Velvet Iris

Velvet Iris: 1)It is very unique 2)It is difficult to compare it to most other Iris centric fragrances. But overall, it leans toward the more earthy, tart, astringent Iris fragrances like Serge Luten's Iris Silver Mist 3)If it was a color, that color would be, without a doubt ... GREEN. It is extremely aromatic and balsamic. The Galbanum contributes significantly to its very sharp, earthy green persona. The mastic is strong and sharp as well, giving it a turpentine-like component 4)Basically, there is not a sweet bone in its body 5)it is extremely dynamic and fluid. The scent changes on my skin literally minute by minute, which is extremely pleasing and borderline exciting 6)I really like it, but I'm not sure if I am the best person to ask because I love all varieties of iris and orris root notes/accords 7)It smells incredibly natural. It transports me to my grandmother's garden. If you wear this, you will smell like you have been gardening all afternoon, in a good way 8)As I smelled this for the first time this morning, and got to know it this afternoon, it also transported me to a fantastic play I saw at Stratford in Canada a number of years ago. My favorite playwright, Arthur Miller's "All My Sons". The play was performed on a thrust stage with the audience on three sides of the stage, and it was set as if you were outdoors ... with the sky above, green grass below and bushes, flowers and trees landscaping the family's farm. The sounds of birds, passing cars and thunderstorms enhanced the scene and story. Cold wind and hot air were intermittently utilized based on the time of day and season. I was smelling Velvet Iris and thinking, wow, it would have been great to pump this stuff into the air during that play 7)If you really love iris like I do, it is blind buy safe, especially because its retail price of roughly $90-100 is a steal 8)If you do not know if you really love all types of iris/orris root notes and accords, or you only have experience with more mass appealing sweet and smooth designer level iris fragrances, I would not recommend blind buying this 9)I do not think this will do very well in the United States, but it should do well elsewhere 10)I am excited to get to know Velvet Iris better. It seems like the type of fragrance you have to spend a lot of time with to really appreciate

Bought a full bottle because Iris is my favourite note and I must collect them all. Yet to smell Iris Malikhan so can’t comment on similarity. So, this is a weird one. I like it and glad it’s in my collection, however, I can see why some folks might not like it and why they have a problem with the naming of the juice. If you don’t like Iris as a note, don’t make it a star note for a fragrance by a legendary perfumer. That’s a recipe for confusion and disappointment imo. The juice - this one is a chic, slightly ashy, and grey-tinged iteration of Iris. Also quite green. It reminds me of a more modern and unisex Chanel No.19 and sometimes like a more grown up M01+Iris. It has a menthol herbaceousness that’s quite refreshing, and combines with the violet facets of iris in an interesting way. It’s a rather serious feeling iris, quite grown up, but still casual enough for daily/signature wear. The leather is there but more airy and textural, and doesn’t take on too much of the violet facets as say Ombré Leather does. Overall, it’s a very well balanced and crafted frag, and an interesting take on Iris. However, I do wish the brand owner had gotten out of the way a little, because I imagine if the perfumer was able to make a fully Iris Iris fragrance, it could’ve been truly exceptional.

to the workers at ministry of scent who watched me tear up on a random weekday in san francisco over this perfume, you don't realize how much of my life flashed before my eyes. Dominique Ropion does it again with a titularly velvety iris, combined with the smooth and fabric-like texture of orris root, a warm and woody undertone, and a hint of powdery, perfume-like greatness. the one quality, however, that struck me as particularly cogent was the startlingly green and bright galbanum note, paired with the iris and orris to present an almost chypre-like fragrance with the challenging mossy and/or leathery notes of patchouli or oakmoss noticeably missing. there is a carrot-seed quality, as if you are nestling your nose into the soil of a richly kept garden of flowers with freshly dug dirt on the surface that has just been rained on. smelling this perfume feels like genuinely recapturing the scent of a flower–in all of its complexity, be it a root-like astringency or an easily tearable and dark purple petal–in a room where flowers needn't be. cold blooms on grey stone, bouquets in the corners of a funeral home, or lively vases on dusty credenzas. crudely put, these flowers are lively–but grieving.

