Iris; The Diamond of Perfumery
Iris extract, derived from the rhizome of the iris (called orris root), is one of the most exquisite and luxurious ingredients in perfumery. What sets it apart isn’t just its scent but how it’s captured. For instance, the orris root must be extracted and dried for at least three years before it transforms into a sweet, powdery, gorgeous substance. Then the orris root is distilled into a butter or extracted in various forms to create an absolute, resinoid, or CO2. What truly makes iris special is its irone content. This molecule is naturally produced by the iris and the higher its irone content, the more expensive the extract becomes. Even synthetic irone is expensive, making the naturally produced molecule in orris root even more valuable.
There are two main iris varieties used in perfumery; Iris Pallida and Iris Germanica. Iris Pallida offers a much more delicate, powdery, clean, and beautiful essence while Germanica provides an earthier, richer, more intense experience. Both are beautiful ingredients and widely cherished by perfumers. Saying that I prefer one over the other feels a bit blasphemous as they both create such a beautiful aura of scent no other ingredient can match.
When choosing which iris to use in a composition, I focus on the fragrance’s qualities and the overall experience I want the user to have rather than comparing their fineness. For instance, I often gravitate towards Iris Pallida for its softness richness and beautiful delicate butteriness. However, Iris Germanica, being stronger, richer, and earthier, offers an experience that greatly differs from Iris Pallida. In the perfume Ivette, I specifically used Iris Germanica as the main note because Ivette is supposed to be an iris/violet scent. Germanica provides this violet scent, which tends to be stronger, sharper, and deeper than Iris Pallida, making it a perfect choice for Ivette. For other perfumes like Amante and Desmond, I chose pallida simply because of its softer more powdery profile that beautifully blends with the other florals like tuberose, jasmine, and ylang ylang, creating a soft, powdery elegance.
Now, let’s take a step back and talk a bit more about irones. These are THE molecules that give orris its luxurious scent and the molecules that develop naturally as the orris root ages. Perfumers have at their disposal a variety of orris extracts to choose from, and, depending on the extract process and quality of the orris, their prices can vary. However, as mentioned above, it’s the irone content that can dramatically affect the price of the extract. Orris extracts can be found containing as little as 1% irones to as much as 85% irones, though orris extracts with over a 20% irone content are extremely rare and cost a small fortune. I tend to favor orris extracts with a 10% to 15% irone content. For my Iris Pallida I exclusively use a beautiful, distilled butter with a 15% irone content. For my Iris Germanica, I favor and use the butter and resinoid with a 12% irone content as I find the irone content and the overall scent of the orris to have a lovely balance at these percentages.