Iris Crush

I am one of those pepole who arrived too late to the Lipstick On by Margiela party so I had to find a replacement. Here comes in to help Iris Crush, my new crush indeed! The lipstick genre in fragrance appears to be somewhat populated, afterall, one may think, isn't there a sea of pure iris fragrances, powdery fragrances, and feminine, rose centric florals? Wrong! They are there but they are not truly lipsticky. I am a makeup junky, studied its history and applications, it often is a lens on historical climate and how women viewed themself in those period. And it is not just make up...it is confidence in a stick (in the case of lipstick), an empowerment of sorts, a little joy we women have. What pepole like me, or simply perfumers enthusiasts, look for in lipsticky fragrance is the waxy dimension. That beautiful, creamy and sticky sensation, reminiscent of old times, of stolen kisses, of the secret escapades done in the middle of the night when we were children in to our mothers prohibited makeup bags! I am happy to report everyone, Iris Crush opens with the most beautiful waxy lipstick sensation, a smell so strong you can almost feel that lipsticky texture on you. And for your joy I shall tell you more: it is the wax of old!!! The waxy smell that L'Oréal and Revlon lipstick had in the 80's, 90's and before! This is a slightly old lipstick, well loved, not just opened, oh no! It is not yet turned but in that stage when the fragrance has slightly gone away and you are left with the most pure waxy, flower tinged, smell. This is what happens in the opening, and it lasts for a good while. Then the fragrance starts to open to its floral components, sweet freesia and iris, the wax always on the back, never lost. There is a slightly vanillic feel and the heliotrope is the most powdery and floral, the almondy undertone it usually has is not present in a strong way, such as to bring the fragrance outside makeup territory. Dry down is consistent with the declared notes, heliotrope blends beautifully in to white, fluffly and sweet musk, the tonka beans open themself to a slightly confetti smell, patchouli grounding the experience. Something sugary in the back. Feminine and kind. But also seductive as the line promised. I am quite thrilled to have found something that can finally rival Lipstick Rose, Lipstick On and Goutte de Mercure in terms of waxiness. Each of them has a peculiar element in it, besides the waxy undertone, there is no rose note in Iris Crush so it is a welcomed addition to the genre for me. What follows is a personal experience, so if you are already bored I salute you, if you want to keep reading let me bring you in to one of the most special day of my life, when I was a child, which this fragrance remainded me of immensely! My town was preparing a special fair that day, all the people would be impersonating someone from the past of the town, a sort of historic fun fair with old automobiles and instruments. Me and my best friend would be "the lady and the gentlemen", the most rich town citizens. I asked for help to my glamourous cousin, I was just a child...already dreaming in my home of the world of fashion, looking everywhere for magazines. She had the most impressive makeup collection (which I confess, I always pepeed in when going to her home, with the pretense of "going to the bathroom"). She applied on me the most intense red lipstick, embellished me with eyeshadow and eyeliner, powdered to perfection my already pale complexion, she even accentuated my beauty mark with black pencil, a là Marilyn Monroe! And I had an hat with a net on my face that day! I can smell the excitement of those preparations with Iris Crush, smell her Dior makeup bag, hear the old Chanel lipstick sound, it opened and closed with a "click" sound!! And the fair...the amazement of my parents...the confetti they throw on us (an Italian custom for good luck), smell of sugar in the air. What a special day it was...what a special fragrance I have found. Edit: one unexplored little gem in the genre is Hilde Soliani, Vecchi Rossetti in her line Teatro Olfattivo di Parma, you may find it also internationally. Like being in an old theater, smelling the actor preparing in her/his makeup! Edit 2: yes the carroty undertone is present, slightly erathy and sticky, a must I think to obtain that waxy and powdery feel. Edit 3: it is a bomb! Pepole stopped me 3 times. Seductive for sure and with huge sillage. Edit 4: personally I feel lipstick is gorgeous on men too! I would love to have a boyfriend and put makeup on him!

