Bois d'Iris by The Different Company: a different iris fragrance review

 Although iris scents are often mentioned in regards to powdery and starchy shades in perfumery, which would recall paper, skin, and bulbous vegetables, with Bois d'Iris The Different Company (not to be confused with Van Cleef & Arpel’s subsequent release under its Collection Extraordinaire line Bois d'Iris) we come upon an epiphany.

It's more of a manifestation of woods within iris than actual iris. This provides the necessary piquancy to bring out a certain oddness to the aura of the scent, which makes one wonder where scent ends and skin begins, or vice versa.

Iris concrete lacks the diffusional standards for modern perfumery, so perfumer Ellena bolstered the material with alpha-iso-methyl ionone, to add a diffusive violet chord alongside the chalkier analog of the iris. 

 

The duet of iris and alpha-iso-methyl ionone also structures Hermès Hiris, but while Olivia Giacobetti’s formula uses carrot seeds and almond wood, Bois d’Iris veers into cedarwood to render a sublime una corda pedal of a scent.

The Different Company White Zagora: fragrance review

White Zagora by The Different Company stands as an optimism shot for occasional gloomy days, even if the heat does not let us perceive them as such. It's an uncomplicated scent of bright citruses allied to a core of orange blossoms, with the greener (thanks to the note of neroli, the distillate from the citrus aurantium flower), the crisper, more joyful and spring-fresh elements pronounced.

photo copyright Elena Vosnaki

Whenever I spray the vivacious, optimistic scent of  White Zagora, composed by perfumer  Emilie Coppermann, it makes me think of going out, striding with big steps to a purposeful destination that will fulfill important meetings and pleasurable sights to quench my soul's thirst.

I predict that it will get me through summertime, especially if seascapes elude me for longer than anticipated. It's a Mediterranean scent, but it does not particularly evoke aquatic destinations, despite its refreshing character. It's "white" but not detergent-like. It's pure, unadulterated pleasure in a bottle!

Questions & Answers with Alexandra Monet, Perfumer

Alexandra Monet, a young perfumer working for aroma producing company Drom fragrances Specifically she is responsible for the upcoming commemorative 15th anniversary edition of The Different Company, Le 15 (i.e. Le Quinze) out in September 2015. The new unisex fragrance is focusing on the sacred wood of Palo Santo, found in Latin America.

Enthusiastic and spontaneous, Alexandra has a sensitivity that allows her to put in perfume her emotions. She enjoys the gourmet styles and the vibrant notes. After studying at the ISIPCA, she works at DROM. In 2013 she created candles for The Different Company Home Fragrance Collection.

Alexandra has collaborated with Luc Gabriel, The Different Company's CEO and President, to compose the limited edition extrait de parfum, Le 15.

Here are a few insights into what makes her tick which I found interesting and wanted to share with you.

How did you find your passion for this profession?
My sense of smell has always titillated me more than all other senses. I rapidly wanted to transform this ‘‘tickle’’ into a profession.

What is your olfactive universe?
I like playing with edible notes and I am love musky clean notes, that evokes freshly washed linen.

If you were a raw material?
Without hesitation, Patchouli. This is a unique and magical raw material, a vibrant essence that lives as soon as I put it on my skin.

If you were a quality?
Impertinence.

If you were a colour?
Black. Maybe white, but certainly not grey!

If you were a Star?
Audrey Hepburn.

If you were a place?
A big city, at night time.

The Different Company Une Nuit Magnetique: fragrance review

“But then fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you.”
― Stephen King, 'Salem's Lot'

Even though the temperatures are nowhere close to bringing out the woolen-patch jodhpurs, the heavy jumpers and the nautical pea-coat I associate with a chair by the fire, I have played with a little light, merino wool scarf these past few crisp early mornings before the sun would rise high on the sky making me tie it on my purse's handle. Sprayed with The Different Company's latest launch, Une Nuit Magnetique, felt indeed like an old friend that I had missed. In more ways than one.

Une Nuit Magnetique by The Different Company looks dense and heavy on paper, as floral orientals sometimes do, but becomes a warm alcove of ambery woods on the skin, no rough edges, no hyper-sexualized dirty tricks. It bears the signature style of plush yet lightweight compositions for which its composer, the perfumer Christine Nagel, is acclaimed for. The sensuality of the cozier notes is unmistakeable, never cloying, a transparent "oriental" chord built on benzoin and rose with quite a bit of musk and a hint of what feels like the famous Prunol base, that enveloping material that gives a sort of raisin and mulled-in-sweet-wine plums tinge to so many classic masterpieces, from Rochas Femme to Shiseido/Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois, and on to modern iterations (see Mon Parfum Cheri par Camille by the brand of Annick Goutal where it's coupled with a very strong patchouli note). However the character of Une Nuit Magnetique remains ultimately undecipherable, despite the familiarity, almost an enemy to parsing.