A very interesting and truly disruptive fragrance. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting an iris like this, but it surprises me in the best way. The opening bursts with very spicy, vertical notes blended with fresh minty accents, which bring energy and freshness. Then comes the iris not powdery, but in the form of buttery iris intertwined with woody and leathery notes. The leather facet pairs beautifully with the iris, creating a suede-like effect that makes the whole composition even more elegant. It’s true that this isn’t a conventional fragrance, but it’s executed brilliantly. I don’t think you can find an iris with such an excellent price-to-quality ratio on the market, which means you can overspray without any hint of regret at this price! I can only recommend it for both women and men.

I love it! The combination of iris, galbanum and mastic smells so fresh, bitter, green, cool, elegant and beautiful. Reminds me of Nordic summer fields. The buchu note gives it some bitter tea like facets but it fades quite quickly. The leather and sandalwood support the heart notes well. Leather and iris are of course a classic combination but the galbanum and mastic change the character from elegant towards more natural and evocative. I think galbanum and iris is a very interesting combination, and it works well here. I bought it a week ago and have been wearing it almost every day on these warm-ish Finnish summer days. Could wear this in the office as well. 9/10

Velvet Iris is unbelievably good - especially in the opening. I find it utterly delicious, even though it's not sweet (exactly), it just has me salivating. It has a quality that wakes you up on first blast and has all senses on alert. I find it addictive and wonderful in every way - it makes me feel great. I have nothing else like this in my large collection, so it's quite unique to my nose (and I have Gris Charnel and Iris Malikhan). I prefer the opening to the dry down, but I'm OK with respraying. Superb value by a superb perfumer and house. 4.5 stars.

I have to disagree with most of this negative reviews. I can get that people expected this to be the new best perfume by Essential Parfums, but for me this a lovely signature fragrance. It's better than Bois Impérial: there, I've said it. To me this scent is elegant, green, powdery and completely unisex. Maybe the drydown isn't very original and I agree, but it's not an awful drydown either. I bought a full size bottle after trying this in the discovery set and will use it as my signature.

At first, I was struck by a captivating green scent with a bitterness I had never experienced before. After a while, mellow sandalwood emerges, along with powdery orris root, and mastic also makes a subtle appearance. Fresh iris occasionally makes its presence known as well. Ultimately, it transforms into a soft, gently enveloping musk scent that leaves me feeling very comfortable. Compared to the rising prices of niche perfumes these days, I think it's also very reasonably priced.

It starts with beautiful soft green and camphoric whispers the quickly follows in to creamy iris that is like cushion for the rest of a journey. Some elements comes and goes, but a gorgeous creamy iris always present. Sophisticated, classy, sexy, for day or night. Gorgeous for a frag conoseurs collection or for signature fragrances especially considering the affordable price point and we can swim in it, after all you get 100ml.

It is a soooooo beautiful scent. Clean, woody, creamy, leathery. Crisp opening & then after a 30 min or so I started to pick up the resinous facets and the dry down is woody leathery musky beauty. A bit dusty definitely unisex as a female I love it & find it more feminine leaning. I wouldn’t consider it masculine despite the voting. I have a sample size of it and I think I’m gonna get a full size bottle

I think people are trying to gatekeep it or there are lots of people here with lower expectations. This is an amazing scent. You need to have your baggy pants , prada chunky shoes but a velvet blazer with white shirt on and have a cigar in one hand and cognac on the other while you have this scent on u... Its a breezing December, Friday and its around 7 pm ... Its just an amazing statement scent...

Very good perfume and i don't understand the low rating. Smells nice. The similarities with Maison Crivelli Iris Malikhan is not soo close. Velvet Iris is green and aromatic iris fragrance while Iris Malikhan is more sweet, earthy, woody and leathery .The performance is also very good and can be used in every season.

