Perfume Review: Iris Ganache by Guerlain
June 22nd, 2007
In the past few years, I’ve gotten quite accustomed to seeing chocolate as a perfume note. Actually, accustomed to the point of being leery of any perfume featuring the note. I suppose you can say I’m one of those people who prefers to apply chocolate inwardly as opposed to outwardly. Chocolate can smell all right but it sure tastes much better! Nevertheless, the news of Iris Ganache, the new Guerlain from the L’Art et la Matiere collection, produced a jubilant reaction: being a huge fan of all the previous editions (Bois d’Armenie, Cuir Beluga, Angelique Noire, and Rose Barbare), I chose to close my eyes on the chocolate and focus on the iris instead.
Turns out, only seeing the iris isn’t quite possible. Iris Ganache is exactly what the folks at Osmoz.com described it as: “an iris butter worked like a ganache cream for pastry”. Iris and heavy cream/chocolate blend - who would have thought this could possibly work. Well, it does and then some. Iris Ganache is just as much about chocolate cream as it is about iris. The two are inseparable. Its outward application is equivalent to what it would do in your mouth - it instantly melds with skin in a most caressing way. Iris Ganache is a perfect blend of powdery and creamy. It intensely reminds me of my other Guerlain favorite, Apres l’Ondee - a gourmand version of it. I marvel at this similarity for two reasons: 1) both scents are years apart; 2) Iris Ganache is as Guerlain-like as can be. I’ve been living off of my sample for a few days now and will absolutely want to get my hands on the bottle.
Iris Ganache features the notes of bergamot, cinnamon, white chocolate, iris butter, patchouli, cedar, amber, vanilla, musks. It can be purchased at Bergdorf Goodman in New York as well as the Guerlain flagship store in Paris.
P.S. As a side note, I’ve come up with two more reasons to love Iris Ganache: 1) it is gourmand and it is good! 2) the juice is pink, and I can’t stop admiring this fact.
Image source: osmoz.com
Entry Filed under: New Perfumes, Perfume Reviews
23 Comments Add your own
1. chayaruchama | June 22nd, 2007 at 5:39 am
Count me in, as I echo your sentiments, baby.
It’s goood.
Hope you feel refreshed !
2. Elle | June 22nd, 2007 at 7:16 am
Your review has me more convinced than ever that I will find the magic in this scent w/ continued diligent testing.
3. Judith | June 22nd, 2007 at 7:48 am
Hmmmm. Well I will have to try this in PARIS–but, chocolatophobe that I am, I’m still wary. . . .
4. Marina | June 22nd, 2007 at 8:05 am
“Apply chocolate inwardly as opposed to outwardly”
Love that!!
PS. You are such a Guerlain girl. May I call you Miss Guerlain?
5. violetnoir | June 22nd, 2007 at 10:16 am
This sounds absolutely delectable, Ina. I can’t wait to try it!
Hope you had a delightful mini-break!
Hugs!
6. Patty | June 22nd, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Ditto on this one, it is a wonder — mostly because nothing about it should be good, just based on the notes, at least for me.
Great review!
7. Ina | June 22nd, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Chaya, yes, I feel very much refreshed! So glad you love IG as well.
8. Ina | June 22nd, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Elle, you must find the magic! I demand.
9. Ina | June 22nd, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Judith, if you love Apres L’Ondee (which I think you do), you’ll love Iris Ganache. Guaranteed.
10. Ina | June 22nd, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Marina, you can call me Guerlain anything - Miss Guerlain, Guerlain Hag, you name it.
11. Ina | June 22nd, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Robin, you’ll love it, methinks.
12. Ina | June 22nd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Patty, exactly. But it is oh so very good! And the ganache is good, too.
13. Amy | June 23rd, 2007 at 10:57 am
ITA. The world needs more pink perfume.
14. Flora | June 23rd, 2007 at 12:50 pm
This sounds beter than I first imagined. Now that I am a Guerlain convert (gasp!) I must try it.
15. voyageuse imaginaire | June 23rd, 2007 at 5:41 pm
not tested yet but the notes don ‘t turn me on very much, I ‘m just tired of all those gourmand perfumes out there or at least give me cinnamon and mandarin ( Rousse by Serge Lutens) but chocolate and vanilla… again? anyways I ‘m one of those people who think chocolate and vanilla can make nice gourmands scents if well executed but cannot make great perfumes. I ‘m sure I would love it…for now, but it would end up like my Musc Ravageur bottle, sold on ebay half way through.
16. Ina | June 24th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Voyageuse, that was my fear, too, but Iris Ganache is really an exception, especially with its Guerlain feel and similarity to Apres l’Ondee. I hope you like it!
17. winterwheat | June 25th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
You sold me, you poetic guerly girl. Since I adore Apres l’Ondee, I figure I can’t lose. I just ordered from BG in New York. It’s worth eating on the cheap for a few weeks, right?
18. voyageuse imaginaire | June 25th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Ina, I hope having time this week to go to BG in the city, maybe I ‘ll change my mind and hopefully it ’s reminiscent of Apres l ‘Ondee and closer to a beautiful iris than regular chocovanillic gourmands.
I already have Rose Barbare, I had my boyfriend get it for me on Valentine ’s day, I love it but I ‘m honnest to say it ’s not worth the price. I wouldn ‘t want to do this again with Iris Ganache, get a $200 perfume that ’s pretty but generic, at this price I expect masterpiece perfume.
19. Ina | June 25th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Kris, yay!
Laughing here at your calling me “poetic guerly girl”. Do report on how you like it, please!
20. Ina | June 25th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Voyageuse, I’m very curious to know what you think of it! Please report back. But I know what you mean about the price - eep!
21. Dana | June 27th, 2007 at 9:24 am
This sounds so testable! I’m not usually a fan of iris, as it can be too powdery and earthy for me, but I am always intriguied by compositions that blend gourmand with floral notes. The idea of an iris pastry ganache, similar to the idea of violets used in candy or lavender used in milk chocolate bars, are very appealing to me. I like the creative combinations of chocolate with iris or with lavender, or with some flowers in general. And white chocolate sounds so much more alluring than vanilla would have been! Can’t wait to discover this one!
22. Aromascope » New Yo&hellip | July 18th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
[…] myself, the beautiful Guerlain counter at Bergdorf Goodman seemed like my second home. My beloved Iris Ganache is already there, Vol de Nuit parfum is still my lemming, and Cuir Beluga chose to spend the rest […]
23. Aromascope » Best O&hellip | December 27th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
[…] Iris Ganache by Guerlain […]
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