I have just published a full review on Fragrantica on this link.

Fragrance notes for TDC Une Nuit Magnetique: 
Top: ginger, bergamot and blueberry;
middle: Egyptian jasmine, Turkish rose, tuberose and plum;
base: benzoin, patchouli, amber, musk and woody notes.

The Different Company South Bay, Kashan Rose and White Zagora: new fragrances

The Different Company introduces three new additions to their esprit collection, South Bay, Kashan Rose and White Zagora, all composed by perfumer Emilie Coppermann and priced at 86 euros each for 90ml of eau de toilette.

Kashan Rose is a surprising fragrance, developing with notes of the Persian rose celebrated at the festival of the May rose in the city of Kashan. The fresh, fruity and spicy blend of sage, litchi, pink pepper and cardamom, segues to Persian rose. Rose petals are surrounded with hawthorn and peony, on a base of ambrette, sandalwood and musk.

Notes for Kashan Rose
litchi, sage, cardamon, pink pepper Persian rose, hawthorn, peony sandalwood, ambrette seed, musk 

South Bay is a luminous woody composition with fresh citrusy accents. The composition opens with a luminous blend of grapefruit, mandarin leaves and tamarind. Woody accords of grapefruit tree with freesia flowers and eglantine (Rosa rubiginosa) become stronger in the central layer of the composition, enhanced with creamy sandalwood, vetiver and suede creating the base of the perfume.

Notes for South Bay
grapefruitt mandarin leaf, tamarind grapefruit wood, freesia, eglantine sandalwood, suede, vetiver

White Zagora is a sensual oriental fragrance based on orange blossom accords. The top emphasizes neroli, citrus notes of which bergamot is the most discernible, with orange blossom in the heart, sweetened with honey, tuberose and sweet peach blossom. The base is warm, sensual and soft, via osmanthus, white musk and amber.

Notes for White Zagora
neroli, citruses, bergamot orange blossom, peach blossom, tuberose osmanthus, amber, musk

More on the official site.

The Different Company Bois d’Iris: Fragrance Review

Yes, this is my copy of Bois d’Iris—right up to the obtuse notch on the top left corner of the box upon yours truly’s overzealous unwrapping—yet in all honestly after a few years I still haven’t figured out a proper place for master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena’s creation.

~by guest writer AlbertCAN

photo copyright: AlbertCAN (used with permission)

Is it the subject matter? Hardly. Iris is one of my preferred olfactory subjects of exploration. (Apparently so does the US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, as the owners of Aedes de Venustas told Chandler Burr: "Dolce and Gabbana came in for a thank-you gift for Anna Wintour. She likes irises, so we loaded her basket with iris candles, iris soaps, iris room sprays, and decorated it with fresh irises.") Could it then be the compositional philosophy? Quite the opposite: many readers of this space and my humble blog would know that I have been a keen observer of Ellena’s aesthetics for years now. The quality of the ingredients is also evident from the first moment to the last, the packaging from The Different Company impeccable. So what makes it just short of being a clincher?

An epiphany striked through upon composing this review: it’s in the name. Bois d’Iris (not to be confused with Van Cleef & Arpel’s subsequent release under its niche Collection Extraordinaire line) is exactly what the title suggests: it’s more of a manifestation of woods within iris.

Let’s not to imply that Ellena skimped on costs here: the pricy iris concrete is used here and its effect is evident. For the purpose of composing this review I have pulled out my batch of iris to compare. Indeed the concrete is at the depth of this work, forming an earthy, damp, slightly tunnelled ambiance at the back end. The iris used in Bois d’Iris creates a smooth and silken effect, while displaying all typical facets of the material: the floral violets, the dark gourmands, the dry woods. And because iris concrete just by itself lacks the diffusional standards for modern perfumery Ellena here has chosen to bolster the material with alpha-isomethyl ionone, a material having a diffusive, powdery impression of violets and its slightly chalkier analogue—you’ve guessed it—iris. At this point I should point out that the duo of iris and alpha-isomethyl ionone also form the backbone of Hermès Hiris, yet whereas Olivia Giacobetti’s composition lightens up the cornerstone with carrot and almond wood, Bois d’Iris veers into another direction.

