You could say Infusion d’Iris was my first iris fragrance, albeit at a time when I didn’t know I really adored iris. Sounds strange? That’s because it is.
Prada’s Infusion d’Iris is a lovely fragrance. It has a special place in my heart. My friend Dee included a little decant in her package the other day that sent me searching the depths of my perfume cupboard and indeed – in there I found a small bottle of Infusion, bought when it was launched and later forgotten, pushed aside by more assertive colleagues.
I wore it again and remembered why I liked it in the first place. I have worn it several times since and that warrants a review for sure.
Notes include mandarin, orange blossom, galbanum, iris, incense, benzoin, cedar, lentisc and vetiver. Infusion d’Iris was created in 2007 by Daniela Andrier.
Luca Turin in his Perfumes – The Guide states the following about Infusion d’Iris:
[…] it contains no discernible Iris note and is a rather grey, nondescript woody masculine.
With all due respect to Mr Turin, I couldn’t disagree more. (The fact that I am a nobody makes sure he won’t be offended my my dissent. ;))
I do smell iris, I don’t find this perfume grey and non-descript at all and I don’t think it is particularly masculine (I think it would work equally well on both genders).
The Eau de Parfum I am reviewing here, (there is an Eau de Toilette version, released last year, if I am not mistaken, that I have not tried yet) is light, unobtrusive but has a lot more staying power than would be expected of such a discrete scent. Provided one doesn’t skimp on application (I use it lavishly, at least five sprays) it holds up wonderfully for at least four or five hours. Compared to Chanel 28 La Pausa that is not bad at all.
After the initial happy burst of mandarin is gone, the iris emerges soft, grey-green, powdery and a just a little earthy, propped up by galbanum and vetiver, with soft underpinnings of smokiness provided by incense and benzoin.
It reminds me of L’Heure Bleue and its sweetly-sad mood. But it is way softer and more muted, like seen through a veil.
I like its slightly chilly and remote softness, it feels like velvet on the skin. Greyish green velvet.
I wear it when I want something a little like L’Heure Bleue but less heavy in its introspectiveness, or when I want something a little like Bois d’Iris but more substantial and textured.
Infusion d’Iris is a great mainstream offering in my eyes, I like most Prada fragrances, but this is my favorite.
If someone asked me what perfume to get at the department store, I always recommend to seek out the Prada line, because aside from slight slips like Eau Tendre and Infusion de Tubereuse, all their perfumes are of high quality and done well.
Infusion d’Iris is one of the perfumes I can wear without thinking, that doesn’t start to bother me at some point during the day, as others can, no matter how much I love them.
It is versatile yet still retains a uniqueness, both these traits make Infusion d’Iris a staple in my collection.
Side note: A really great combination I discovered accidentally, is layering Infusion d’Iris with Rose Ikebana (Hermès). It adds a nice dose of pink to the grey, making it happier and, well, rosier. 🙂
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Sounds like Infusion d’Iris is a good stand-by perfume for you – something you can always turn to, whatever the occasion. It’s great to have something like that in your fragrance wardrobe. My equivalents would be Diorella in the summer, 31RC in the spring and Bois des Iles in the autumn/winter.
P.S. You are definitely NOT a nobody! I love to get your take on a fragrance. As much as I adore The Guide (as I’m sure you do also) it’s nice to get other viewpoints and we all have different tastes after all.
Thank you, you are so lovely!
It is great to have such stand-bys for traveling and days where every decision seems to much. Yours show your great taste, Tara! 🙂
I think there is nothing wrong with gray-smelling iris. In fact, to me, that is how it should smell. Gray with a tinge of purple and slight silvery shimmer. Is this your favorite iris ? I think I have two, Iris Silver Mist and Irisss.
My favorite is Iris Silver Mist too. Infusion is more of an everyday, every mood iris. 😉
I am still waiting for my sample of Irisss, I worry it got lost in the mail! I think it will be magnificent (no great expectations though ;))
I agree with Marina, that is exactly how iris smells to me. Dove-gray and hazy. So, I think that Infusion d’Iris manages to do just that.
It does indeed. What is your favorite iris?
You didn’t ask me, but I’m going to tell you anyway!
MY favorite iris is DelRae Mythique 🙂
You didn’t even give me the chance to ask! 🙂
I have Mythique on my to test list, the sample stares at me reproachfully, tonight is the night…
Love this one too.
Infusion d”Iris first came to me as a swap extra, in a 2mL vial, which I think I drained in a week. Then, I bought that little 5mL mini, decanted it into a 3mL spray-atomizer so I could get a good application… and have not yet emptied the 3mL.
Yada yada yada. Anyway, I say all that to say: I really, really like d’Iris, and don’t wear it often enough mostly because, as you said B., it gets pushed to the back of the cabinet while more assertive fragrances get skin time. This would be a fantastic gift fragrance—it’s interesting, nicely done, and approachable.
😉
That is often the fate of such all-weather fragrances, they get overlooked…thank you for reminding me of its loveliness.
I also agree with Marina that I get a certain greyness with my iris generally, as well as a distinct incense note nere, which makes it calming and understated. Like you I find this is a great scent staple, always easy to wear and appropriate. I do think it stays the right side of masculine, but it is quite woody and not terribly floral to my nose.
I agree with everything you say, Vanessa. “not terribly floral” is a great phrase. 🙂
This is one of my favorite late winter/early spring fragrances when it’s still grey here with small purple blossoms just beginning to poke through the earth.
It is lovely for that time of the year!
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Yes, I am enjoying a full but small bottle of the Infusion d’Iris perfume right now. I had a sample a few months ago and thought to myself perhaps for spring…I do not like this as much as I do Hermes Hiris (3 bottles gone), but I like it still. It’s delicate and I can smell the green, the woodiness of something–bark, or earth? It is a close-to-the-skin scent, which I love, and I wear this one daily to work. It’s unoffensive to co-workers apparently, which is a plus, and it works with the arrival of spring.
Jeanne, I agree this is an excellent work perfume. It is very inoffensive, but still interesting and present enough for us Perfumistas to enjoy it. 😉
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