There are fragrances out there that are among the best that you can get but they are limited in availability. These are the true quarry of the fragrant treasure hunters out there. Through fortune and the good graces of many in the perfume community I have been able to find many of these and have rarely been disappointed in the effort needed to procure them. While I don’t want to start a longing for something one can’t have I also want to let people know when you come across an opportunity to try one of these do not pass it up.
I have been thinking about Andy Tauer’s 2006 limited edition release Orris as I have just received my bottle of Josh Lobb’s equally limited edition slumberhouse Zahd. There are a lot of similarities between the two. Both Hr. Tauer and Mr. Lobb are fiercely independent perfumers uncompromising when it comes to their perfume. They both communicate in sporadic pictures and words about their creative process. I would say when I discovered Hr. Tauer’s blog back in 2006 it was eye-opening in the amount of insight he would provide on his creative process. It has always been a lot of fun to read Hr. Tauer’s posts leading up to eventually wearing one of his releases. In both perfumer’s cases it is much of what fuels my passion to cover perfume because their creativity is so approachable.
Andy Tauer
One of Hr. Tauer’s early posts in July 2006 described a limited edition he was working on called Orris. To read about it go this link and scroll down to the July 21, 2006 entry “layers and appearances”. In that post he explains that Orris is “like a facetted piece of jewelry, reflecting in all colours of the light”. It is that quality which makes Orris such a genius piece of perfumery. As he also mentions within that blog post Orris is one of the most mutable fragrances I have ever encountered as each person seems to pull their own unique version of it. Here’s what it does on my skin.
Orris opens with cinnamon, black pepper, and grapefruit which rapidly comingles with rose and orris. This is a fabulous beginning with the spices floating on top of the florals and the citrus adding some light. The orris is carried along with the cinnamon into a heart of frankincense. This is that very beautiful almost metallic frankincense and with the orris and cinnamon it is a marvelous combination and it is on this chord where Orris lingers for the longest time on my skin. Every time I wear it I realize there is nothing like it in my collection of iris fragrances. Once Orris does begin to head towards the base notes they are also a collection of rare woods: real Mysore sandalwood along with real oud and Australian sandalwood. Because of Hr. Tauer’s blog post this was one of the first times I was able to tease apart the two different varieties of sandalwood. Also remember that in 2006 oud was rarely used in fragrance so all of this added a level of uniqueness to the base of Orris. What I find interesting is even when I revisited Orris in 2014 to write this the entire composition still retains its singularity there has still been nothing like it.
Orris has all-day longevity and below average sillage.
When you are fortunate enough to find a young independent perfumer who you admire and they mention they are making a fragrance with one-of-a-kind ingredients; don’t think about it too long and buy it. I dithered over Orris and was never able to acquire a bottle. The small amounts I have are the generous gifts of fellow bloggers and perfume lovers. I have never seen an official number of how many bottles were produced but I do know Hr. Tauer is regularly asked whether he could reproduce it and he always politely replies, “No, the raw materials are unobtainable or too expensive now.” What is out there is all there is. Thankfully what is out there is a glorious fragrance experience amongst my very favorite ever from one of the very first independent perfumers.
–Mark Behnke
