Iris Prima 2013

Iris Prima by Penhaligon's
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7.8 / 10 228 Ratings
Iris Prima is a popular perfume by Penhaligon's for women and men and was released in 2013. The scent is powdery-floral. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Powdery
Floral
Leathery
Woody
Fresh

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
BergamotBergamot Green amberGreen amber Pink pepperPink pepper
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Orris absoluteOrris absolute HedioneHedione Paradisone®Paradisone® Jasmine sambacJasmine sambac
Base Notes Base Notes
LeatherLeather SandalwoodSandalwood VetiverVetiver BenzoinBenzoin VanillaVanilla

Perfumer

Videos
Ratings
Scent
7.8228 Ratings
Longevity
6.4176 Ratings
Sillage
5.7180 Ratings
Bottle
8.1180 Ratings
Value for money
6.636 Ratings
Submitted by WRoth, last update on 03.03.2024.

Reviews

8 in-depth fragrance descriptions
10
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
7
Scent
Marieposa

33 Reviews
Translated Show original Show translation
Marieposa
Marieposa
Top Review 36  
The euphoria of the moment
She had to pause for a moment and took three deep breaths. Then she gathered all her courage, held her breath and applied the tweezers. With a sweeping motion, she simply plucked out the detached toenail.
As she pressed the iodine-soaked compress onto her injured foot, she hissed between clenched teeth, "A ballerina needs self-discipline, not toenails!" Over and over she whispered this phrase like a mantra until the pain finally subsided. It was not the first nail she had lost in this way. And tomorrow she would be back in the ballet studio, standing at the barre with poise and grace, her pointe shoes over her bandaged feet, smiling the pain away as she rose into the arabesque.
Nothing is harder than lightness.
Other sports elicited only a weary smile from her as she watched giant, muscle-bound guys roll around on the floor whining because someone had pushed them. Like giant babies, they flaunted their pain - completely unimaginable for a dancer.
So why was she doing all this to herself in the first place? The hard training, the strict diet, the merciless self-discipline? It was that one moment of complete euphoria when she floated onto the stage as if weightless. Completely at one with herself, her role and the indescribable beauty of the moment, at one with the beat of the music, dissolved in her dance. Every movement full of sublime elegance and razor-sharp precision, every jump as light as if she didn't even touch the floor. A blossoming into that magic for which she would always love ballet, and which made blood, sweat and tears simply forget.

**

When I read Alberto Morillas had developed Iris Prima in collaboration with the English National Ballet, gaining inspiration and behind-the-scenes insight, for a moment I really thought Penhaglion's was going to take a step no one has dared to take before and olfactor an unadorned picture of ballet. Whether the scent of sweaty bodies, rosin, kyta ointment, dusty props and more sweat would have been a big seller remains to be seen. It certainly would have been exciting. Much more exciting than Iris Prima is at first sniff: a green-powdery iris flanked by light, dry wood and a light but present suede note. It's joined by bright white jasmine blossoms, cloud-soft musk, and a hint of vanilla.
At the first wearing I found the fragrance pretty, but also a little unspectacular and had lost the scent trail so quickly that I checked off Iris Prima as nice, but inconsequential. It wasn't until the sample happened to fall into my hands again in warmer weather that the scent worked its full magic. Suddenly I could see the ballerina floating onto the stage and her white tutu shimmering in the spotlight. I felt the euphoria of the moment, but also the relentlessness that must have been necessary to achieve it. Interestingly, the scent also now hovered around me for hours. An amazing durability for such a lightweight.
What was different the second time? I do not know. But since then I cherish the suspicion that I perceive some types of musk and probably also Hedione, which are probably contained in high concentration in Iris Prima, only properly at higher temperatures. In any case, Alberto Morillas Ballerina was allowed to move in with me and has been with me for years now. Admittedly, there are more multifaceted and exciting fragrances, but when I don't feel like the usual citrus or floral scents on summer days, the powdery leather with the flashing jasmine stars of Iris Prima is just right.
22 Comments
7
Bottle
6
Sillage
5
Longevity
8
Scent
Augusto

