Irisqué

"Powdery" is listed as the #1 accord here, which I disagree with... if there's powder here it's the powdered sugar on a turkish delight, plus, obviously iris/orris, if you consider that dewy spring flower and that rich, gooey, earthy root to be "powder" scents, which they are classically categorized as. It's also giving a bit of spiced apple cider, but make it orris, floral, and dry/earthy. It's the rich, dark, expensive lipstick scent of my dreams. This is an irresistible femme fatale in velvet, but you can take her to brunch with your girlfriends and no one would feel out of place, because she's charming and affable. Day or night, just gorgeous. It's perfectly iris-floral-fresh, aromatic-orris-spice, and earthy/round/oily like vetiver. A masterpiece. This is the fragrance that taught me I'm a fiend for high quality real-deal orris root. It's my favorite orris fragrance, my second rn being Iris Cendré. My ONLY gripe is longevity. Even on fabric it lasts only a couple days (I'm a bloodhound, and can detect most scents on clothes weeks, if not months later). I like to spray this heavily on my oversized black cashmere cardigan (thx Quince), and it's only detectable up to 6 days, tops. Oooh, also worth mentioning, while this works perfectly with my chemistry, my mom tried it and said it was "too old lady" on her.

Today, a friend here sent me a lot of samples which I have been applying on every spare part of my body, so I probably smell like I belong in a bordello right now. 😂 And while I like/love so many of them, this stands out above the rest, or at least of those I've tried so far. This has to be one of the sexiest fragrances I've ever smelled. It is drop dead gorgeous. The orris doesn't read like orris, but like iris, and it is front, and center and so sensuous and tactile, I can almost feel the velvety soft iris flowers. The musk has that human skin quality from the ambrette that I adore, like baby skin, and all is grounded with carrot seed and oud. I normally don't like those notes as they are usually way overdone, but here they have been so judiciously used that it doesn't even read like those notes, but just adds this earthiness that grounds the composition and keeps it from floating away. Best yet, no vanilla anywhere in sight. I don't mind vanilla used with iris perfumes, but does every iris perfume hitting the market have to have it in it? Really? Charma shows us it doesn't, so perfumers shouldn't be afraid to change it up from time to time. Thank you, my dear friend, for sending me this. But oh, you are going to make me broke, as no 3ml. from Providence is going to do. I need a bottle of this.

Irisqué is my first iris dominant fragrance. It is unisex and can be worn year-round. I find it comforting and relaxing to wear. It is powdery with light musk in the base. It is not overpowering and is mostly intimate with regards to projection. Overall, a clean and calming scent that is ideal to wear for dressing up during the daytime. Irisqué goes perfectly with a new, crisp dress shirt. Clean sophistication. Score: 8.5 out of 10 Would I purchase a replacement bottle? TBD, need to wear more.

Something about this reminds me of Erawan by Dusita. I smell tobacco, hay, tea and musk. And I think only one of those is listed in the note pyramid. So who knows. Initially I didn’t think it was too musky but I think I’m revising that opinion as the musk seems to become more prominent as the day wears on and I kept getting whiffs of it throughout the day. Also the longevity was pretty good for an all natural. I put it on before work and still smell it now that I’m home although I have to kind of press my nose to my arm. I think a lot of people would enjoy this so hopefully it gets more recognition. I’m on the fence about a fb so I’ll finish up my sample and decide then. Edit: I love it and bought a fb. Something about it is very comforting. It is very different from other Iris fragrances so I can see being taken aback when first smelling it. But after smelling hundreds of scents it’s nice to smell something truly unique.

this one has a weird opening for me-it's very rooty and kind of animalic at first. i guess it's orris/carrot seed. it's very earthy and musky. then the musk turns softer and it gets quite gorgeous. still kind of earthy but more iris/musk facets come out rather than orris/carrot. almost kind of smells like tea, maybe an oolong. really soft and pretty, and hard for me to describe! but it's unlike any iris i've tried.