Velvet Iris Essential Parfums 2025

As a fan of the iris note, I waited so long to try this perfume and in the end, the more the anticipation grew, the greater the disappointment.

I couldn't really figure out what kind of iris velvet it was?

What I did manage to smell was mostly gum, green turmeric leaves, and also galbanum. Iris?

Really, really a little, especially in the opening of the perfume.

The performance of this perfume is nice and nothing more.

Average longevity, and the sillage is good, especially in the first two hours.

In conclusion, 6.5/10.

This is a really lovely iris fragrance that was meant to be "an iris for people who don't like iris" or so the story goes. Now, I like iris a lot so this was an easy sell for me, as most of the Essential Parfums line are. This is absolutely going to be a full bottle cop once my tester runs out.

What surprised me was how fresh and airy it is. I have always associated iris as being powdery, sweet and rich but rarely fresh. The opening is a big burst of floral, sweet, slightly minty agathnosma and pink pepper which play off each other. They touch on the floral sweetness of the iris in the heart but also its spicier edges in a very clever way. It almost feels like Dominique Ropion has decided to alter the way the iris presents itself by highlighting the qualities it isn't known best for, to try and put front and centre characteristics other than its powdery pinky purpleness. The agathnosma is a joy here; there is this leafy, slightly pepperminty feel to it that adds this lovely green texture to the opening.

The galbanum in the heart makes this go greener in the middle as the drydown starts and the iris and orris just sits there. It is present but not radiating off you in clouds of purple powder. I can honestly say I've never got my nose on an iris like this one. It is peppery, green, fresh, really clean and not at all cloying but you still get that lovely iris feel but without the powderiness there in the background.

The base notes are a steady, reliable sandalwood and a really clean, shiny leather that only comes out once the drydown progresses.

Longevity does naturally suffer here because of the green and fresh nature and I really only get 4-5 hours before it is a subtle skin scent, but honestly, I'm fine with that. If I want 6-7 hours I go with Effing Fantastic by Tom Ford. If I want 12+ hours beast mode then Nishane's Meant To Be Seen is an easy reach for me. Both these are darker and more complex, bigger scents that add a layer of sensuality and confident sophistication that this one isnt trying to be. Velvet Iris is absolutely a day scent and 4-5 hours is fine for a day wearer for me.

Sillage is green and sweet but not focused on the iris. It is a really great bit of blending here, I have to say. It doesn't project like the heavier iris fragrances do but again, I like that in this case. Honestly, this one is pretty much a must-buy because of how the green textures and pink pepper work with the iris and how they dry down against the woody and leathery accords in the base.

Three Word Summary - Green Not Purple

Scent - 9/10
Sillage - 6/10
Drydown - 7/10
Bottle/packaging - 7/10
Performance - 5/10

34/50

I am uncertain if this is hasty haphazard job from Dominique Ropion, or a great experiment gone awry. Velvet Iris opens with the harsh blend of uncommon green notes of buchu leaf and turmeric leaf. I have no idea how these leaves smell in real life, but they produce a minty and resinous accord to my nose. With the root facet of orris root bolstering these notes, the opening is so powerful that it smells close to gasoline than any flower or leaf. Galbanum, lentisque (mastic) and Saffiano bolsters this interesting but strange accord. I had to look up what Saffiano is. Saffiano (TM), is an exclusive IFF molecule that provide leather and suede accents. When your nose recovers from the harsh green leathery blast, some of the interesting notes can be picked up separately. The strong sandalwood in the middle gives it a sweet personality, unexpected after the harsh opening. The bottom notes are unremarkable with hints of sandalwood, labdanum and orris root. For the most part, it is a leathery iris complemented with unusual green notes and resins.

This perfume evokes facets for many perfumes I have experienced before. It is as if Chanel Exclusifs Bel Respiro, La Pausa and Bois des Îles went on a Thelma & Louise style rampage, jacked up on steroids. It is academically interesting, but who is the target for this perfume? It may work for you if you are looking for a greener and more aromatic version of Dior Fahrenheit.

Mental image: It's midnight, and a man is lounging in his living room. His home is decadent - he sits on a chair more expensive than some people make in a month, and the home is decorated with ornaments of niche artisans. Yet he remembers them all fondly. He's reading a book, bound in a posh leather sheath, and to his side a small fireplace is flickering. In the night, there are chirps and subtle ruffles of leaves - but nothing to say human life is present, other than the man. He is uninterrupted from his reading. It is a place and time all for him, at least until morning.

Velvet Iris starts with two quite vivid notes - an earthy iris, a tad bit purple and a tad bit green, and a sleek sense of leather. It is overall a surprisingly unisex presentation, though I would say the leather makes it lend more to a masculine presentation. The iris itself has a rather realistic floral tone to it in isolation, but the leather note makes it rather obvious you are smelling a perfume, not a flower. Underneath, I want to say it is a bit musky, but this isn't obvious on first whiff. The iris is the star of the show here - it's one of the more evocative iris notes I've detected in a perfume before, and it takes what I might have otherwise considered an unremarkable scent into a very positive range.

As the scent settles down, the iris and leather start to blend together, to the point that they come across as more of a single, cohesive note after a few hours. I think I slightly prefer this stage - leather isn't really my thing, and the blending brings about a more authentic feel regarding the floral scent that's hard to describe. Once it has gone all the way down, what's left is a kind of soft, slightly bitter musk, that I find inoffensive but not especially interesting.

The longevity is seriously impressive. I have sprayed this on myself in the morning previously, only to find the scent was still quite noticeable by the late evening. I'd be perfectly comfortable considering this an appropriate scent to hold through a working day.

The sillage is nothing special to my nose - it's fairly skin-close, but I kind of like that part of it. I think it would have been a bit abrasive had they chosen to make this scent profile project intensely.

All around, this is at the worst of times an inoffensive fragrance and a wonderfully unique pleasure at the best. I'd recommend an iris-note lover giving this a look, if only to see what your feelings on the iris note are for yourself. For me, while I'm quite happy with my Infusion d'Iris, I certainly don't turn my nose from this scent and I'd happily wear this on an appropriate occasion should the opportunity arise. 8/10.

It's green, it's rooty, it's earthy, it's prominently herbal/medicinal, and it does smell like iris. On my skin it doesn't become warm at all, which I love. I honestly don't understand the somewhat poor reviews, is it because of the name? I mean I guess it's not really velvety. But I still think it is a good perfume. Quite intense, but totally worth it if you're into that kind of thing.