Guerlain's fifth fragrance in the niche L'Art et la Matière collection is Iris Ganache. The others are Cuir Beluga, Rose Barbare, Angelique Noire, and Bois d'Armenie.
Thierry Wasser was the nose for IG, as well as such diverse fragrances as Calvin Klein Truth (with Jacques Cavallier and Alberto Morillas), Gres Caline (2005), Lancome Hypnose (2005, with Annick Menardo), Mary Kay Domain (2000) and many others.
Sometimes I choose a fragrance by the nose; other times I choose by the house or the notes. I'm not sure I would have chosen by the nose this time, as others of his fragrances I like well enough, but do not wear. Generally, I do love the older Guerlains. I cannot wear Insolence, for example. So based on the notes, the house, and what others had said, I gave it a try.
Iris Ganache includes note of bergamot, iris butter, white chocolate, floral notes, cinnamon, patchouli, white musks, cedarwood and vanilla.
It has been described as either classically Guerlain or as pleasant chocolate powder. I hoped for the former. Some chocolates smell artificial to me. And I didn't care for the white chocolate in Bvlgari's Omnia (I can't smell it). I do love iris. So....I jumped in the deep end and hoped for the best.
I have never had ganache, a mixture of chocolate and cream, that I know of, so I can't compare it to that.
As usual, when I first try a new fragrance, baring a scent strip, I don't spritz very much, just in case it is a scrubber on me. I did not respray as the day moved on, but let it dry down for several hours to see the progression.
It was elegant, but somewhat off-putting to me. I think I might have been getting a hint of Hypnose in it, though the notes wouldn't lead you to think it. I could live with it, but didn't know if I'd reach for it very much. Because I had heard that a wearer of IG received compliments many hours later, I specifically did not respray as I didn't want to mess up the possibility of that.
IG has also been compared to L'Heure Bleu, another fragrance that I can only wear carefully and in certain formulations. Of the two, I prefer IG.
Today, on my second try, I decided to spritz more, as I knew how it progressed on me. This time it is much lovelier. It is one of those fragrances that do better if you spritz more, not less. I may even spritz again, but haven't decided on that yet, to see what that would do. It's been on for about 4 hours. I can still smell it, if I get my nose close to my arm.
In my thought, I am sitting on the sidewalk in Paris eating chocolate with a cup of tea, enjoying the ambiance of the day and the people passing by, while a soft rain falls. It is a little slice of heaven. If I were really there, I'd amble on down to the 68, Champs Elysées Guerlain flagship store to try the other L'Art et la Matière fragrances et al.
IG is also available at Bergdorf Goodman. $200 for 2.5 oz edp.
Have you tried IG?
ps I did reapply, and it added lushness. I may just do it again later. For those of you who apply lavishly, you would know this already. I tend to be sparse as a fragrance can overwhelm me up close and personal.
Karin
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
What a lovely and descriptive review. You do bring it under one’s nose so to speak: from the notes you get to the images it evokes to the experiences you have to compare it to.
Thanks!
Am about to sample this one. Any day now.
The more I wear this, the better I like it. It is more complex than chocolate, and it’s a nicer chocolate than the ones that seem artificial. Let me know how you like it!
I didn’t expect to enjoy this to the point of being FBW, but I do…
And it definitely grows on you.
Soothing and sophisticated, it manages to be elegant and approachable at the same time.
My wallet did NOT approve.
Tant pis !
[Who, in their right mind, attends to the babbling of inanimate objects, anyway ?]
Oh yes, FBW indeed. Also Tant pis!