Ad, Montale So Iris Intense, Montale
Perfumes often come to me in stories. Or they might summon music, a work of art, a place imagined or visited. The first time I smelled Montale So Iris Intense, it came to me in colour, then texture. I saw washed ash-rose silk, like the trim from a Victorian petticoat. A moment or two later, I heard elongated fingers playing Schumann on the piano, caught vague reflections in smoky mirrors, saw the pianist’s sable chignon and starched muslin blouse as she sat, straight-backed but swaying slightly, as she played. And soon I smelled the irises in the garden drifting shyly through an open window, spreading through the air like watercolour seeping into old, chipped paper.
Pink Iris by Lauryn©
Montale So Iris Intense belies its name; this is no orris beast a la Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist. While it is produced as an extrait, So Iris Intense has an ethereality and simplicity that gives the iris a faraway feel, like an old sepia photograph whose edges are fading, a perfume bottle with a handwritten label found in an attic trunk, never opened. The initial spray brings chilly, rain-splashed iris and a dab of damp woods. There’s a diffuse, watery quality to the opening that lends the iris an aura of early bloom. The woodiness of the top quicky retreats, leaving an iris not fully open, refined rather than opulent, its characteristic chilled pastry sweetness restrained by watery notes of cucumber and bankside angelica. Smelling So Intense Iris in these early stages is like landing in a Childe Hassam Garden painting; everything’s in soft focus, lit by a sun behind the clouds, the air smudged with drizzle.
Watercolour via Pxfuel
So Iris Intense’s development smells like watching a watercolour being painted. As the fragrance warms on the skin, it releases delicate carrot and lemon notes that fill in the flower’s aroma. Intense So Iris is quite lovely in these moments, a quintessential young iris soliflore with an undercurrent of flowery Oolong tea that stays with the fragrance into its dry-down. Sandalwood eventually tiptoes in, slowly adding substance, smoothness and a bit of weight to the heart. The last to arrive is some modern musk, a little soapy but subtle and clean.
Cloud image via Piqsels
Some have criticized So Iris Intense for not being particularly long-lived. (On me, the fragrance wears for a few hours, which is what I generally expect from iris perfumes.) Montale apparently intended the fragrance to be worn either on its own or layered with other scents. While I am not much of a one for layering, I did try this with an ephemeral lemon scent and the result was not only gorgeous, but both elements, citrus and iris, lasted considerably longer than each on its own. Montale So Iris Intense is exactly the fragrance to reach for to relive the poignant smell of spring just before it opens it heart to the world. I’ll wear it often as the days darken.
Notes: Iris, sandalwood, white musk.
Disclaimer: Bottle of Montale So Iris Intense generously provided by Europerfumes, U.S. distributors for Montale. My opinions are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Bottle of Montale So Iris Intense courtesy of Montale
Thanks to the generosity of Europerfumes, U.S. distributors for Montale, we have a 100 ml bottle of Montale So Iris Intense for one registered reader in the U.S. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about Montale so Iris Intense based on Lauryn’s review and whether you have a favourite Montale perfume. Draw closes 11/2/2021.
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Please read Lauryn’s Fragrant Awakening: Montale White Aoud 2007
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