Last week as I was spending some miserable time with Chanel No. 19 Poudre I remembered the other powdery iris, Iris Poudre, Pierre Bourdon's composition for Frederic Malle Editions de Parfums from 2000. My scent twin declared Iris Poudre a modern "great heaving corseted busom of a fragrance" and while he would never wear it, his recommendation to us ladies is that we do.
The thing is, Tom and I were cut from the same quirky cloth (or hide). He doesn't do pink and pretty and neither do I. And Iris Poudre is as pretty as they come, all fluffy and puffy in its marabou slippers and aldehydic flowers. The rose petals are soft and pink, the violet is soft and pink, the carnation is soft and pink... you get the picture. I adore Frederic Malle's vision for Iris Poudre but get completely lost wearing it. Even the fluffy musky dry-down is pink, and I'm an MKK and Musc Ravageur girl through and through.
Notes: Bergamot, Orange, Rosewood, Ylang-Ylang, Carnation, Magnolia, Jasmine, Muguet, Violetta-Rose, Aldehydes, Iris, Musk, Amber, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Ebony.
Iris Poudre by Frédéric Malle Editions de Parfums ($170, 50ml or $110 for a 3x10ml refill) is available from Frédéric Malle boutiques and Barneys.
Images, in order of appearance:
Shirley MacLaine in What A Way To Go, 1964, from IMDB.com
Dorian Leigh photographed by Louise Dahl-Wolf, June 1944, Harper's Bazaar
Model Nena von Schlebrügge (Uma Thurman's mother, by the way) in a 1950s editorial from The Nifty Fifties Tumblr.
A vintage ad for Charles Of The Ritz powder from myvintagevogue.com
I remember Shirley MacLaine in What A Way To Go! It was one of her best pictures; thanks for the reminder. And the ad with Uma Thurman's mother in it is a stunner. The carnation dress is typical of the period and it is almost too bad we don't see that kind of thing anymore. I'll see if I can find some Iris Poudre; your description is intriguing and I tend to like iris scents.
ReplyDeleteI love Iris, but prefer a bit of edge (leather and galbanum, please) to it.
ReplyDeletePink and pretty doesn't work well on my skin. It might be a different story if the carnation was dry and spicy, now then we'd be talking!