Ex Nihilo Iris Porcelana, image courtesy of the brand
Dragonfly wings catching the sun. The last light of afternoon filtered through gauze. Bubbles floating across a city alley from an unseen wand. The rueful sweetness of a remembered smile. Such fleeting beauty pulls at the heart like the catch of a childhood song or, for me, the evanescent scent of iris. And, while many lovely iris perfumes exist that emphasize iris’ pastryish sweetness and face powder elegance, few convey the flower’s fleeting, translucent beauty of the just-opened blossom. This is the scent of Ex Nihilo Iris Porcelana.
Dalia Izem, photo courtesy of Givaudan
Givaudan perfumer Dalia Izem has created a genderless fragrance that is said to be inspired by classic French porcelain. Certainly, there is a delicate sheen to Iris Porcelana that makes me think of Sevres plates, and a careful but unobtrusive classical construction. Ex Nihilo’s website describes this as a “second skin” scent, and Ex Nihilo Iris Porcelana is an intimate perfume. Rather than melding with the skin the way many clean musk-centric scents do, Iris Porcelana, wears like a secret revealed only to those who come close. While other flowers broadcast their lush beauty on the breeze, iris keeps her perfume close until it is uncovered by peeling back her petals, an intrusion so intimate it feels almost taboo.
Detail of The Triumph of Galatea painting Raphael 1514
Izem’s construction unfolds slowly like the iris herself. Iris Porcelana opens not with iris but the shadowy, damp velvet of woody violet. Izem’s dusky misdirection could make one think this is a rainy spring violet perfume, reminiscent of Guerlain’s Après L’Ondée, but with less of that great classic’s sedgy mournfulness. But the violet is providing a stage for the glowing iris heart that soon emerges. Violet’s dark purple gradually gives way to the silvery-green scent of young iris, softly off-sweet. Satiny rose arrives just after and Ex Nihilo Iris Porcelana begins to warm like Galatea newly imbued with life. The rose adds colour and a gentle lushness to the perfume’s heart, shifting what could have been a powdery skin scent into a chiffon floral veil.
Iris image courtesy of the brand
In the base, cedar anchors the gossamer airiness of the fragrance and adds a touch of its woodsy, somber coolness. Violet leaf reappears as a partner to the cedar again but more muted, lending Iris Porcelana a tinge of forest floor. Sandalwood wraps around the perfume like a blond bow, smoothing out the floral edges and adding its sandy mellowness. Stepping back and smelling Izem’s creation now, I am struck by how subtly it has evolved from rainy wood violet to silky iris-rose-sandalwood confection. If you crave a bedtime fragrance to make you dream of spring, Iris Porcelana is waiting like a flower about to bloom.
Notes: Violet leaf accord, iris pallida, rose, sandalwood, musks, cedarwood.
Disclaimer: sample of Ex Nihilo Iris Porcelana kindly provided by Indigo Perfumery. My opinions, as always, are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Ex Nihilo Iris Porcelana courtesy of Indigo Perfumery
Thanks to the generosity of Indigo Perfumery, we have a 50 ml bottle of Ex Nihilo Iris Porcelana for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what strikes you about Iris Porcelana based on Lauryn’s review and whether you have a favourite Ex Nihilo fragrance. Draw closes 2/9/2022.
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