A few years back I had the fortune of communicating with Octavian Coifan about subtle ways of emphasizing iris within a composition, and he mentioned that vetiver or even cedar would be good options. While Chanel 28 La Pausa, another iris fragrance, has vetiver at its base, Bois d’Iris is firmly in the cedarwood territory. And the heart of the composition is filled with narcissus and aspects of geranium: the rosy geraniol and citronnellol, the woodsy-peppery-floral linalool. Then to complete the composition we have the clove aspect from eugenol, the slight ylang impression from benzyl salicylate and the hay-like depth from coumarin. Limonene, the essential building block of citrus elements, is also present, though I don’t generally consider that to be the main player at all; in fact, the traditional top notes are neither prominent nor emphasized.

Now I don’t know about you, but at this point the above-mentioned notes, in their respective positions, read modern French formal to me—emphasis on the word formal. Don’t get me wrong: like I have previously mentioned the composition integrity is commendable, style consistent with Ellena’s point of view. Yet what comes with its Gallic nature is an authentic air of reservation and formality, more of a silent masculine to Hiris feminine. Reserved, pensive. It’s not to suggest that Bois d’Iris is boring, with the narcissus-eugenol-coumarin axis giving off a slight wine-like nuance and the cedar forming a nice wine-cask resonance. Now I suspect Bois d'Iris knows how to enjoy life, but only tastefully in private.

Overall? Bois d’Iris is something I use from time to time in my own spare time, when I feel like losing myself in a long leisurely read. If I want my holy grail iris I will continue layering Hiris with Persicol.

The Different Company History and News

Following the work of perfumer Jean Claude Ellena, I came upon The Different Company, a small niche brand which was started by him with the sole objective revealed in its name: to be different!
In one of his aphorisms, Jean Claude had professed that classical perfumery although beautiful is too perfumey for today's sensibility, much like reading Stendhal. In his quest not to understand the market though -antithetically to what major brands do, running focus groups tests for their every product- he has always been about making the market instead.

Artistic freedom obviously meant everything and in order to discourage copycats and lowly competition Ellena along with his collaborator Thierry de Baschmkoff, a relative of his and engineer-turned-bottle-designer, opted for the most smart stratagem: make the juice too expensive, too top quality.
The Different Company opened its doors in 2000 with four stunning scents: Osmanthus, a fragrance based on the precious little Chinese flower with its divine apricoty smell, Rose Poivrée which Chandler Burr has famously -and complimentary- attributed to Satan's wife in Hell, Divine Bergamot, sunny brilliance and dirty hints under the sun of Calabria and Bois d'Iris, an extraordinarily expensive in the making woody orris fragrance fit for an exiled princess.

When Jean Claude got his in-house position at Hermès in 2004, the baton was passed to his daughter, Céline Ellena. She went on to compose both rich and decadent juices such as Jasmin de Nuit as well as diaphanous organza veils ~such as the fragrances in the ‘Explorations sensorielles’ (=sensory explorations) line that is essentially a garden trio: parfum d'Ailleurs & Fleurs (of flowers and beyond), parfum de Charmes & Feuilles (of leaves and charm), and parfum des Sens & Bois (of woods and the senses). And last but not least, the incredible Sel de Vétiver, inspired by Céline tasting water aromatized with vetiver roots at an eastern friend's appartment in Paris.
Their latest Sublime Balkiss, inspired by the queen of Sheba and a modern chypre composition no less, has been having the perfume circles talking and anticipating. (notes of violet, blackcurrant, Bulgarian Rose, blueberries, blackberries, clusters of lilac and a special fraction of the essential oil of patchouli, highlighting its cocoa powder aspect)

It seems we have been richly spoiled! And to top it all of, they have opened a new boutique in Paris.

Niche fragrance brand The Different Company has just opened a stunning new boutique in Paris, in the heart of the trendy Marais quarter. For the occasion, they have paired up with make-up brand Maison Calavas, who is sharing the space. Maison Calavas is specialized in top-of-the-line make-up, with a wide range of palettes presented in colorful shagreen, lizard and snake-skin boxes. 10 rue Ferdinand Duval, Paris 4è – (+ 33) (0)1 42 78 19 34

Their own website is still great to navigate through.

Info & pic via Osmoz and The Different Company