As someone who doesn't like classic lipsticky iris fragrances, this is wonderful. A bitter and floral opening gives way to a sweet, powdery and balsamic drydown that's velvety like the name implies and perfectly unisex. Yes the projection is intimate, but the scent profile is unique and pleasantly surprising.

Gothic and dark. I agree with you who wrote that it smells like a makeup store. To me it smells like a high end make up store in London where products are all black and white color palette and super expensive, and pretty sales women in all black I absolutely love this scent. It’s sexy and interesting.

It's amazing. An iris that is not too princessy, not to old rich lady, slightly masculine on my skin, but really, not much. Or blends wonderfully with other perfumes, if you want layering. And the price is fantastic.

I love this fragrance. Absolutely could see myself buying a full bottle. My only issue is the projection. Velvet Iris sits close to skin on me, if it were a tad bit stronger this would absolutely be top 5 for me.

This is a beautiful, buttery leather scent, that feels seductive, a little woody and slightly sharp. Elegant and musky, and leans masculine. Another unexpected contender for full size bottle

I sampled this last week. Not overly sweet or makeup-y, a little woody, and really nice. The leather seemed rather subdued. Longevity was average. I plan to purchase.

Powdery, starchy, ever so slightly sweet – imagine the texture of a fluffy brioche bun. Extremely unisex and very soft. 9.7/10 imo.

A chilly, almost minty fresh Iris fragrance. Not like any other Iris in my collection, so it’s full bottle worthy IMO!

Absolutely stunning and very nostalgic to me. Essential Parfums - an amazing perfume house.

The sample just arrived and I'm going to jot down notes just the way I experience it - First spray is earthy florally, the leather and milky sandalwood is already there. A lively Iris and some peppery impression. But I can't smell much compared to other perfumes. Ambroxan can do that with my nose. Bois from the same house did the same when it came out. Maybe I might need to let the bottle sit for a few weeks. - 30min in // It's starting to turn earthy. reminding me of tumeric or something. Can't smell anything of a mint. I'm missing a green galbanum. It already dies down and get's calm on my skin. Usually have a hard time detecting iris, this is not different. - 1h in // Close-up I mostly smell base notes. At arms length I start to detect other facettes. It's super balanced nothings clearly in the foreground. It kinda turns powdery and the Iris is coming back. This stays on the flowery and peppered turf side. No freshness at all (I really don't get any mint), no fruitiness, no real sweetness. The sandalwood and leather underneath it all almost gets a cozy creamy vanillic quality 🤷 - 2h in // Can't trust my nose. There's a smoke coming through not stated anywhere 🤷 Reminds me of a vetiver. Wouldn't be the first Ropion that does this to push all other notes. I can see how this can be perceived as more of a resin. Most probably I need a few days of wear to be able to experience this fully. Once I've done so, I'll erase this post for somehting more concise. I was hoping for something like the herby green spicy opening of French Lover but not with this one. And I was hoping for a sharp crisp florally freshness of Florentine Iris but yeah this is entirely different. I'm reminded of A. N. Other FL/18's base without the fruit and French Lover's earthy peppery vibe with less of the green. Smelling the bottle I'm reminded of Vetiver Extraordinaire's peppery opening. Thank god this isn't a fatty iris. I had colleagues who smelled like a tray of lukewarm butter the whole day. But TBH this makes we wonder wether I need to train myself for the iris. I really don't get that much of a floral impression from mid stage to dry down. IMHO this is very unisex. This is earthy, milky powdery, dry spice and somewhat floral mainly in sillage. The earthy dry spicy aspects might lean male. I get that. But women easily can pull this off due to the sandalwood and that milky dry vanillic leathery foundation. This can be signature, daytime, office-safe but not office-typical. I would wear this for spring and fall. This one needs some coldish humidity. To me this is cozy. Like sweater'n'caban cozy.

