Perfumes with Orris

Orris smells powdery, cool, creamy and slightly earthy, an elegant cosmetic note with nuances of violet, carrot and butter that recall face powder. It comes from the rhizomes of Iris pallida and Iris germanica, with Tuscany in Italy and Morocco among the known sources.

The rhizomes are dried and aged for about three years before steam distillation produces orris butter, whose scent comes from molecules called irones. This long process makes it one of the most expensive raw materials. Orris mostly sits in the heart of a fragrance. It pairs well with violet, sandalwood, musk, vetiver, leather, rose and vanilla.

Orris appears in 2,266 perfumes in the Fisfis catalogue and is used mostly as a heart note.