Iris Palladium

It has been a strange day in regards to trying out new fragrances and establishing new reviews. I received a fresh new mystery box thanks to Sebastian i.e. The perfume guy. Thank you Sebastian! It's the first fragrance sample I saw and the first one I tried on. Now. What do I think about it? I think we can all agree Iris is in. Aside from sparkling aldehyde, Iris has popped up in many new releases. It is done very well here while still maintaining the DNA structure of the LEP brand. It is indeed a silky iris, and I can easily imagine a metaphorical scarf wrapped around one's neck, blowing in the wind during a warm Spring afternoon. The softness of the fragrance is present. What I am not getting is the metallic factor. It must be some sort of artistic metaphor once again. I am also not getting any longevity! I hate saying that because I feel like it's almost a death sentence. I do not want to spend over $200 on a fragrance I think is really special and come to find out it has the same longevity as the fragrance I purchased for my mom at Nordstrom. Not to say everything from the department store is bad, but if I went through the effort, I was trying to find something unique and I want it to last. Especially for the price. I sprayed it again and I reminded myself how nice the opening really is. I think they are onto something, but I only wish the top notes stayed with the fragrance for its entirety. Going back to what I said before, it's difficult to put into words how I feel about Iris Palladium. If I had to force something out, I would say it is unfinished, but distinctive and beautiful enough to purchase a full bottle. The 50 mL is $150 and the 100 mL is $220. I think it is worth that amount. Do I think it is worth $380 like the new amouage? No I don't, but I don't think Love Delight was either. I think if you are already a fan of Iris, you are going to break the doors down trying to get this. I'm not the biggest fan of Iris, so take what I say with a grain of salt as I’m not as enthusiastic as other people or as you may have hoped for me to be. I do think this is the best Iris I have smelled so far. How about that!

Oh, I'm so glad to have been led to this one. Never would've tried it on my own because I had some vague idea in my head about not loving iris fragrances (they seemed to go quite sharp on my skin). But when I was in a small shop in Portugal, the woman working there pulled this one for me, after I hadn't been very into the few I had tried beforehand. "Trust me," she said. "Ignore the name." So glad I did. There is definitely purple floral energy happening in this fragrance, but it's rounded out by this delicious essence of cardamom, vanilla, and wood. I also loved that absolutely nothing in my 50+ collection of perfumes smelled anything remotely like it. I noticed some nods to Gris Charnel in the comments, but it's been a long time since I sampled that, so I can't say how similar they are (only that I wasn't too drawn in by GC). Anyway, an unlikely find that I instantly got a full bottle of.

Opens up with a majestic and gorgeous cardamom note giving warmth and spiciness to the scent. Soon enough lavender adds an aromatic, floral vibe along with a slight touch of green nuances by the cilantro. The opening is so addictive and you can tell right away that it’s so perfectly blended with high quality ingredients. In the mid Iris and Violet work perfectly together giving the scent a gorgeous powdery, earthy & floral vibe with a faint touch of sweetness. Mugwort adds green and bitter nuances. In the base cedar wood, sandalwood & vanilla create a wonderful woody & creamy combo. Finally amber & benzoin give warmth along with some balsamic touches. I’m really in love with this scent, it’s a very unique take on Iris and definitely signature scent worthy! It’s pretty versatile to wear formally & casually, inoffensive, office safe and unisex. Ig fragrancesguru

A beautiful soft scent with notes of iris, sandalwood and amber. Even if its woody it pulls quite fresh for what it is. Dries down to a powdery sandalwood. It got the same DNA as Gris charnel and Nice Emarati Antique but this is even better with a more prominent iris note. This is a scent that whispers, nothing loud about it and lasts about 6 hours. I really wish it lasted a bit longer, maybe maceration will make it better. 8/10

I didn't think I was going to enjoy this one b/c I'm not a big iris note fan. but, this one smells really great to me. Overall, it smells a little aromatic and a little soapy clean on my skin yet also soft and alluring. Absolutely gorgeous scent in my opinion and worth the price.