Yesterday I got a 5ml decant of this scent, and I tried it out for the first time today. First impression? Really good — the iris is presented in a unique and lovely way. I was curious how it would develop on my skin, and after about 30 minutes, it started to smell very familiar — pretty quickly I realized it reminded me of Gris Charnel, which I already own. Velvet Iris comes off drier than Gris Charnel. Compared to it, it's also a bit more bitter, while Gris Charnel has that fig note that adds some sweetness. Still, the overall DNA feels very similar to me. It’s been 4 hours now, and I can barely smell it even with my nose right up to my skin. For the first 30 minutes, it projected nicely, but then it quieted down a lot and became super close to the skin — and eventually just faded away. I had high hopes for this one, especially because I love the whole concept behind Essential Parfums and their approach to perfumery. But I won’t be buying the full 100ml bottle — it’s just too close to Gris Charnel on my skin, and the performance isn’t great. Still, I’d say it’s worth testing — we all have different skin chemistry, and fragrance is such a personal experience. Too bad that lovely opening didn’t stick around longer for me — it really showed a lot of promise.

The first time I sprayed this was shortly after acquiring and falling in love with a sample of Iris Malikhan. Velvet Iris opened very similarly with a strange smoky - ashy iris, giving this a more slightly masculine edge, but still very unisex. As a woman I found this very refreshing to have in my collection as an alternative to my predominantly more 'feminine floral' leaning collection, but as time went on ( I had a 10 ml travel srpay), the woodsy ashiness began to grate on my nerves, and I found myself becoming keen to finish this off and be done with it! It made me think of a beautiful bouquet of Irises next to an ashtray with a freshly stubbed out cigarette? She's an odd one for sure ;-) I still find Velvet Iris to be an interesting and most unconventional take on an iris scent (as I'm sure others have already noted here, the brand owner herself is NOT an iris fan, so she asked Dominique to make an iris she could enjoy), most similar in spirit to Iris Malikhan, but if I had to choose between the two I'd definetly go for the Crivelli, as I found it more compelling and had a more pleasing dry down to my nose. I'm glad to have gotten to know Velvet Iris and it's definitely worth a sniff, but absolutely not for everyone!

Essential Parfums seems to be pretty safe, generic, and mass-appealing niche house. However, this fragrance made me think again about that statement Velvet Iris is surprisingly attractive in a different way. It's funky, and it smells... Well, it smells like an UberX car: the unrecognizable fragrance of the driver; the smell of cigarette smoke that has penetrated the car's interior, drivers clothes, skin and soul, which he tried to mask with strawberry bubblegum, probably already used once or twice before; some gasoline and exhaust, that happened to seep inside; the head-spinning air freshener for the car with the smell of «super mega unbelievable freshness of woods, mountains, sea, desert, moon, black hole, the thing in your salad, unrequited love, this review»; leftovers of the fragrances of thousands of passengers before you; maybe some puke from the person who got motion sickness I'm unironically wondering if I just tried to explain why it smells like an Uber in a most logical way - with the blend of different smells, when in fact it's just a fragrance drivers must wear by a protocol. It’s an experience that left me speechless, but not something I’d voluntarily wear outside a Prius

It's cold and sharp at the opening, the color I associate would be metalic grey. It's not a typical iris, no powder bomb, but one can smell the iris note, it's combined so it doesn't feel powdery, more like something sterile. It settles into something more rounded and resinous, when the labdanum starts to appear, with a soft leathery approach to the composition. I find this to be more interesting than the opening, as if you got to the bark of the tree. Is it me, or is there a hing of hierba buena in here? I detect a hint of mintiness. It's quite a serious perfume. At this stage the color associated would be beige or brown, on the warmer side of the spectrum. Longevity seems fine, but I haven't thorougly tested that yet, projection is fine too. I'm never worried about that with these 100ml for 88 euro bottles, you can spray as much as you want, if you want to smell it more, just spray more. I bought a 10ml for 22 euro just to test it. It's not a love on first sight, but definitely a like. I will wear it a for a few weeks to see if it deserves the space of a 100ml bottle in my wardrobe.

