Over the years I’ve been writing about perfume there have been many things which have evolved. In the early days I loved getting special little peeks into upcoming projects. I thought it was one of the perks of the job. Until it went sideways on me a couple of times. Someone would show me a version of an upcoming release which I thought was perfect. I was already thinking about how I would be framing the imminent glowing review. Then I would receive the final version and it was not the same as the one I was infatuated with. There were often very good reasons behind the change but I knew there was a version I liked better. That made me stop allowing perfume brands to show me things early because I always wondered if I had experienced the fragrance for the first time after release whether my reaction would be different. I know it confused some who saw the glee on my face before turn into this line in the sand. I have done pretty good since I made the decision except at Esxence this past March.
Jean-Philippe Clermont
When I was there I stopped by the Atelier des Ors stand to chat with owner and creative director Jean-Philippe Clermont. Atelier des Ors was one of my favorite brand debuts of 2015 so it was natural to drop by and say hello. When I arrived M. Clermont was showing the line to a pair of retailers from Australia and New Zealand and he invited me to sit in. Before I settled down he sprayed something on my wrist. Drawing it to my nose I expected to be greeted with something familiar. Instead I was surprised by a warm musky iris I fell instantly for. After talking with M. Clermont he told me that was one of two possible version of a new iris focused release coming at the end of the year. I smelled my wrist for the rest of that day surrounded by many excellent new perfumes but none were better to my nose. I knew the wait was going to be interminable to see if the version I liked so much would be the one which made it in to the bottle. I received my answer a couple weeks ago, with the arrival of my sample of Iris Fauve.
Marie Salamagne
One of the things I approve highly of is the idea of a new brand working exclusively with a perfumer, or two. I believe it helps hone a brand’s identity while also allowing the creativity to build upon the foundation of the earlier work. So far M. Clermont has worked only with perfumer Marie Salamagne. The foundational scent from the initial five releases for Iris Fauve was Aube Rubis. In that fragrance Mme Salamagne explored the iris, patchouli, and vetiver triptych found so often in other constructs. It was a warm iris but there were slashes of fruit and sweet on the periphery. Iris Fauve is a complete evolution of Aube Rubis while still retaining the warmth of the iris; Mme Salamagne found some very new ways to illuminate the same trio.
The orris arrives right away and the heat also comes with it in the form of cinnamon. The spice is a true supporting note as it helps tamp down the powdery facets allowing the earthy rootiness of the rhizome to rise. The patchouli and vetiver return but this time Mme Salamagne adds in cypriol which forms a lilting kind of faux-oud accord which the iris inserts itself in to. This all becomes quite transparent as Mme Salamagne really brings the warmth in the base. The key note is an ingredient called Carolina Vanilla. More commonly known as deertongue, Carolina Vanilla was used as an additive to tobacco because it has a sweetly vanillic nature as the name portends. What it also has is that dried toasty nature you find in tonka bean. This provides a sweet underpinning to the animalic musks and myrrh Mme Salamagne uses in her base accord. As the iris and the oud accord settle into the warm embrace of the base notes it as good as perfume gets for me.
Iris Fauve has 12-14 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
Even though it wasn’t officially released at the time Iris Fauve was the perfume I carried the strongest memory of home from Esxence. Now that the same perfume has shown up in the bottle on the shelf I can confirm Iris Fauve is one of my very favorite perfumes of 2016.
Disclosure; This review was based on a sample provided by Atelier des Ors.
–Mark Behnke
This one got a lot of mentions after Esxence. I think it needs to be in my next order of samples. Thanks for the review.