Black Iris Women

Mama mia this is Stunning!!! Where has this been hiding all my life? I'm upset that l havent been wearing it for years. I've never even heard anyone mention it before. I saw it in my perfume suggestions on ebay. I immediately took interest in the bottle design its beautiful and looks like a £300 perfume bottle. I saw the word iris first and was like "sold" then saw black and thought oooh this must be a super potent dark purple or rare black variety of iris from China or Japan or something, I love powdery scents so had to jump on here to read about it and the reviews which intrigued me. It arrived today, oh my actual goodness l was floored by its scent. It's black grape bubblegum thats the tuberose singing LOUD with a nice tea scent and a tinge of vanilla musk that's not the dominating note for a change! The iris is faint though, the tuberose is flattening it but it doesn't matter and the other florals make this just gorgeous! It's nuclear beastmode strong too l could smell it inside its box inside the bubble wrapping and sealed box the postman handed me. It's true what another person said previously that one spray fills a room. I would even go as far as saying its more concentrated and beastmode than Kenzo Jungle not by much though only a bit. I sprayed it on my hand the whole bedroom filled with its scent and l went and bathed and it was still on my hand A stunning fragrance that l should dislike because l hate sweet syrup bubblegummy fragrances. But l love this one, it's so unique to anything else I've smelled. Bravo Ebay. (I'm already obsessed and can see where this is heading, I've got 3 the other Shanghai Tang fragrances in my online basket awaiting payday). I already bought oriental pearl and gold lily after writing this review l cant wait to smell them too. I'm getting more of this one that's for sure but its almost impossible to find. I've only found one seller on the entire Internet and thats who l got mine from, if he sells out that's my re-stocking plans scuppered! I give it a 9/10 it would get a 10 if the iris was stronger and it was powdery. My cat who coincidentally is Chinese named Bao also went nuts for this, he gets so bored by the constant stream of fragrances in this home l do bombard his powerful little nose bless him. But he was taking a good old sniff of this and licking his lips as if I was dangling freshly cooked chicken infront of him, and he likes Dior perfumes. Myself and Bao give it a 9/10. 😹

A completely fascinating perfume. Tenacious, unique, a little linear but very cool nonetheless. --- So, there is an iris variety (Pallida Variegata sp.) that smells like grapes. Specifically methyl anthranilate. This perfume is a crazy, amped up fantasy version of it. --- Imagine Fracas, with it's creamy tuberose and grapey character. Turn up the grape by 10x and layer heavily with Bulgari Man in Black. You know that crazy black pepper opening that lasts for five minutes? Here we are again, but layered over very grapey Fracas. The funny thing is, it's an oddly compelling combination. It's not particularly gendered, and a guy would smell great in it. The sweet amber base is tempered by the peppery tea/lemon notes, both of which actually last. Can be picked up for mere pennies, smells like an expensive designer. Great buy, cool addition to any fragrance wardrobe!

Black Iris is a lovely unique fragrance that is full of character. It is a very sharp musk and white floral, namely jasmine. This perfume gives the impression of a stark, clean, sharp, starched, stiff, white linen shirt with light blue denim. I wear it all year long and the performance is amazing. This lasts all day. Must have an appreciation for a dry, bright, sharp, unsweetened perfume. This perfume is mood enhancing and brings a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. I have been wearing Black Iris in temperatures 60F-85F. Can't wait to try it in summer. Gorgeous and unexpected. There is nothing black about this perfume. A more fitting name would be "White Jasmine". Whatever the name, Black Iris in one of my most valued perfume.

Shanghai Tang Black Iris is an unexpected gem. Intoxicating citrus floral with the combination of lemon and tea manifesting strong on my skin in the opening. This has a similar vibe to my sample of Mon Amie La Rose Parfum de Rosine which also has bergamot and white tea in its composition. Drydown is slightly bubblegummy due to the tuberose and I could definitely smell the iris in here on and off, although this is not powdery on me. Longevity is really good at 6 hours compared to Rosine which fizzles out after 2 hours. I agree this could be adrogynous and will be great for white floral lovers.

This is the most elegant fragrance in my collection and something a stunning Chinese Auntie would wear (IYKYK). It's alluring with no trace of profanity, commanding, and yet simply endearing with no harsh edges and not overly mature. Mostly white flowers and tea but smells like what I associate with the prettiest shade of purple. It does offer some grape gummy/jelly note, and yeah, us Chinese Aunties always have candies at the bottom of our handbags--so this 100% tracks. How Carlos Benaim nailed this, I am astonished.

On my first encounter this fragrance smelled like a steeped Lipton tea bag- in the BEST way. Tea, tuberose (more green than bubblegum but yet the scent is sweet), orange and lemon - all in a sparkly way. To me the scent is effervescent. This is literally a refreshing perfume that lasts a very long time in a big way. I picture someone at the Kentucky Derby with a fantastic wide brim (almost church like) hat wearing this perfume- social, classy, a sunny day, and well put together.

This fragrance is probably for a more mature taste. It has a deep, dark and mysterious element to it. I would say it is a heavy oriental floral. Very rich and nicely blended. It would be nice as an evening dinner fragrance. Black Iris does best in cooler weather. I think it's too heavy for warm days.

Every time I wear this perfume, I get compliments on how lovely my "gardenia" perfume smells. I don't see it in the notes but, gardenia is what strangers have told me they smell. Longevity and silage are amazing.