Apparently house founder Géraldine Archambault doesn't like iris and asked Ropion to do a very atypical one. Which to me basically turned out as a leather fragrance. Starts off earthy but really green and vegetal, more like a fig (leaf) note than iris. Then, an hour or so later, it subtly shifts towards something more leathery, and for a while it almost seemed multistable, alternating between plant and leather in my perception. Missed opportunity to call this one Cuir Vegetal! Further into the drydown the plantlike aspect ultimately disappears for good while it retains the scent of leather or suede with some hints of wood and smoke. Overall it's not something I'd wear often, but really pleasant and well done.

Smells like earthy leather, a bit aged dark green scent. Pretty much enjoyed opening, but as the scent started developing I realised how masculine it is for my liking. Also I agree with one person below mentioning fig, double checked listed notes as I thought I initially missed fig. I love unisex perfumes, but this one heavily leans masculine on my opinion. Don't see myself wearing it on its own, but I tried to layer it with my sweet white floral perfume, turned out to be great, so I am not disappointed with purchase. Who knows, maybe with layering it will grow on me later UPD. It grew on me, I started wearing it on its own. Definitely not "dislike" anymore, it's the best when it settles on skin a bit

Thank God I ordered just a 10ml vial, because this is not the iris I thought it would be. First of all, it’s an iris perfume for people who don’t love iris... It’s definitely a green, leathery scent with a minty undertone—I suspect that minty-green vibe comes from buchu? If you love powdery, rooty iris perfumes, this isn’t it. :( It might be an interesting interpretation of the iris flower, but definitely not of orris root. The opening features noticeable pink pepper mixed with green galbanum and just the right dose of sweetness. It’s starting to grow on me, but as an orris lover, I have to say—it’s a disappointment. PS. It reminds me a little of Nightclubbing by Celine.

I've spent four days with Velvet Iris, my impressions: - It's good. - To me, in the long term, it's an amber fragrance. You know: fall/winter, evening, date night, soft warm amber. The base is leather, amber, vanilla, coconutlike sweetness & milkiness and earthiness. The iris is woody, ever present but never screaming or lipsticky. - Leans male, European male. - It might have cross over appeal? These ambers are popular sexy things these days I guess? And fragheads might find this different type of iris interesting - the juxtaposition with greenery certainly feels unique to me. - I just got a sample but probably should have bought the travel size, it's a bargain.

day 176 of trying to figure out what the heck iris smells like and whether or not i enjoy it. in the first 20 minutes, this went from green bell pepper plucked straight out of the dirt, to a chic creamy marshmallow musk that i loved, to a hard-to-describe minty leather? or something? by the time it has settled down it reminds me of a stronger version of my memory of essential parfums’ fig infusion (i wonder if all the scents from this house carry that DNA) + a return to the earlier marshmallowy musky goodness. so... kind of a wild ride but i do enjoy the end result. i hope longevity is better than fig infusion!

لا اعتقد ان هذا الدار قادر على انتاج عطر سيء رغم ان الايرس هنا شبه مختفي ولكنه عطر مميز وممتاز نوتات نظافة من المستكه والنوتات الحمضية الخفيفة + دخان خفيف واعشاب هادئة تقريبا هذا طابع العطر العام جودة عالية جدا وهادئ وليس حاد ٩/١٠ - I don’t think this house is capable of making a bad fragrance. Even though the iris here is almost absent, it’s still a distinctive and excellent scent. Clean notes from mastic and soft citrus nuances, alongside light smoke and calm herbal touches. That’s roughly the overall character of the fragrance. Very high quality, smooth, and never harsh. 9/10

A cold, crispy iris that is not overly powdery with a very distinct green galbanum note. The cold/ crispy effect seems to get even more pronounced as the fragrance developes, in parts due to the mastic in the mid. Towards the base, the saffiano leather becomes quite prominent supported by subtle nuances of labdanum and sandalwood. A professional, serious iris fragrance that feels somewhat mature. Velvet Iris has good projection and very good longevity. It's not overbearing, but noticable.

