"Bois d'Iris" is absolutely not what I expected. Because The Different Company is Jean-Claude Ellena's brainchild, I assumed that this fragrance would have similarities with "L'Eau d'Hiver" -- that vivid single iris from the florist shop, but out in the wild. What I didn't expect was to apply this scent and suddenly experience a powerful impression of incense wafting out the censer waved by a Roman Catholic priest. It was the very specific scent I remember as a child, sitting in our clean modern church, as Father Tim made his way down the aisle trailing that cloudy, heavy odor.
But much like memories become idealised over time, I'm aware that "Bois d'Iris" is missing some of the negative elements of the real Roman Catholic incense. The oppressive smokiness, for one, is gone, as is the stinging spice. After 15 minutes the notes began to separate and I picked up cedar and wood and lichen, then the clearer florals between.
It's funny; I came into this expecting a flowery meadow for some reason, and so was blindsided by the entire religious experience -- what did that have to do with a woodland full of irises? But having wholly dismissed the name as ludicrous, the way the notes emerged actually brought me right back: willowy cedars clustered on a thick carpet of moss, pockets of irises jostling for any leftover space, like unexpectedly stumbling across somewhere totally idyllic and secret after a long hike. It's a full fragrance, kicking off with a heavy punch that doesn't so much mellow out as clarify, which makes it a lot easier to take. Unfortunately, the fragrance does fade rather quickly -- which I don't mind, as I prefer its lighter incarnation to the more gothic first impression.
Verdict: It somehow pulls off incense without actually being incense-based, and warm without being smoky. Really fascinating, and overtakes "Jasmin de Nuit" in the "I Must Own One of The Pretty TDC Bottles, I Must, I Must, Which One Though?" contest.
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