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Top Review
Here is a Man
The essence and character of iris, or iris root, are something special among the common accords in perfumes. Cool, powdery, clean, and sometimes distant, it is situated somewhere between chalky light white and bright blue-gray, often with a hint of makeup or lipstick in it - this roughly outlines its attributes. I really like the nature of iris and iris fragrances - and yet I have (still) none in my collection.
Although most perfumes that feature iris rightly call themselves 'unisex', I still find many of them to lean more towards the feminine - they are often delicate and fragile scents, shy and fine and fleeting like pale gray morning mist. Ermenegildo Zegna's iris is a fragrance for men - finally, I might almost say - and I hope I find the right words to adequately describe its subtle masculinity.
Florentine Iris is the scent for a man who is more 'not old' than actually 'young' - there is no youthfulness in it, but rather a lack of that saturated maturity that some iris fragrances possess. I envision a well-groomed, slender, finely built man with a controlled demeanor and delicacy and refinement in his body language and expression - perhaps with a fine mustache, his hair carefully parted. Here is a fragrance in an elegant gray, cool and as powder-fine as plaster or talcum, like what gymnasts use to dry their hands. The bergamot is hardly hesperidic, but adds an initial freshness and delicacy - just as the musk does not provide warmth - let alone anything animalistic - but allows the gray to darken just, just slightly, maintaining its gracefulness and accuracy. Jasmine seems barely perceptible, but the violet adds a kind of pale echo and gives the cool gray its subtle blue and elegance. Here is (almost) pure iris. Here is a man.
Conclusion: should I ever want an iris fragrance in my collection - it would probably be this one.
Although most perfumes that feature iris rightly call themselves 'unisex', I still find many of them to lean more towards the feminine - they are often delicate and fragile scents, shy and fine and fleeting like pale gray morning mist. Ermenegildo Zegna's iris is a fragrance for men - finally, I might almost say - and I hope I find the right words to adequately describe its subtle masculinity.
Florentine Iris is the scent for a man who is more 'not old' than actually 'young' - there is no youthfulness in it, but rather a lack of that saturated maturity that some iris fragrances possess. I envision a well-groomed, slender, finely built man with a controlled demeanor and delicacy and refinement in his body language and expression - perhaps with a fine mustache, his hair carefully parted. Here is a fragrance in an elegant gray, cool and as powder-fine as plaster or talcum, like what gymnasts use to dry their hands. The bergamot is hardly hesperidic, but adds an initial freshness and delicacy - just as the musk does not provide warmth - let alone anything animalistic - but allows the gray to darken just, just slightly, maintaining its gracefulness and accuracy. Jasmine seems barely perceptible, but the violet adds a kind of pale echo and gives the cool gray its subtle blue and elegance. Here is (almost) pure iris. Here is a man.
Conclusion: should I ever want an iris fragrance in my collection - it would probably be this one.
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1 Comment
Etamher 9 years ago
You really tackled men's fragrances today, both at the beginning and the end, in the most contrasting way possible... I would definitely prefer the latter.
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