A light dusting of snow on the ground this morning reminded me that yes, we're deep in mid-winter. If you love iris, this is when you can wear the richest and darkest irises in your collection. I've picked my five favorites for cold weather, and do add your own in the comments! And if you missed them, do see my list of iris picks for summer and iris picks for fall. The spring post is coming up in April, and then I'll move on to a year of vetiver.
Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist: Arguably the queen of iris perfumes. Serge Lutens describes Iris Silver Mist as an iris fragrance for summer, and likens it to the smell of white linen. Perhaps, but the vegetal / earthy notes can be hard going in a heat wave. If you're not sure how much you like the smell of turnip roots, just harvested and still heavy with soil, better to try it now, in the cold. I probably wear it most in spring and fall, but there's something lovely, and comforting, about its cold veil of iris on a bleak winter day. (If Iris Silver Mist is too much root vegetable for you, the alternative might be Xerjoff Irisss, but you'll pay dearly for the substitution.)
Van Cleef & Arpels Bois d'Iris: A spicy / woody (slightly charred driftwood) iris with plenty of vanilla and creamy powder, Bois d'Iris is one of few fragrances I really do segregate pretty strictly to cold-weather wear. In January and February, the vanilla seems just right. By early May, it's already too sweet.
Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena: Iris, spices, vetiver, woody leather and a touch of incense — this one isn't quite as heavy as it sounds, but it isn't Infusion d'Iris either, and while all of today's picks could be easily worn by women or men, Iris Nazarena is probably the closest of the five to masculine.
The Different Company Bois d'Iris: It's sheer enough that you could wear it year round, but earthy enough to stand up to a decent chill, and when you've been cooped up indoors for days, the suggestion of freshly-turned soil is a lovely reminder that spring is bound to come eventually.
Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile: I adored the original Eau de Toilette version of Iris Nobile, and it would have easily made my spring or summer list. It's gone, and while I don't love the newer (and very different) Eau de Parfum version, many people do, and now is the best time to wear it. The chypre base, with patchouli and moss, is modern rather than heavily mossy, but it's deep and warm enough to hold its own through the worst of winter. (An alternative for a warm, dusky iris would be Ormonde Jayne's Orris Noir.)
Your picks?
Note: top image is iris [black background extended] by zenbikescience at flickr; some rights reserved.
I sort of feel bad for naming this beauty because it is very, very tragically discontinued… Iris Ganache.
Chocolate and iris, who can resist?
I can, LOL! Sadly, it is one of few iris perfumes I hated (the Le Labo is another). I know many people loved it though! And certainly it is more of a winter than a summer iris.
Haha! 😛
It can tend to get quite overwhelming.
Funny story about another “meaty” iris – La Vie Est Belle.
One day last winter I decided to wear it, thinking the cold might actually “tame the beast” and become this fluffy, comforting gourmand. Guess what? Bad move. At this time and age, we actually have something called heaters and nobody would open windows during this season. It swallowed me and everyone else alive…
La Vie Est Belle is not going to make my seasonal group of 20, I don’t think 😉
La Vie est Belle can definitely suck all the air out of a room.
I agree that Iris Ganache is a good winter Iris since it is so rich
that was the ONLY iris fragrance I ever liked.
So interesting that you get sweetness in Bois d’Iris, because I never have (due to different skin chemistry, no doubt), which may be part of why I can wear it at most times of the year. I’m going to wear again soon and see if I can find that sweetness.
I am not alone — many people complain that it is too sweet — but I am serious that it doesn’t strike me that way unless I wear it in the heat.
I don’t find it sweet, either. But I have never worn it when it’s very warm, that could be the reason.
I love those iris posts and the first four are definitely on my list – I must retry Aqua di Parma, I don’t remember much about it.
My favourite times to wear ISM are november and very early spring (early Estonian spring would still look like winter for most people). Iris Nazarena has turned out to be one of my most-worn iris perfumes year round, rivalling Rue Cambon, the best iris blend ever. I absolutely love it and the transparent quality makes it very easy to wear, at least for me.
I know I sound like a broken record, but I think Iris Cendre is the perfect winter iris. It’s not rich, exactly, but the smoke and vegetal quality of the iris just work so well with both snow and cold winter rain.
I’m also very curious about the new Ormonde Jayne iris. And looking forward to your vetiver posts, it’s another note I adore.
I probably dislike the Iris Nobile all the more because I so loved the version they discontinued.
