WHAT I SMELL:  Iris Fauve glides on the skin with a smooth and silky bergamot that is quickly met with a cashmere and rather putty like iris.  The perfume is creamy, weighted and it feels like “waving in the wind” silk gliding across the skin.  There’s an interesting cinnamon note that provides just a hint of sparkling sweetness; it’s a really nice touch that gives it a special brightness that rides on top of the silkiness. After a bit, that cinnamon note begins to retreat and the perfume begins to flatten, but with a deep and rounded consistency.  This perfume is pretty without being too feminine.  Instead, there’s a wonderful masculine edge, most likely coming from the labdanum, that provides this unexpected beefiness for an iris perfume.  As the perfume continues to develop the cinnamon seems to come forward once again, along with a mysterious myrhh.  Iris Fauve is beautifully bewitching.

Top notes are bergamot, cinnamon and iris; middle notes are patchouli, haitian vetiver and cypriol oil or nagarmotha; base notes are myrrh, musk, labdanum and liatris.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Trading on the Silk Road.  The combination of exotic flowers and spices make for a mysterious and exotic perfume.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE IRIS FAUVE: enchanting, fluid, enticing

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT IRIS FAUVE: CaFleureBon, Kafkasesque, AustralianPerfumeJunkies

BOTTOM LINE:  Iris Fauve is an iris perfume that’s not cool to the touch.  Instead, it’s a beautiful, spicy and exotic presentation of iris that feels modern, yet which stems from the old world.  And who can resist those bottles and the gold flakes?  Heaven.

• Bone Rating:  4 out of possible 5 bones
• Scent: Oriental
• Nose: Marie Salamagne
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $275 for 100 ml eau de parfum