The note that stands out the most to me is not Iris (which I was hoping for and expected with a name like that), but tuberose. I'm still not too disappointed because I love that note too. Also, contrary to the name, there is nothing black here. When I see a perfume with the word “black” in the title, I think of a sexy, sultry fragrance, best worn at night. But that's not the case. While you could wear this at night, personally I think it is more day wear and something I could get away with wearing at the office. There is a chilliness to this fragrance due to a minty note, maybe from Amyl Salicylate, and something I've smelled in other tuberose perfumes that I don't normally gravitate toward. Here it blends in very nicely with the citrus, tea, jasmine, and tuberose. While that note doesn't last throughout the life of the fragrance, it does help offset the initial heaviness of the floral notes keeping them airy, fresh, and light. The orange blossom adds a subtle bit of spice, but I am barely picking up the iris because it is overpowered by the musk and vanilla in the base. Despite that disappointment, I still like this. Wearable year round, it was especially nice on a hot day. That citrusy minty component was actually very refreshing, and something I didn't expect to like half as much as I did. Like all the Shanghai Tangs I've tried, this performs excellently with good soft silage and great longevity. So, even though I'm not head over heels for it, I do like it and enjoy wearing it.

This was a blind buy for me. From the notes, I was expecting a well-rounded, fluffy-musked fragrance with a bit of tea. On me, however, this smells like grape soda. I like it, though. Other reviews mention that the iris isn't present. I get the iris, but it's an interpretation of the purple iris, which does have a grapey scent. My mother grows it and I've always loved the smell. This isn't that, but it's a good enough approximation that I was able to figure out where Shanghai Tang was going with this perfume. First initial blast - powdery grape soda 10 minutes in - florals come forward and mingle with the grapes Dry-down - all powder and musk, the grape-tinged iris has fallen to the backdrop It's kind of weird, but I like it!

This is a fantastic fragrance to experience. It is powerful but calming. I find it quite joyful really. The combination of tea and jasmine is like standing over an open container of fine jasmine green tea. It is sophisticated but not in a complex way. The biggest drawback I am finding is that it is really strong! Just one spray fills up a room. And the sprayer really puts out the juice. No holding back on this one. I was afraid the white florals would be too feminine, but I find it to be perfectly unisex.

I re-homed my bottle when downsizing my collection. Every now and then I keep asking myself, why? I think I had a few similar fragrances at that time... I’d like to say, if Shanghai Tang people used a nicer box (like Xerjoff or Merchant of Venice) and charged close to $200 or more for a bottle, this would easily passed for niche...

Reminds me of Avon's Rare Platinium sort of, just a higher-end more well rounded version in a white floral direction. If their Orchid is a sharper chic of intelligence, this is a day-or-night lingering presence of authority.... weird, I know.

This is a definite no for me. I was expecting a fragrance with the pleasant powdery smell of iris and all I perceive is a super strong and pungent note of gardenia. There is no stated gardenia among the notes of the fragrance, perhaps it is the way and amount in which the tuberose was worked. For lovers of white florals in which the note of nardos is the protagonist, Black Iris should be considered a master piece, it is a fragrance with an amazing duration and sillage that immediately imposes its presence when you arrive at a place. I was able to use the fragrance only once and received many compliments, but I felt uncomfortable and overwhelmed with the smell, a friend compared it to Michael Kors, fragrance that I can’t enjoy either. However I love L'Interdit, one of my favorite perfumes and with which I do not consider that Black Iris has any resemblance.

Black Iris is a very impressive tuberose, but is too much for me! As several people before have mentioned, it smells like grape soda. This aspect is what ultimately made me give away my bottle of L'Interdit -- a much lower-key scent than Black Iris. While both Black Iris and L'Interdit definitely smell good, I don't want to smell like grape soda! As Black Iris dries down, it actually reminds me quite a lot of the tuberose classic, Cacharel Loulou. Loulou, though, has a drier, more powdery, violet note that somehow restrains the loudness and grape-like quality of the tuberose and makes it enjoyably wearable. So if you like Black Iris but just feel a bit overwhelmed by it, I recommend you try out Cacharel Loulou.

Despite the name, Black Iris is not very dark at all and hs only a smidge of iris. I mostly smell lemon, astringent green tea, orange blossom, and tuberose. When it's first sprayed, I catch some jasmine and iris, but they burn off quickly. The majority of the time, Black Iris is waxy tuberose and orange blossom, with a bit of dry green tea leaves sweetened by lemon oil. Deep in the drydown, I smell vanilla. It almost makes it smell like sweet lemonade under the flowers. Black Iris is very summery. Like a lot of Benaim's creations, this is elegant but not so stuffy. My only complaint is that I wish this one was as deep as Gold Lily or as rich as Spring Jasmine. As it is, Black Iris is too light for me.

Literally just opened the box this came in and WOW WOW WOW. First of all, the bottle weighs a ton — 1 pound/470 grams. It’s so substantial and luxe it could be a murder weapon in an Agatha Christie novel. The tuberose is bombastic—just a teeny spray to the wrist is plenty. Will update later. 7/27/25 I can see why this is a bit divisive. To me, it’s a gorgeous tuberose, reminiscent of Versace’s Blonde. The tea note matures the whole enterprise and makes is a bit less voluptuous than Blonde. This is the type of scent that I like to spray in the air and walk through; it’s a bit too strong if applied directly to skin.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one just yet. My initial spray of this smells peppery with pencil lead. I get a hint of sweetness but I’m going to let this one sit for a while longer instead of scrubbing it off. There is something off-putting I can’t put my finger on. It’s a love hate relationship at the moment. My 12 year old says he likes it and it smells good on me. I may give this to him as I feel it is unisex.

Bought my bottle off ebay and so happy I did. I'm lucky I have this iris masterpiece in my growing collection 💜 9/10