Irises

People with taste wax real lyrical about TRNP, so I got FOMO. It sounds like just my kind of jam, as a house: female nose, all-naturals, premium ingredients, arty-hippie worldview. Perhaps, I thought, just like Olympic Orchids or Annette Neuffer, this might be a label I could happily spend the hard-earned on and be so convinced by the organic integrity that I'd forget the steep pricing. And a real orris-heavy iris-themed scent? Surely a done deal for me, eternal iris-hunter. But now my fear of missing out has turned to FOWAIM - fear of 'what am I missing here?' Make no mistake: this is a very charming, winning, femme scent indeed. On initial spray it's heavenly, with a zing of delicious citrus somehow married to the premium, authentic, dusty papery-books aura of gorgeous real orris. Beautifully balanced to be not too sweet, too powdery, or too icy: a real upscale trip. Yet it seemed to morph into something far less original, disappointingly quickly. It melted to a more anonymous - though gorgeous- sort of lotion. Something nagged and nagged at me and I couldn't think what it was - until I compared it to my other heavily-discounted second-hand TRNP experiment, the dregs of a small bottle of Blue Lotus, and memories of small samples of Wildii and East Motif Fleuri, my favourites so far. And I realised - it's all in the base. Something in every Teone formula I've tested seems to use a (classy, natural, upscale, yada yada yada) form of vanilla that overpowers my nose. It's nuanced and kind and soft but lands on me as too soapy-shampoo-ey for comfort - and overwhelms the other ingredients, whatever the rest of the scent. And while it shares that gentle, good-for-the-planet luxury character of all TRNPs, Irises also shares their terrifying price and rather weak longevity, fading down fast to just a sweet lulling whisper on my skin within 4-5 hours. Now the notes list doesn't even MENTION vanilla. Perhaps it isn't there at all, and my nose has been ruined by so many brutal industrially-brewed synthetics that I don't even recognise real smells any more. But this is an expensive way to be confused! If you have unlimited budget and are hardcore married to the all-naturals agenda, do have at it. But I think I might have to admit defeat, and retire hurt (and a little baffled): TRNP is great on paper, but simply does not work for me. All of her works are great in the abstract, but in the real world, I just can't enjoy them ENOUGH to make the tradeoff. Don't let this put you off, but TRNP is for serious fans with serious money, and not for blind buying.

Oh my goodness, that opening makes my knees weak. Bright and juicy! Perhaps the bergamot and violets? Slowly transitions into a woody, carroty orris root and lipsticky iris. Just lovely. The drydown is creamy and lush. I'm picking up some pineapple here. It's smooth and clean and I want to smell like this all the time. Addictive.

From this I take a fat and dense gaggiolo root, bright citrus, green with violet leaves, with strong doses of jasmine. All on an infinite warm, amber base, with patchouli, oak moss and the ubiquitous cream of sandalwood with a vintage 80s touch that borders on gourmand. It never dries completely, and on my skin it has a thick, moist texture most of the time. Fully feminine, strong, very sweet and welcoming, straight without big surprises and with a tenacity that lasts all day and weeks on clothes. Sweet Gain.

This is art. Irises has me in a virtual reality of kneeling in dappled light to photograph the pearly shimmer of backlit cobalt blue irises. I'm not only inhaling the beautiful fragrance of the irises but the green of their leaves and the earth beneath my knees as well. Is there a patch of violet leaves close by? Irises is delicate but not shy. This is the fragrance of a garden in its prime, not of pressed flowers between the pages of a book. Irises blooms and blesses for hours but the opening is so gorgeous I spray it when I need a little trip to garden heaven. It receives load of compliments from men and women alike. Elegant and exquisite.

The most unique iris fragrance I’ve ever smelled; a real weird one, the iris is almost rubbery at times, I like it!