Irina Adam of Phoenix Botanicals
Aaah September! Officially autumn and all the stores and magazines are touting heavier coats long-sleeve shirts, boots, scarves, and (gasp) down outerwear for the encroaching cooler weather. The only problem is it's 75° here in the Pacific Northwest, we are all schivtzing (Yiddish for sweating), and cold weather clothing is the very farthest thing from my mind. "They" call it transitional, I call it insane. Still and all, I love autumn's approach and 2x Art and Olfaction Finalist, natural perfumer Irina Adam of Phoenix Botanicals has given us the perfect gift for this time of year, a new fragrance Apple Iris Root.
Mitt Jons: photo by Irina Adam©
I'm not quite ready to give up my lighter summer perfumes in lieu of the heavier scents of autumn so what to do and what to wear? Apple Iris Root perfectly straddles the changing of the seasons with a marvelous and complex perfume that you will be reaching for time and time again. If like me you actively avoid the annual Autumn rampant plague of anything “spiced pumpkin latte-esque” (including but not limited to deodorant apparently), but still love the feeling of an olfactive hit of Fall, then I suspect that Apple Iris Root will thrill and bewitch you to no end.
Mitt Jons: photo by Irina Adam©
Described by perfumer Irina Adam as… “Cherry and Apple blossoms on the wind. A glowing blush of Hawthorn, Wild Rose, and Clover. Juicy apples, bitter seeds, a hint of boozy cider. Watery Iris root, dark and cool, holding the wildness of rivers, glistening with Frankincense, flowing into oceanic Ambergris. An untamed floral with a classic touch ~ a second skin of wind blown flowers.”
Mitt Jons: photo by Irina Adam©
Apple Iris Root is the perfume you want to wear to accompany you on long autumnal walks through the woods or the city streets, perfect for raking leaves or sitting in steamy cafes watching the seasons change. It is the scent of the yearly “turning of the wheel" as summer heat makes way for autumn chill. It smells of cool nights, apple trees groaning with beautiful and shiny rouge- burnished fruit waiting to be picked. Gardens overflowing with the final flush of summer produce almost ready to be put to bed again for the year, bound for the canning and preserving jars of the kitchen to be made ready for winter feasting.
Mitt Jons: photo by Irina Adam©
Beaches once overwhelmed with tanning bodies and children playing now blessedly deserted and yours alone to wander where the wind-scattered waves splash onto rock and sand, bringing a stinging cold and refreshing salt-infused scent of the ocean. This perfume is a scented Ouroboros if you will, a never ending annual transition; both beginning and end. My very favorite time of the year, and Apple Iris Root infused with both fruit and flower and built upon a gorgeous earthy and oceanic/organic fragrant base, will be my constant companion as I watch the wondrous ebb and flow of the year and the extraordinary changing of the seasons.
Notes: Galbanum, Petitgrain, Apple blossoms, Cherry, Hawthorne, Lilac, Iris + Orange blossoms, Fruit, Wild Rose, Davana, Angelica, Orris Root, Frankincense, Ambergris.
Disclosure: Thank you SO much to Irina Adam for supplying the samples. The opinions are my own.
-Robert Herrmann, Editor
-Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief (photos courtesy of Irina Adam for CaFleureBon) ©
Thanks to Irina Adam and Phoenix Botanical, we have a 5 ml bottle of Apple Iris Root for one registered reader in the USA, so be sure to register if you have not done so. To be eligible please let us know what appeals to you about Robert’s review of Apple Iris Root, your favorite fruit and flower/ or if you have a favorite Phoenix Botanical perfume. Draw closes on 9/20/2017.
We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like Cafleurebon and use our RSS feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.