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.

I know iris flowers and their smell well. as a child it was my favorite flower because the smell somehow reminded of a strange and delicious cake. still in spring I crawl on the meadows to smell the wild, dark purple ones. as presumably everybody here knows, iris flowers' delicate spicy sweet vanillic smell is totally different from the root (with its many different aspects) that we're used to in perfumes.... Iris Ukiyoé is more about "the idea" of the flower than a hologram (I find it too citric and too rosy also has a slight tuberose-and-tomato-aspect which the flower absolutely doesn't have in my opinion, but I imagine it to be difficult to reproduce the scent of the flower). but while I find it isn't too much recalling the real thing, Iris Ukiyoé is touching in it's subtlety. it's tenderly intellectual so to say, or intellectual without radicalness...and very beautiful at the same time...my mother robbed almost all of my stock and she normally doesn't wear perfume...

The opening of 'Iris Ukiyoé' is one of vitality, rich with mandarin's warmth and sweetness. A mellowed citrus, mandarin is expertly utilized here for its restrained brightness. What follows is a hyper-realistic purple iris note, so realistic in its complexity as to be unbelievable. Orange flower imbues an ethereal lightness, along with a honeyed nectar-like accord. The velvety texture of the iris petals is captured by the inclusion of rose in the composition. This rose is less jam-like and more powdery in scent. Together these notes comprise one of the most beautiful and truly authentic floral fragrances ever imagined. Sillage and longevity are soft to weak as this "eau de toilette" strength fragrance seems to carry a demure personality. Most exceptional in spring and fall, it would also be pleasant on warm summer nights. Quite simply, an impressionistic masterpiece; one certainly not to be missed. Read my full in depth review at my blog:

Translucent iris and orange blossom. I find it very enchanting, despite poor to moderate longevity at best. I have a travel spray snd will be sad when it's gone. Hopefully I can find another travel size or large decant. When full bottles of this, and almost all of the Hermessence line, pop up on eBay, they have become prohibitively expensive, and I am not exactly known to hold back when I find a perfume I must have. Still, you have to draw a line somewhere, and from what I've seen, this crosses mine, especially given how fleeting it can be. I don't mind that it's fleeting. The lightness that is frequently the hallmark of John Claude Elena is to be expected, and the ethereal quality is lovely. Nevertheless, I don't want something I need to respray every 30-60 minutes unless I can afford to be that generous. I like it far more than the other Hermès iris, Hiris.

With this scent, JCE again proves that you don't need dozens of notes and synthetics to create a unique and beautiful composition. It clearly takes it's inspiration from the subtle beauty of the iris. But by adding the rose and orange notes, the underlying simplicity of iris suddenly matures into something more intoxicating and elegant, something that transcends nature to become a poetic meditation on nature. As others have noted, this perfume is wonderful for what it is not: no wood, musk, or citrus. It can't be described as green, warm, cool, animalic, dry, or aquatic. Yet while lacking so many of these traditional qualities, it is clearly a perfume, and works well as a personal scent for any occasion. My only complaint is that it does not last as long as others.

Oh wow, I must say this is likely one of the most realistic and beautiful floral scents ever imagined. The purple iris note here is so truly authentic as to be unbelievable. Orange blossom offers a white floral sweetness (almost honey/animalic accord) which blends beautifully with the bashful iris. Rose is subtle here, but does imbue a velvety richness to the fragrance. Mandarin is only really appreciated in the first few moments of the opening, beginning things brightly. Serene, chaste, elegant, ethereal, pure... all connotations that of which I would ascribe to this impressionistic masterpiece. (97)

To me, this perfume is meditative in a way; it's very calm, buttery smooth, very pleasant. There are no sharp edges, every note melts into a plush white cloud near a rainbow. It's not an iris soliflore like the name could suggest, but it is a definite floral. It smells like lily of the valley, grass, mandarin, orange flower, roses and peaches. It's not rooty or powdery but it has a pale lipstick kind of vibe if I'm thinking hard. It's not common at all, although it might sound from the notes; it has such an interesting and intriguing smell, it's gorgeous! 9/10

A beautiful stunning iris! JCE nailed this one!!! Were I a poet I would write something lovely to try and capture the essence of Iris Ukiyoé. Not many perfumes put me at a loss for words but this one does. This is soft, floral and elegant. No earthy carrots here. I think this may be my favorite of the Hermesessence line and a must try for iris lovers!!! My only concern, as others have stated, is the projection and longevity. I love this one so much though that I will be happily spraying away!!!

I just love this exquisite perfume. At first blast, in my minds eye, Van Gogh's Irises take center stage. For me, this is a proverbial summertime scent. The word "ethereal" comes to mind for Iris Ukiyoe. I categorize this in the same phylum as other loves, Une Fleur De Chanel and Amouage Ciel. In my stash, these get pushed to the back in winter, but after the temperature hits 75 Fahrenheit these are the bosses. I could bathe in this. Where would summer be without Iris Ukiyoe?

This is a different kind of iris. The soapiness that is so typical of it stays very timidly in the background simply adding a veil of skin scent to the otherwise perfectly blended composition. It conjures memories of fancy smelling drawer liner paper I once had only it has so much more going on in the quietest way. Very airy, floral and with just the right amount of sweetness. Although not in my plans to buy, you must experience this!

Hermes Iris Ukiyoe (2010) - iris watercolor - #jeanclaudeellena created this ethereal perfume that reminds me of Iris gardens in Japan. Iris, rooty and earthy, is mixed with Mandarin orange and Orange flower for freshness and a beautiful Rose balancing the entire accord. Ellena’s well chosen ingredients create this watery effect across the entire perfume, enabling the wearer to appreciate the scenery in one’s mind.

A lovely fresh citrusy iris. Most iris scents I have smelt are quite soapy but this one has a nice acidity to this with the mandarins. The powdery white floral notes add some depth and complexity that I enjoy and help balance out the iris and mandarin. I would love to smell the rose but I only smell it really faintly after wearing it for a bit and most of the scent dissapears.

Hermes Iris Ukiyoe (2010) - Iris Neroli - #jeanclaudeellena creates a tranquil haiku of dry and powdery Iris with Oranges, Orange blossom and Neroli. The white flowers give the Iris, body and creaminess. I also get a base of Rose, White musks and a slight woody accord. Mr. Ellena knows he’s a technical master, able to coax every nuance to an ingredient. Beauty in simplicity.

This is the crispiest, cleanest, soapiest iris fragrances I have ever smelled. Translucent, poetic but electric at the same time. It feels almost surreal to pay this amount of money to smell like soapy water, but it is worth every penny. Iris Ukiyoé disappears from the skin within a couple of hours, but its sillage lingers and lingers and lingers.......sheer magic.......

Soooo gorgeous, clean, almost green iris. It feels very green and natural, with a slight touch of soapiness. Smells like an expensive, clean, pretty lady. Wow. Classic Hermes. Hiris by Hermes (which I also have and LOVE), is a little more powdery and "wet" smelling. This one smells like a flower on a stalk. Longevity isn't the best, though, and sillage is very soft.

Hermes Ukiyoé- is a lovely bright blend of Iris and African Orange Blossoms. The Iris is not powdery or lipsticky and the distinctive fragrance combination is as though the two flowers are dancing amongst a few pink rose bushes and juicy sweet mandarin oranges. Softly addictive scent, feminine, not cloying sweet, with moderate sillage and trail. Divine!