Hermessence Iris Ukiyoé

I'm really into this. Of all the Hermessences, Iris Ukiyoe is one of only two (the other being Cuir d'Ange) which I think is having the intended effect on me - where the simplicity of the composition paves the way for waves of edenic serenity, and, latterly, of smooth luxury. Iris Ukiyoe's main point is that it is focused on iris flowers which, evidently, smell vastly different from the aged rhizomes (i.e. orris) which are replete with irones and often paired with ionones. As such, Iris Ukiyoe is not particularly powdery, purple, nor otherwise evocative of typical iris scents. Whether the floral iris note was derived from a floral enfleurage or is rather a careful recreation like Diorissimo was to muguet, I can't readily find out online, but I gather it's likely the latter. Iris Ukiyoe does indeed smell floral, faintly citrusy and green, but with what to me smells like slightly "sour" white petals, but in the best possible way. It's a bit of a fantasy to my nose as I'm not familiar with the scent of iris flowers, but to me this actually smells not too dissimilar to those massive white magnolias you can see blooming in summer sometimes. Equal parts citric-fresh and floral-heady, it's really a wonder of scent, and makes me think of a carefully tended garden with rivulets of cool water trickling through paved aqueducts. I don't get much of a drydown at all - this is truly just one big floral sigh in a bottle which, on my skin, isn't extremely long-lived (perhaps only 4 hours or so). But in its ephemerality and sheerness lies the ability of IU to give a full-bodied floral experience without becoming suffocating. Smelling it again on my skin I keep coming back to that faint sharp/sourness which offsets the rest of the composition. It's by no means excessive, but it does help to give the fragrance its important "disturbed" element, which saves the wearer from the boredom that I think can quickly descend on soliflores generally. Overall a really amazing fragrance, the skill of its composition perhaps does justify its enormous price (perhaps, perhaps!) I think this would be pretty effortless to wear as a man, as it lacks the frills, fruit or vanilla of more typically feminine scents (though of course anyone can wear anything, I'm referring more to typical conventions). Iris Ukiyoe slides on like a freshly pressed white shirt, and exudes a kind of calm authority which is really attractive to me. 10/10

Iris Ukiyoé smells of clean iris, greenness, and has flecks of pencil shavings with a bubble smell – not soap, but bubbles – like the kind you blow for hours as a child. When I was little, at the end of the elementary school year we would have ‘field day’. I live in a suburb of hot and humid New Orleans so field day was more like, water fun day! All of the kids churned in anticipation during our only morning class session because of the excitement for the coming activities. It’s as though I have finished my only school assignment of the day and you can smell pencil shavings and graphite. How can we possibly do any work when there is fun to behold? The bell rings at 9:35am and all of us rush outside to behold oodles of activities that don’t involve work! The smell of cool, dew-dropped purple flowers & earth quietly whisper - they have not been warmed by the sun yet as they are still shaded by the height of the school building. We are excited because water games like water guns, water balloons, water slides and a slew of half-filled kiddie pools beckon us over. And there are bubbles, oodles of bubbles with varieties of wands to be blown for days. Iris Ukiyoé smells like the beginning of an elementary school Field Day circa 1991. So pretty. So veilish. So good. The rose, orange blossom and mandarin never showcase themselves. The drydown is simply the loveliest and sheerest iris perfection.

I asked for samples from Hermes. And the company sent me one of each of their Hermessence. I have to say my favorites were Vetiver Tonka & Poivre Samarconde the most. The others were very nice. THough I dont care for the Vanilla one because its not as exciting and complex as the others. I also got the Brin Reglise but I never liked the smell of licorice but i dont mind it. Ambre Narguile was so masculine yet gormand and sweet enough to appeal to women. As for this Iris...one of the more feminine ones from this unisex collection of Hermessence but let me tell you besides my favorite 2, Iris Ukiyoe gets me ALOT of female attention. Possibly the Iris floral note attracts them. On the skin of men the floral becomes more masculine. I especially get more attention when I wear this with my Dior Homme! (which contains Iris & leather, wax, chocolate and vanilla) all aphrodisiacs! Its no wonder the females keep complementing me. If your a guy and too stuck on machismo and wouldnt try this then your living in a closed mind and ultimately missing out. If your a "i know i am a man and i can rock anything type" then try this. And you will see.

Iris Ukiyoé begins as a koān, the ultimate paradox of shape and volume in perfume. Jean-Claude Ellena renders another aquarelle, this time with iris: weightless, watery and cool. A mandarin zest and orange blossom highlight the composition, smelling like the very joy of spring's arrival that I am experiencing today. The iris is clean and sheer, with a tempered powdery undercurrent, resembling more the fragrance of scented iris varieties, which often do resemble that of orange blossom, mock orange, concord grape, and citrus. Sour oranges and soft purple, so beautifully limpid, it sustains for a while, then seems to fade so swiftly, but fear not, it's the sillage, the apparition of the fragrance, that haunts for far longer, like that sensation of hypnagogia: the space between sleep and being fully awake. Ellena's genius is in his ability to massage nuance to every detail of his work, and while its sadly not always accessible for consumption (I for one had to go with this 15ml bottle for an online discount), they are truly worthy of sampling just for the experience.

A lovely iris watercolor. It's as if Jean Claude Ellena has used a paintbrush to create this fragile scent. A stunning scene w/an iris flower growing next to a moody waterway..... I get no orris root from this but rather flower petals. This in itself is unusual I think. I can really detect the orange flower as it starts out. It brings a lovely bit of sharpness to the composition. Very quickly it dries down into a perfect iris flower. It's soft and delicate and still~tenacious! I get hours and hours of exquisite pleasure from just a couple of sprays. This is a go to scent that speaks of class. It smells expensive~which of course....it is! I truly can't think of one place that this wouldn't be appropriate. On me this has all of the makings of a classic. Simple and elegant w/out being stuffy. Timeless and yet completely modern. Iris Ukiyoe takes extreme heat and blossoms w/out ever becoming overwhelming. This is not a fragrance that you'll be smelling on everybody. Which of course makes it your very own personal and absolutely brilliant well kept secret.