164 Reviews
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Augusto
Augusto
Helpful Review 7  
Ballerina in leather jacket
Augusta greets you: a real ballerina in leather jackets. It's easy to wear, the delicate little thing. Lemon iris with a soft leather touch. But unfortunately, after half an hour she has already disappeared behind the next (big city) corner of a house, a little breath remains to be guessed. Distant, pliable, interesting, but a bit too fleeting. Sprayed twice (she) holds better.
5 Comments
5
Pricing
10
Bottle
5
Sillage
7
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Pauline6

9 Reviews
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Pauline6
Pauline6
Helpful Review 6  
Please, what did you say?
I bought a small bottle of Iris Prima in the offer, because I simply love Iris as a note!
The packaging and the flacon are also beautiful, as is the fragrance, which is a bit powdery, a bit leathery and somehow fresh.
However, my main drawback is that the scent can only be perceived after an hour if I really touch my skin with my nose. I don't think that's so great for such a high-priced scent.
So of course you can wear it well at work or at home, but do I really want to spend over 200 € (original price for 100ml) to wear a perfume that neither I nor anyone else can really perceive?
I still have to test it several times to see if it holds better on some clothes.

Otherwise I will probably start wearing it to go to sleep, because cuddly and cozy is the scent all the time!
0 Comments
7
Scent
Coutureguru

223 Reviews
Coutureguru
Coutureguru
Helpful Review 5  
Modern with a classic twist ...
My fascination with Iris continues and I was recently given a bottle of Iris Prima as a birthday gift ... yes ... I'm a lucky boy as my friends all know I'm a fragrance whore and try to outdo each other by procuring weird and wonderful stuff to spoil me with! Not that Iris Prima is in any way weird ... but it is wonderful!

This fragrance brings to mind a statue of Venus covered in graffiti ... quite a bizarre image, I know ... but it comes closest to explaining the classic/modern twist here. Created by Alberto Morillas (chemical Albie ... teehee) , I LOVE the fact that the note pyramid lists the aroma chemicals used in Iris Prima. I have a sample of the marvellous Hedione and it is very much present here! If I am not mistaken, Paradisone forms the basis of Armani Si ... which I enjoy on other people. I haven't, as yet, had the pleasure of smelling it in unadulterated form.
The star of this fragrance, obviously, is the Iris ... soft and smooth as a pair of chamois leather gloves! It is evident right from the first spritz ... on my skin the top notes are hardly present with the smooth leatheriness (is that even a word?) making itself known right off the bat. If one is going to call a fragrance 'Iris First' then I guess it had better deliver ... which this fragrance does!
True to Penhaligon's form, my skin devours Iris Prima in around 4 hours, depending on the weather. The final sweet leather phase sticks close to me ... but adheres gorgeously to my clothes, affording me luscious wafts every now and then.

Not inexpensive, my 50ml bottle will have to be treated with respect ... but then, this is one of those frags that I only really wear for myself, so I will save it for when my mood needs lifting. Do try this one if you love Iris ...
0 Comments
7.5
Bottle
5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
7
Scent
Mujo

51 Reviews
Mujo
Mujo
Helpful Review 2  
Very soft and pretty
Iris Prima opens with a blast of bergamot and suede. Just only for a few seconds. After that changes quickly into a powdery, hairspray, deodorant and make-up scent. With the suede slowly returning and adding the iris.

Iris Prima is very soft and stays incredible close to the skin. To smell it, you will have to sniff your wrist. However from time to time I smell a little whiff of a chocolate -like suede and iris. And exactly these whiffs are very charming. In the late drydown I can smell some vanilla and this last whisper is extremely comforting. For such a soft scent the longevity is very good. I can still smell a trace after 8 hours. Because of the flowery composition and its softness I would place it more in a feminine spectrum.

If you are worried about the synthetics in Iris Prima, don't be. This fragrance is blended very nicely. Very much recommended if you are into iris and leather fragrances.

Maybe also nice to know. Iris Prima is inspired by (and created in collaboration with) the English National Ballet.
0 Comments
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