The Different Company Bois d'Iris

Notes: iris, vetiver, bergamot, cedar wood, narcissus, geranium, musk

When I requested suggestions for iris scents to test, Jean-Claude Ellena's Bois d'Iris was one of the recommendations. A lovely POLer sent me a generous sample to try (along with a few others).

I like this one very much, but to my nose, iris is a minor player. The cool rootiness is there, especially at first, but it soon becomes wrapped in a warm blanket of sweet powder (a tad violety) seasoned with spicy geranium. Underlying the powder is a soft woodsiness, as if someone mixed a bit of cedar into a bottle of baby lotion. Weirdly, the combination is almost incense-like. It's rather cozy and comforting, something I really don't expect from an iris fragrance.