I shouldn’t even have a bottle of Iris Nazarena. I was trying to buy the set of three little sprays of Copal Azur after finishing a decant, and accidentally bought the Aedes De Venustas discovery set instead. Knowing that I have an absolute lack of ability to get things to the post office in a timely manner–it’s like my un-superpower–I broke it open and figured if I hated the other two I could swap them, carefully neglecting the part of that plan that involved post offices too…

It was a good accident. I rather fell in love with Ralf Schwieger’s take on iris. Quite sheer, but not the vanish-in-first-sunlight mist of 28 La Pausa, Iris Nazarena is pretty dark.

But it’s still strangely pretty, even without the softening edges of violet that so many other irises use to brighten the grey. It’s incensey and slightly funeral (though not with the morgue chill of Iris Silver Mist) and as dry as a museum storeroom. There’s a little soft leather, a hint of vetiver, some spice, but mostly that dry iris humming This Mortal Coil songs quietly to itself all day.

Lovely stuff

originally posted 27 March 2019 + additional photo