I’m pretty sure that I’ve said in the past that there can’t be too many variations on iris. The perfume industry seems determined to prove me wrong this year: iris fragrances are suddenly everywhere. I am sticking to my guns, but only partially: there can be too many too fast. Iris Pallida 2007, the newest entry in L’Artisan Parfumeur’s limited edition vintage harvest series, is by my calculation the most expensive of the lot.
Iris Pallida was developed by perfumer Anne Flipo, who also did the two prior scents in the Harvest series (Fleur d’Oranger 2005 and Fleur de Narcisse 2006). The notes include lily of the valley, orange blossom, Turkish rose, anise, violet leaves, cedar, vetiver, iris absolute, ambrette seed, white musk, gaïac wood and patchouli. It starts with bright citrus and floral notes…