Iris Fauve Atelier des Ors 2017

I was kindly given the opportunity by a dear blogger friend to test a few fragrances from Atelier des Ors (thank you!), and here are my experiences with Iris Fauve:

Iris Fauve can be translated into English as Tawny Iris, and it turns out that it's mostly tawny but not much iris on my skin. Upon spraying Iris Fauve, there is a very brief glimpse of aromatic bergamot. The fragrance is then swiftly dominated by an imposing cloud of the dry, hay-like fuzzy spiciness of tonka bean and the syrupy caramel sweetness of amber, hence my association with the tawny colour.

As long as I make an effort to look through the opaque cloud of tonka and amber, yes, the iris and a few other listed notes are all there. The iris here is not the grey, rooty, haunting melancholy, nor is it the sensual, buttery tenderness that will melt one's heart, but a woody, doughy and somehow malleable chameleon that binds the other notes altogether. The warm, sweet woody spiciness of cinnamon is sprinkled on top of this iris dough like a fancy cinnamon roll, while the smoky, slightly sour faux-oud smell of cypriol and vetiver stirs in the background to add an exotic touch.

However, as a whole, these interesting interactions are largely engulfed by the massive canopy of spicy, fougere-toned tonka and caramel amber, especially in its heavy-to-moderate sillage. And there isn't any significant evolution during its 10-hour longevity. If I don't pay much attention to the details, Iris Fauve wears mostly like a smoldering, sugary spicy amber-tonka-dominated oriental fougere that has a more pronounced tobacco facette in the dry down, and I wouldn't particularly think of iris if I had not known the name. As a result, I would not recommend it as an iris fragrance in the conventional sense, but rather put it in the subcategory of sweet amber fragrances with an iris nuance such as Jacques Fath Bel Ambre and Juliette Has A Gun Calamity J, or link its tobacco dry down with tobacco-iris such as Diptyque Volutes.

A unique alluring delicate warm Iris. The scent is very unisex and would be beautiful on a man or woman IMHO. That said, some may feel the fragrance leans masculine bc it's not overly powdery or too sweet. It is posh though. Iris Fauve wafts through the air and lingers leaving a seductive trail. Truly captivating. I did purchase the 100ml - if you are aware of the House, you know how outstanding Atelier Des Ors presentation is... just stunning!

Edit: Yesterday was my first full wearing of this fragrance and it is a true pleasure. Marie Salamagne is an artist (I own FB of Lune Feline & Iris Fauve). Iris Fauve is beautiful, luxurious, sexy - would be an amazing Spring / Summer signature scent. I first applied 3 sprays around 1 PM and received two compliments within a hour. The fragrance is easily perceivable from 6 foot away. I reapplied around 8 PM with 4 sprays and captured wafts all through the night while I slept. Iris Fauve is still present closely on my clothes this morning almost 24 hours later. The perfume is never overwhelming. I am pleasantly surprised with the performance (12+ hours longevity, 5+ solid projection) and the high quality ingredients sets this scent apart.

Iris fauve is one of my favourite iris scent. Following the líne of bous d'argent by Dior but without the harsh vibe of the incense, sweeter and more subtle; and adding elements present in Dior homme, givenchy gentleman or impossible iris by monegal. This is one iris perfume more, worked in an oriental way, very balsámic and warm...this is one more but one of the good ones.

The performance is good but, maybe, according to the price a bit scarce. However the scent is natural and very pleasant with a very ambery dry down if myhrr, labdanum and vetiver.

Very good option for falla and winter as daily scent or ever for warm nights un summer.

Scent: 9.5
Longevity: 8
Sillage: 7
Quality price: 5
Versatility: 8
Originality: 7
Global: 8.5

So, now I have an iris fragrance.
With iris in the name.
I didn't know I would like iris.
And I had ignored this brand with the gold flakes due to its decadence and pricing per se.

......... until a sample came under my nose - as a bonus in a souk (thanks again to BleuDQ for that). Initially just noted and left aside. After all, iris is in the name.
So, something with flowers.
Not my cup of tea.

And then something happens to me, right after I spray the fragrance listlessly on my wrist ...

Fairy dust descends upon me.

My goodness, it’s beautiful!
Absolutely stunning.
I experience a medicinal sweetness that has recently captivated me in perfumes. And although sweet, there’s a spiciness that prevents the fragrance from drifting into a lush floral bouquet. On me, it’s not powdery, but rather dry. The patchouli herb is dry, not dusty. It gives the fragrance something dark and deep, without becoming gloomy. Mysterious.
Like a Kate Bush song, where light and shadow resonate together.... like a siren....
I am simply carried away.