Iris isn't my favorite note so I had some trepidation before sampling this fragrance. It's done really well! I'm unfamiliar with many of the notes, but they play off the iris in a pleasant way. The dry down is distinctly sandalwood with a touch of smokey leather and it's quite cozy. This one sits close to the skin like most of the fragrances from this brand. The sandalwood keeps on going for hours. I got so many compliments.

The initial spray is all about the explosion of fresh spices, then it gets warmer and woodier as the smooth leathery iris starts peaking through. It's not a sweet, lipsticky iris but rather a fresh and spicy one. Might come across masculine for people who like sweet iris scents. I'm so glad to have this in my collection. Can't wait to wear it properly so that I can give you an update on the performance!

I love all the main notes in this one, galbanum, iris, mastic, leather..... It is green and bitter and vegetal in the opening and then it gets more powdery, but still green and bitter. I really like it. Green and bitter fragrances are not generally very mass appealing, but I love this genre. It reminds me a bit of Infusion de Figue by Prada, which also has galbanum and mastic.

I am really not an iris fan. My favorite iris fragrance so far has been Iris Malikhan from Maison Crivelli, which Velvet Iris is quite reminiscent of to my nose. VI has a somewhat richer and more pollen-y heart, whereas IM remains lighter and more citrusy. Between the two they may make an iris enjoyer out of me yet.

This one’s for Goth folks and dark academia fellas. Edgy cold elegance. Green,peppery and earthy. Very distinct but somewhat soft. I usually do not like sandalwood, but here paired with leather note it appears non offensive and likable. To me it doesn’t feel masculine at all, it’s perfectly unisex.

I got this as a sample because I have a fragrance by the same perfumer that I love. It was a bit of a shock to see similarities between this fragrance and Nishane Papilefiko. They're not the same but they have strong similarities. It's crazy. Velvet Iris is nice but I fucking love Papilefiko.

Opens up a birt sharply, but it veeery quickly settles down into a super pleasant powdery, iris and woody fragrance. I usually dislike this type of scent profile but this is really nice. And it is so so so good in the dry down - soft and pleasant, a buttery suede type of iris.

this one is a shapeshifter on skin. opens really leather and orris forward, very earthy. then it gets powdery and sweet and almost fruity smelling almost, and then the deep dry down is a light sweet powdery iris. interesting journey there but i like it

Soft and... velvety iris, very green, and so elegant. Some freshness given by the mastic, and wood at the base, to make this fragrance interesting. It is like a suede glove caressing your skin. Another special fragrance by Dominique Ropion.

Masculine leather powder with a dash of spices— pepper and.... I’m not sure what else. Smooth but also a little rough in the opening. Probably good for a guy who wears cowboy hats and likes to take the Porsche out on the weekends.

A pretty linear beautifully put together scent, especially at the price point. The name sums it up perfectly. An Oris/Iris scent with smooth buttery seude leather rounding it all off. No sharp edges or harshness to my nose.

Straight up Iris, woody, a bit green, but with a surprising sweetness and creaminess that drew me in. Not as mastic or galbanum-forward as expected. A noticeable reliance on superambers - it's quite strong.

Earthy, unique, likable. The orris butter is a little lipstick but subtle. I really liked it, but not my cup of tea. Update: wait for the dry down, it turns into a sweet flowery, powdery masculine vibes.

Lovely smooth seude like velvety iris scent with a little sweetness. Perfectly constructed, no rough edges, no competing notes, just a beautiful and elegant scent.

It's definitely leaning more male. Smells bitter and dry. I can mostly smell iris and leather I like it on other people, less so on myself

very mature smelling much greener and earthier than i expected. most un-mass appealing iris scent ive ever smelled

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