L'Iris

[JUNE 2024] Proud owner of the last, final bottle in the Art Nouveau purple label from Libertine AUS. (Heavily discounted: $495 to $200 something, simply because I asked on time. Imagine that!) Nostalgic impression of milk-like Edwardian dusting powders topped on the earthy sepals of a lonely iris bouquet of which ripe green saps seep from its stems into the lightly fresh spicy neroli / geranium / sichuan pepper vasewater that cusps the truffle-esque (ambergris?) dusty-earthy roots of the iris bouquet. This vanitas / still life of an Iris bouquet from the offerings of Santa Maria Novella is gently lit under dewy, moist overcast streaks of sun. The impression is also reminiscent of cold cream that the people of yesteryear would apply to cure one's ails or brighten one's self to consumption-stricken complexion. L'Iris by Santa Maria Novella, in my opinion, is more nuanced a representation of the Belle Epoque / Art Nouveau era stylings of the time than Quatro Pizzi by Casamorati: Pizzi is not too much a gourmand in sweetness, but a waxy, androgynous tuberose amplified with coconut husk, not milk. This naturalist iris, however, and its milky-sweet sap is reminiscent of the lightly-flavourful (but perhaps somewhat pale to contemporary tastebuds) patisserie offerings of then-- humbly scented, flavoured, all natural, and of enough embellishment to please the hungry (even if the offering, once again, could be considered quite mild for our times) yet L'Iris by Santa Maria Novella is rich in the depth it has to offer for what it presents, even if it remains a still life of itself the whole way through. It projects from the area of spritz with good distance and longetivity as I was able to breathe the gentle scent of L'Iris in my afternoon excursion within the city square. There, its strength lies as a parfum. L'Iris also brings to mind an archaic beauty from the time of which it evokes: L. T. Piver's Florayme (1897?), with the descriptions of its earthy orris root note and powdery floral portraiture. I highly recommend one find a surviving batch of Florayme, compare it with L'Iris and preserve both for future owners of the next century to come. It is rare to find a perfume that captures such a transient, but important moment in art history like S. M. Novella L'Iris (the recipe for this concoction perhaps resurrected from archives long ago.) Music to accompany your perusing: Andrew Bird and Katharine Whalen's "A Woman's Life and Love." (1998) / Nellie Melba's "Songs My Mother Taught Me" (1916).

This is the first bottle I own from this house, a result of my search for fresh powdery fragrances. I loved it a lot but wasn't wowed, because it stirred up too many nostalgic feelings and memories. This isn't a pure iris petal, nor is it the root. This is an iris that stands out with its floral side, adorned with other flowers. Its companions are neroli and bitter galbanum. Even though the perfume makes its floral and powdery nature clear from the very first hit, I think it starts with a peppery-zesty kind of note and a green-bitter galbanum. There's a slight acetone vibe in this part, and I'm used to that. Whenever I smell a serious floral that isn't drowned in sweetness, the opening is always challenging, and it's the same here... I understand I need to be patient. In the mid notes, neroli and iris petal peak. A natural floral bouquet feel emerges. There's so much neroli here that I questioned for a moment whether "l'néroli" would've been a more fitting name. But towards the end, things change. Drydown....the iris petal in this scent turns into a lotion-like powder, the neroli calms down and what comes out is something perfectly clean and pure white. The best comparison I can make here is a cosmetic one: "luxury face moisturizer." I can't describe it any better than that, and I'm aware there are so many scents in this category, but this is the first thing that comes to mind. I don't mean the recent ones, and I'm not talking about cold cream either. Like your mother's luxury face cream from years ago... It's been compared to Hiris, and it doesn't resemble it at all. Hiris is more iris-focused, drier, a colder scent, while this one is a supported composition where the other clean florals are also in the foreground. The only common ground is that they both focus on the floral side of iris and they're both sweetness-free. Beyond that, they share nothing. This scent isn't supremely long-lasting but it can still hold on for 3-4 hours. The sillage though? That's a wow. Room filler! Even though the uniqueness offered for the price is limited, I was satisfied with how natural it smells, the beauty of the bottle (mine is the light-colored label), and how it feels quality. Tag(s): iris petal + neroli, floral bouquet, natural, clean, lotiony, creamy

[July 2025] As an owner of this purple-label edition perfume (L'Iris), there's a mawkish olfactory patina to all these Victorian-Edwardian recipes that also haunts Grossmith and pre-Clive Christian Crown Perfumery as "marked": for the lack of a better word, it smells nice away from one's self. Up close, 1890s-1910s Art Nouveau true-to-era perfumes have this... "soured dampness" reminiscent of mild floral decay, even offputtingly "mausoleum"/"consumption"-core which is very romantic on paper but emotionally charged (overwrought) and in the context of what settings would be best worn for such perfumes, I just find L'Iris too austere. Worn too long, it's less mother's heirloom opera coat and tbqh its vibes are giving solemn kyrie complete with strange medieval polyphonies-- transposed with Victorian parlour flourish-- that only makes sense when you remember how tied to the church such times, as this recipe from S. M. Santa Maria Novella existed, were. It's not meant to be "fun" I know, and for the time being of my winning a limited nouveau-bottle it was theoretically stimulating. But L'Iris... no matter who you are... wear this fragrance and L'Iris *will* body you like your presence temporally should not exist alongside us; alien to our living century. A walking Carrie Jacobs-Bond song. Your aura would be "marked" by L'Iris the same way a decayed Mantilla floral lace, and heirloom muslin shirts would decorate you: non-living portrait, preserved, ghosted.

L'Iris is about the composition of the 'whole' iris, together with some other notes, so I dare to say it is a well-done 'all-round' iris frag that feels very natural. What I get from the beginning to the end is orris root...but as a backbone; hence its smoothness and buttery quality along the journey. It opens with a blast of lipsticky, musky, almost musty, iris 'petal' that is, unfortunately, mistaken as synthetic musk to some people. Later when I expect iris to take the stage, the iris petal is gone; it then completely morphs into delicate green jasmine and neroli, with a tinge of rosy/geranium that perhaps adds oomph as well as a difference to the scent and with orris root in the background. Finally, I get the same pleasant fluffy sweet musk in the drydown, still together with jasmine and neroli. I remember this musk clearly because it is the same one I get from SMN Muschio that I fell in love with. L'Iris is a 'more complex' floral-based fragrance from SMN. It is for someone looking for an all-round, exquisite, natural-smelling iris scent, with other floral gimmicks, that is neither powdery nor too soapy like many other iris frags in the market.

I finally got a sample with a SMN purchase! I love iris, green and violet scents so I was very excited to try this. I'm familiar with SMN's beautiful way of making scents. They are my absolute favourite. First i get a blast of jasmine and green notes with powder that smells like jasmine incense sticks burning in London Camden Market mixed with a freshly done load of damp laundry. I also feel like I've been slapped in the face with a big white lily and covered in the pollen. Fresh cut flowers, green sap and a quite astringent. An iddybiddy smidge of neroli. The pepper is a great balance. Then it starts to mellow and that gorgeous iris starts to pop through. I'm so glad this perfume has a journey. I love Melograno because it has a journey too. L'iris is incredible! The dry down is another surprise, I can't put my finger on the aromas but it's very cozy and warm, a bit papery, spicy and incense. Slightly fruity woody and warm. Lovely. Though I find the base very annoying. Citta Di Kyoto is very similar and not so aggressive.