By Dane
I'll be honest...Le Labo's general "image" annoys me. Mixing the ingredients in front of you, putting your name on the label, and the fact that they feel the need an image at all turn me off. Given all that, I do my best to ignore it and judge the fragrance based on the fragrance, not the scheme behind it.
Iris 39, simply put, is beautiful. It starts off a bit harsh, a bit too aldehydic and soapy with an astringent lime note, but things soon get very interesting. A wet, earthy patchouli and iris accord comes up from the dust and it is nothing short of striking. A powdery synthetic violet note keeps everything from smelling too dirty. I love me a good iris fragrance, and Iris 39 fits into a special slot I didn't know I needed in my collection...a wet, dirty iris.
Iris 39 avoids all the dryness normally associated with the orris root and strikes a contrast between feminine-floral and masculine-rooty. You can almost smell the dark, damp root being pulled from the ground. The drydown maintains the integrity of the rest of the scent without veering off into a different (ie cheap) direction. The heart of the scent remains, and an animalic musk joins the team.
I'll give Le Labo this, the stopper on the bottle is surprisingly heavy and is a pleasure to hold in your hand. Hopefully they'll tame the "trendy" and keep the quality associated with their brand.
ps - Le Labo, if you're reading - lose the expiry date and the homme/femme description on your labels...its insulting.
Iris 39, simply put, is beautiful. It starts off a bit harsh, a bit too aldehydic and soapy with an astringent lime note, but things soon get very interesting. A wet, earthy patchouli and iris accord comes up from the dust and it is nothing short of striking. A powdery synthetic violet note keeps everything from smelling too dirty. I love me a good iris fragrance, and Iris 39 fits into a special slot I didn't know I needed in my collection...a wet, dirty iris.
Iris 39 avoids all the dryness normally associated with the orris root and strikes a contrast between feminine-floral and masculine-rooty. You can almost smell the dark, damp root being pulled from the ground. The drydown maintains the integrity of the rest of the scent without veering off into a different (ie cheap) direction. The heart of the scent remains, and an animalic musk joins the team.
I'll give Le Labo this, the stopper on the bottle is surprisingly heavy and is a pleasure to hold in your hand. Hopefully they'll tame the "trendy" and keep the quality associated with their brand.
ps - Le Labo, if you're reading - lose the expiry date and the homme/femme description on your labels...its insulting.
Year: 2006
Perfumer: Frank Voelkl
Notes: Iris, Lime, Patchouli, Rose, Ylang, Musk, Violet, Ginger, Cardamom, Civet
I love how....
ReplyDeleteIris, Lime, Patchouli, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Musk, Violet, Ginger, Cardamom, and Civet
can smell... so Unisex!
I have started to venture into IRIS based fragrances... yes, I do think Backwards..
Florals in WINTER?
but this fragrance is Unusual enough
that on a Cloudy Foggy Day.......
Can you guess? I live in San Francisco!
a Crisp Slightly Off-kilter Fragrance
makes sense.