamphlet on all the Essenze line fragrances. It says that Florentine Iris is a genuine iris that takes 3 years to grow underground, and another 3 years to dry out. That's 6 years to produce this bottle of fragrance! That's incredible, and it shows. The quality here is amazing. Lasts and lasts. Would be excellent in winter if the strength was a bit higher, but this is perfection in spring summer and autumn performance wise. Worn smart casual and formally. Pretty much always appropriate for any occasion. Clean, sharp and unique. Yay adjectives! This is a spring staple in my collection. An iris must-have. Makes me happy, 10/10.

As a fan of bergamot+iris fragrances, I was curious to smell this. It was love at first spray: I was at an airport, saw the Zegna counter in the perfumery department and readily put my hands on this masterpiece. One spray after another I just couldn't get enough of its delicious opening. It smells divine: the notes are pretty much the ones listed here (while an experienced sales assistant swears she can smell a light touch of oud, too). It starts with a sparkling, bright citrus and jasmine, but iris is clearly already there. Then iris becomes the main player, with all its gorgeous, powdery, floral blast. Finally, the base turns into a musky/clean drydown. Overall, it is a masterly blended perfume with a linear and expectable evolution. Longevity is very good (10+ hours), but the sillage is discrete: it only creates a nice bubble and leaves a soft trail around you. Fun fact: one day I explicitly decided to overspray: 2 after each of my ears, 2 on the front and behind my neck plus a few sprays on my hair, inner elbows and on the shirt I was wearing. About 12 in total. I think I passed the line, I have never received so many compliments in one single day: all of my coworkers could smell me at a huge distance, I filled a large office room. Four of them said that I smelled really good and could perceive the clean/powdery touch of it (one of them thought it contained a note of incense). This is not synthetic at all, everything in it smells natural. I also don't think this is a head-turner or a panty-dropper (the originality of the composition is in the blending, rather than the notes themselves), but those who will notice you will also recognize your good taste and the high quality of this scent. Maybe just a bit overpriced, but the quality is all there. Final rating: 9/10. One of my favorites.

Among the fragrances in Zegna's former Essenze collection, Florentine Iris remains one of the most distinctive interpretations of iris I've come across. This is neither the lipstick-tinged iris of Chanel's Les Exclusifs , nor the understated iris accent found in fragrances such as Bois d'Argent by Dior. It also avoids the clean, soapy direction that has become something of Prada's signature. Instead, the iris here is remarkably soft, smooth, and understated, polished to the point where every edge seems rounded off. The musk lends the fragrance a silky, almost carnal softness. That's probably where my "silk stockings" analogy comes from. Beautifully executed, but personally I would have preferred a little less musk. If I had to pick one fragrance from the line to pair with a bespoke Zegna suit , this would probably be it. It captures the same sense of effortless refinement that the brand has always stood for. If Indonesian Oud represents the tailored suit, then Florentine Iris might be... the silk stockings underneath. Hahahh, just kidding—but that's honestly the impression it gives me. It has an elegant softness that complements rather than competes, adding texture without demanding attention. It's a shame that the entire Essenze collection disappeared after Zegna and Estée Lauder went their separate ways. It was a quietly distinctive line that deserved a longer life. Rating: 7.5/10

Can anyone tell me when the EDP was reformulated? The bottle I bought is missing a lot of what I liked about the sample I fell in love with. Posting here also, as some people who own the EDP left reviews here. From my experience of the EDP (sample of unknown batch), it's a high potency, musky, violet/iris/orris bomb with eternal longevity and great projection. A great fragrance all year round and so fresh! It maintains a fresh component all the way into the dry down. I feel like it leans feminine, as it immediately reminded me of something I'd smelled on a female before. I happen to love it though. The older (unknown date) batch lasts on clothes for days. The later batch which I purchased a full bottle of (A91, September 2021 batch) has none of the eternal freshness, is thinner, less complex, lacks the long-lasting orris root accord and after testing side-by-side on cards does not project in the dry down like the older one. The September 2021 batch definitely has a different formula, as testing side by side on cards, the long lasting woody-amber base molecules used are different. The older one can be detected on my skin even after two showers. The newer one washes clean off, leaving only a feint whiff behind and dying completely soon after. Feel so ripped off and saddened. My only hope now is to get the sample analysed and attempt a recreation!

SO and I were at the airport to fly to Rome (we live in Malta) earlier this year and he'd been meaning to find a new perfume, plus I owed him a christmas present, so I steered him towards the Essenze display, hoping he'd choose Peruvian Ambrette ;) (not carried in the airport anymore sadly). He sniffed all of them and tried a few, but when he got to this one, he decided it's the one within a second. We both LOVE this perfume. It's fresh in non-citrusy way, powdery, yet fizzy, a little sweet and overall very elegant. He only needs 2 spritz and this baby lasts the whole day on him and a few days more on his worn shirt. I love to wear this as well and on me it's more powdery and sweet. It actually turns a bit feminine on my skin. My SO doesn't like Dior Homme as he thinks it's too feminine. But this is the first perfume he pledged loyalty to. He actually said "I want to smell like this for the rest of my life". And that's grand coming from the guy whose olfactory vocabularies are limited to "pancake", "good", and "hmmm you smell good" (his highest form of praise). Have to say I'm proud of his taste. ;) Ah this line costs only €140-something in Malta airport while I've read that it reaches around 200 elsewhere.