I am curious about the new Ormonde Jayne, and the Iris Cendre — still have not tried either!
Robin,
I have all five of the Irises you mention and I would rate my preferences in the exact order you listed. I could also add another one to the list…Naomi Goodsir’s Iris Cendre. I also agree with you opinion of Iris Nobile.
Nice! I should make you write the spring list then 😉
Robin, you do a fantastic job!
Thank you, that’s kind.
I seldom wear iris/orris these days, it’s just not my thing right now. But I can see the charm of wearing it in the winter. There is just something about the note that brings snow, chill and winter landscapes to mind. Especially Iris Silver Mist, it’s there in the name even! That cold and slightly forbidding iris really suits winter somehow. It is a bit too carroty on me though, so I might need to try a sample of Irisss. 😉
On the other end of the iris frag spectrum is Dior Homme Intense. I find that iris to be warm and aromatic and suitable to winter because of that. DHI is warmth where ISM is chill.
I don’t have 5 irises that I love or admire right now so those two will have to do.
I am so behind on all the flankers and reformulations of Dior Homme, which is too bad because I probably would have included some version of it on this list even though I never loved the original when it came out.
The current DHI is really nice so I definitely thing you should try it! Perfectly unisex too! I like Dior Homme too but it’s not a love, I much prefer the Intense.
I love love love DHI.
I’ve been wearing Apres l’Ondee to bed this week and really noticing the iris in it. I feel like in warm weather I notice the heliotrope more.
I’ve come to love it in winter, too.
I love this series, and can barely wait for the vetiver one!
Vetiver will be fun!
I LOVE lists!And I LOVE Iris perfumes even more!Nothing to add,your list is perfection!And it doesn’t happen very often that I have all the perfumes mentioned on a list!Lol!My favorite will always be ISM though.
ISM is the bomb 🙂
Bois d’Iris is wonderful for me somedays and too sweet others. You’ve just explained to me why!
I’ve been wearing a lot of Iris Cendre lately.
I really need to get my hands on Iris Cendre.
I’d be happy to send my sample your way, Robin.
Really? I might have to take you up on that.
Please do! Just shoot me an email: harukirumi at yahh who etc
Chanel 19 Poudre, for sure. But maybe you can help me with something: I’ve yet to sample any Serges Luten scents yet. Would you suggest starting with the Iris or with La Fille de Berlin? All of them sound so alluring in their own way, and I am unsure where to start!
I would start, personally, with the old school stuff: Feminite, Tubereuse Criminelle, Iris Silver Mist, Ambre Sultan, Un Lys, etc. I’d pick a date (around 2000, maybe?) and start working on everything before that. Then I’d move on to newer stuff. But that’s just the way my brain works.
I can’t think of two from SL more different from each other than ISM and La Fille de Berlin. I love the latter, but think it’s uncharacteristic of much is the line and a lot of people seem not so into it. To me it’s a bright, jammy, rose. ISM is very root-y and cold and powerful. I agree with Robin that it’s good for winter, whereas LFB is more spring and summer. But they are so different! For a winter-y SL rose, try Rose de Nuit. It’s a little funky and beautiful.
Meant Serge Lutens…
I suppose Annick Goutal Mon Parfum Cheri par Camille (did I get that name right?) is more of a plum/patchouli/iris blend than an iris perfume, but its definitely my favorite iris for winter. So rich and warm.
If you did not get it right, I am none the wiser 🙂
That’s a good choice!
I’ve been enjoying the dusting of silvery iris in Heure Exquise of late, which is also rich and warm.
I’m totally with you for Iris Nazarena and VC&A Bois d’Iris. On the other hand Iris Silver Mist is my nemesis iris, haha.
Other irises I enjoy in colder weather include SHL Khol de Bahrein, Atelier Cologne Silver Iris and Gabriela Chieffo Lye. Does Parfum d’Empire Cuir Ottoman count? 😉
If I can count Iris Nazarena, surely you can count Cuir Ottoman 🙂
Lucas, what season would Shermine suit?
Autumn or Winter I think with its enveloping furry character
Oh, I SO wanted to love Khol de Bahrein. And I did, for the first hour or so? Then it just turned too masculine on me. But WOW, that first hour!
I would wear FM Iris Poudrée in winter – it’s got a nice richness, almost ambery
Hiris is a lovely but strictly early spring scent for me – cool damp earth
I’m going to try nomenclature iri_del in the summer. I think the dry peppery quality will work well in the heat
(and boy, I really hated the Le Labo iris, too!)