This is lovely. I love iris in perfumes and the scent of lipstick and powder. This is a powdery, buttery irisy lipstick with a fruity raspberry note on a vanilla base. It's quite buttery and waxy and definitely has that lipstick note (which I love) but I can see it is niche and some may not appreciate the oddity of the note. It does remind me of some rollerball lip oils I used to buy from either Savers or Superdrug in the UK (I can't remember which!) when I was a teenager in the early 2000s, they had lots of different flavours but it's that synthetic fruity lip product note in there, it's so interesting! It doesn't last too well on my skin, probably only 4-5 hours which is a shame as it's lovely but it doesn't project that well. It's quite inoffensive and I can't see people disliking it that much. The 125ml bottle is huge but it's expensive, though I got a second hand bottle for a great price. **Edit: I've recently tried on paper La Vie Est Belle L'Elixir and the opening was extremely reminiscent of that unusual, waxy, buttery, iris/raspberry lipstick note that dominates Iris Crush, I've had the blotter for a couple of hours and it's getting more fruity and that gorgeous buttery lipstick note is fading away a bit as the juicy fruits are taking over.

One of my favorite fragrances. I read about it here in an article about lipstick fragrances, which I love. I love iris- and I have many of the popular ones. I have lipstick on, French kiss, Dior homme 2011 and I got it for a very good deal. It has a magical aura about it unlike any other fragrance. Rarely a fragrance will have a magical aura, and I was shocked that this one does have such a magnetic and special one. It is a very special fragrance, and great for layering. It is simple; vanilla, iris and maybe a hint of raspberry. It is my favorite iris scent I have ever smelled. I love gourmands and I love lipstick. I want to try more from this line but I’m afraid nothing can compare to the textural bliss of the smoothness of this one, and the radiant aura it possess. It also is very nice on clothing and sheets. Cannot recommend this stuff enough if you like sweet vanilla iris or iris heavy lipstick fragrances. Edit: Tried the vanilla love from this and it’s sweeter and comparable to guerlains Double Vanilla. This line is (so far) guerlain quality and I’m sad they discontinued it - although I definitely don’t mind the grey market prices! I can’t imagine anyone topping this one though... it’s in my top 5 atm

Iris Crush is simply beautiful. Powdery, cosmetic-y, lots of iris. I love the lipstick note! One of my favorite fragrances is Lipstick Rose but I think I like this better. (I wish I could compare it Lipstick On, but even the samples of that are eye-wateringly expensive.) This is airy and feminine with a sophisticated edge, like if a lavender unicorn was also somehow the youngest partner at a law firm. She's cool, composed, and she has the most glorious mane in the office. Probably the only mane actually The performance of Iris Crush is unfortunately a bit on the soft side. It lasts maybe 3-4 hours, and radiates about 12-18 inches. I wish it had more oomph, I'm going through my bottle quickly. But I'm a hopeless oversprayer so take this with a grain of salt. Also, the name. It's a tongue-twister. I've given up trying to say it. Whenever I do say it out loud I wind up saying "Irish Crush" and that, well that's another website entirely. Overall though, Iris Crush is a 9/10 ------ ETA: Woo hoo! I found a sample of Lipstick On. I'd say Iris Crush and Lipstick On are very similar, more than 90% the same. So if you're a fan of Lipstick On, give Iris Crush a try. It's a very solid substitute.

I had so much faith in this fragrance and in the end my hopes were not in vain and all the good things I believed about it were fulfilled, a fabulous scent of cosmetic iris in the most feminine way with a powdery drydown but nothing intrusive, and for those who have doubts if it is similar to Lipstick On let me tell you that it is, I could risk to say that it is the best dupe of LO, only that Iris Crush is a little bit sweeter, fresh floral, less creamy, vanilla and warm. If you ask me the big difference I feel between the two is that in IC we have a carrot iris from beginning to end but still, the cosmetic/makeup sensation prevails totally in the life of the fragrance, of the whole Seduction collection I would say (so to speak) that this is the most complex, abstract and unique scent in terms of composition. Its durability and projection are good to fair. Undoubtedly the best of the bunch. You might like: Lipstick On MMM, Silver Iris Atelier Cologne, 1889 Moulin Rouge Histoires de Parfumm, Lipstick Fever Juliette Has a Gun & La Vie Est Belle Iris Absolu Lancôme