Iris in perfumery : an essential natural raw material
Iris is one of the most precious ingredients in perfumery. It gives off a delicate powdery, subtly woody, violet and airy scent that is both powerful and refined.
It is the main element of our Elixiris fragrance : very present and associated with an almond heliotrope accord, it has kept all its elegance and made this fragrance a noble elixir. The iris is essential in prestige perfumery to bring a powdery and luxurious note, which we find in Innocence in a Scent.
Although iris flowers are appreciated for their beauty, it is the rhizome (the underground stem of the flower) that is used in perfumery. Initially odourless, these rhizomes must be dried for 3 years. Distillation then produces "iris butter" from which iris absolute is obtained.
In addition to the years of maturation, the profitability of iris is very low : it takes a ton of iris to obtain only 2 kg of iris butter. This raw material is therefore one of the most expensive in perfumery, often replaced by synthetic products.