Now that there has been about five years of this trend of transparency, I have some preferences. I still have issues with a fragrance designed to be so light it is barely present. Those always seem like perfume made for people who don’t like perfume. There is a level where things become just a little opaquer. As difficult as it has been to embrace this style it is these types of constructs which I can find some pleasure in. Les Soeurs de Noe Call Me Iris fits right into what I like.
Nadia Benaisa
I discovered Les Soeurs de Noe two years ago with their debut release of five fragrances. Founder-creative director Nadia Benaisa wanted to design perfumes which reflected her Belgian and Moroccan world where she grew up. The first releases were smart combination of Eastern and Western influences. She worked with perfumers Jerome Epinette and Pierre Wulff to create one of my favorite discoveries of 2019. The same creative team is in place for Call Me Iris.
Pierre Wulff (l.) and Jerome Epinette
The Eastern and Western pieces here are frankincense and iris. I have lots of perfumes which have these two ingredients as their nucleus. What makes Call Me Iris different is the transparency without becoming ephemeral. Here those two ingredients knot them selves together like two silk scarves as the wind blows underneath.
Orris and frankincense come together immediately. In the early going it is as if the incense is coated with a fine dusting of iris powder. I’m not usually a fan of the powdery part of orris. In this case the opacity works to make it more interesting. A lemon zephyr blows in adding a hint of citrus luminescence. Baie rose asks for that rhizomal side of orris to come out. As that happens the frankincense also slightly shifts from soft to a silverier scent. The base has vanilla waiting to interact with the orris and fir balsam to add to the frankincense. As this comes together, they add an extra layer to both keynotes.
Call Me Iris has 10-12 hour longevity and average sillage.
I am quite pleased to see that Mme Benaisa has returned with all the things which made me so happy about her first releases. Call Me Iris has been a wonderful companion on these summer days because it is as transparent as it is. I have found myself closing my eyes and letting the scent take me to a different place. It has become my meditational iris.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
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