Cèdre & Iris Soyeux 100BON 2017

Candied orange in sugar water? It starts off powerfully sweet, before a rough, nutty (vetiver!) undertone quickly provides relief. The abundant sweetness is likely primarily due to the tonka bean mentioned on the manufacturer's website. Only very slowly does a powdery-carrot-like iris manage to make its presence known. In the meantime, I smile at a distant cola note; I think there's some combination of tobacco and sweet smoke behind it, which briefly reminds me of Malbrum's Bengal Tiger, before a strong dose of cream finishes the picture. A fine cream: not too sweet, well-ventilated, leaning more towards wood than iris, since the latter is known to be on a carrot-powdery trail. A hint of bitterness has also remained in the blend, that kind of bitter-sweetness that would have led me to guess myrrh instead of incense - and which fits with the cola thought from above.

But the star is the wood, so the name of the fragrance points in the right direction. The catch is: If it's possible to enhance synthetic wood with the addition of iris, it should work even better with natural wood. And indeed, the refinement of the noble delivers a respectable result.

Unfortunately, this good impression is slightly clouded late in the morning by a slight plastic note. It's a shame, as the powdery iris theme may have been a bit overdone. It also seems to me that vanilla is in play today, and in natural fragrances, it tends to have such an impact - which in this case also clarifies that the active scent progression is over. And indeed, not much happens after noon. The additions to the (skin)-creamy-woody foundation, primarily smoke and a certain tobacco bitterness for my part, are at best mere accompaniments.

Conclusion: Refinement of the noble or not - I find the fragrance merely quite nice, but it doesn't blow me away. Gradually, I have the feeling that the brand overall is a bit cream-heavy.

I thank Bellemorte for the sample.