Iris Fauve could be many things I don’t like or am not currently looking for - a strong floral scent, dark-cold-earthy patchouli, fluffy clean musk... instead, I find incredibly noble and artfully balanced spices, none of which push to the forefront - and iris and patchouli take me into their midst. Beautifully hypnotic-spicy and yet not too lush or heavy. It’s almost as if a new, mysterious spice emerges from both that enchants me and captivates me.

I was lucky enough to snag a "partially used" bottle in the souk.
Here it is now.
With its gold flakes.
And yes! It is truly beautiful!
Like the fragrance.
With the iris in the name.

So everything I actually didn’t search for.

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Iris Fauve reminds me with its subtle allure of Under My Skin, even though both don’t have much to do with each other on the surface.... (if it weren’t for a hint of animalic).
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Addendum: the fragrance has completely captivated me by now - it’s a 10

Hello! A new evening, a new comment. You know that by now. Since the samples just keep coming thanks to you (thank you very much! :DD), I have to keep writing here *sigh*
He he he :D

Today I’m talking about Iris Fauve, which already suggests a very gentle scent just by the word Iris, right? At least I found… let’s say 80-90% of all the Iris fragrances I tested to be gentle, and of course also beautiful. There were exceptions where the scent wasn’t so great, but such exceptions exist everywhere, even with beautiful things, like Star Wars!! :DD If you only knew that I actually don’t like most of the Star Wars movies that much! (yes, I really like the Star Wars universe, but most of the films are quite boring to watch except for a few successful scenes! :D).

But I don’t want to bore you with that. So…, this fragrance here fortunately belongs to the truly wonderful Iris scents! Yes, it exudes a great aura full of softness, powdery sweetness, and a general sense of well-being, but you’d better read for yourself how the scent is:

The scent begins with a beautiful and sweet-smelling Iris fragrance. You can smell a bit of cinnamon and lemon, with the lemon being more noticeable at the sprayed spot rather than in the scent cloud, and only for a short time.
After the Iris, the second stronger note is Patchouli, which bothers me a little at first because I always find that beautiful soft and powdery notes like Iris don’t harmonize well with the herbaceous-earthy notes of Patchouli. Well, at least the Patchouli doesn’t become too strong, so the scent overall is very pleasant. Because the resinous Myrrh, which soon sets in, makes the scent even softer and simply more enjoyable. Additionally, at some point, the Vetiver comes in, which also has an earthy scent, but it is more green-earthy and therefore smells nicer than the Patchouli here. Moreover, the Vetiver occasionally overpowers the Patchouli.
Much later, the scent is still beautifully powdery soft, even if the Iris is no longer as prominent as it was at the beginning. Furthermore, the scent remains resinous and thus, as mentioned, smells pleasant. I especially like that the Patchouli I criticized weakens significantly in the base. However, you can still smell earthy notes from the mix of Patchouli and Vetiver (with the Vetiver now being stronger), but these now fit much better with the other scent notes in their lower intensity, so I no longer find them disturbing. Additionally, there’s now a bit of Musk, which, when combined with Iris, has a particularly clean effect, making this note here nicer than usual, as it radiates a wonderful, clean aura. A very beautiful scent.

The sillage is good, not overwhelming, but you are enveloped in a nice scent cloud, making it noticeable not just at close range. The scent lasts eight to ten hours, so the longevity is also good.

The bottle is thin and has a rectangular base shape, but it has strongly rounded and also puffed-up side edges. Lines have been incorporated into the glass that run from the center to the side walls, resembling sun rays, which is even enhanced by the yellowish fragrance liquid and makes it great to look at. The cap is shiny black, looks like a door knob, and features the brand's logo on the top. A beautiful bottle!

So… to get back to my title, the scent is like a big, fat cat. So something cute in itself that has become plump, but thus also comes across as particularly fluffy and velvety. The little creature (like my big fat cat) has a lot of body surface with long, soft fur, so that you literally need minutes to stroke from one side to the other!
Well, minutes might be an exaggeration, but still, such a chubby cat has a lot of velvety surface! And you especially notice this when sleeping, when it doesn’t want to disappear into the icy cold at night and jumps into bed with you. Then you feel like you hardly need the heating, as its body warmth is enough to sleep comfortably warm!

And this scent here works somewhat similarly. It is soft, gentle, and warm. Well, not so warm that it could only be used in autumn and winter, but the scent does have a certain warmth. In terms of seasons, I would still describe it as an all-rounder; it works anytime but probably fits best in spring and autumn. You could wear it both during the day and in the evening, and I think you should definitely test it if you ever get the chance :)

So, that’s it, and I’m sure we’ll see each other here again very soon, until then :D