I’ve got IP and Hiris penciled in for my spring list! One of the fun things about doing these seasonal posts is seeing how differently we all see the same fragrances.
Iri-del opened with a nice Iris on me and then rapidly turned into flat boring cardboard. Don’t think it will work on me in ANY season
I always find iris to be a cool note, so the only one I ever reach for in cold weather is AG Heure Exquise. However, I’d never actually thought of Heure Exquise as iris before I saw it on an iris list at some point. Plenty of warm sandalwood makes it the down duvet version of iris.
I could also wear the Legendary Fragrances recreation of Iris Gris, which is a plush perfume warmed up by peach and whatever the base is. And I agree with Bastet that AG Mon Parfum Cherie par Camille is a possibility, but I think it’s best for fall.
Did you try the DSH re-do of Iris Gris? I did not love it and from descriptions I’ve read, not sure I’d love the original either.
Yay for iris, It has become one of my favorite notes (along with Vetiver, so looking forward to that). Thanks for this great post, as somehow I haven’t tried any of these besides ISM. Must rectify!
I am really loving OJ’s Vanille d’Iris. Iris really jumps out on me, and it reminds me a lot of 28 La Pausa…at least what I wish La Pausa was. It has the same vibe as La Pausa but actually lasts more than a nanosecond.
I really have to try the OJ!
Oye! “at least what I wish La Pausa was. It has the same vibe as La Pausa but actually lasts more than a nanosecond.”
Leming. Born.
Robin, after vetiver, you should do a list of favorite iris/vetiver perfumes (fumes with both notes).
No joke!
Loving these mini-best-ofs by season and note, by the way.
Offhand, can’t think of any that *really* make me think of both notes, though, even though there are plenty that do use both.
In Chanel No 19 EDP iris an vetiver are both very legible.
Good one, although I do think of it as an iris. But now name another!
What about Dzongkha? I’ve always thought of it as iris vetiver, with some incense. One of my favourite any time irisses. Love this post, and love many of the irisses mentioned. Thank you.
Interesting. I know it has vetiver but it never makes me thing of vetiver when I’m wearing it. I think I am just the wrong person to come up with that list!
That’s hilarious, because No 19 is exactly what I was thinking of! But in edt.
For years, I thought I loved it for the iris, then I tried Sycomore and understood No 19 in an entirely new way. Now I’m thinking that it’s the vetiver/iris combo that has me walking around with my wrist glued to my nose.
Great choices. I am a huge iris fan and wear them all year long: Bois d’Iris, Iris Nazarena, ISM, Silver Iris, Iris Ganache, Iris Poudre. I tried Iris Cendre and it was nearly identical on me to ISM so I didn’t purchase. The lovely hajuusuri just sent me a sample of the OJ Iris Vanille which I will be trying this weekend. OJ’s previous scent Orris Noir was pleasant but I did not feel moved to purchase.
With you on the Orris Noir. Strangely, I got almost no iris from that one.
I never fell in love with Orris Noir either.
There’s an iris for every season! My favorite winter iris perfumes were on your fall list, Robin: Prada Infusion d’Iris absolue and Byredo 1996.
Forgot those two – excellent ones.
I would definitely peg 1996 as winter (though I’m sure I wear all my ‘winter’ scents in fall too).
Van c&a Boid d’iris is too sweet and rich on me – so 1996 is my warm winter iris!
Wonderful list, Robin. I have never tried the Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile EDT and I 100% agree with the other 4. Chanel No. 19 EDP is so versatile I would include it as one of my five winter irises!
The EdT was orange blossom as much as iris. Plus, lots of anise. I bought it pretty quickly 🙂
A reviewer on Fragrantica commented that TDC Bois d’Iris smells more like geranium to her, and after comparing it to Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon, I have to say that the geranium in it is at least as strong as the iris. Though I generally like geranium, I do find it a little too prominent in BdI – my nose tends to over-focus on it?
And, was thinking the new JM Orris&Sandalwood might make a nice Autumn/Winter iris! I find it more aromatic and austere than the name might suggest, and quite elegant…
The geranium is strong. I like it, but can see why someone might not.
My year round favorite iris is Atelier Silver Iris. Love, love, love it!
A sample broke in my cosmetic bag and it was heavenly 😉
Nice! I usually break the wrong sample in the wrong place, LOL…