I got this fragrance sometime around 2000. My father brought back two perfumes from a trip abroad, and one of them was Hiris. He also brought home a Galeries Lafayette catalogue, which happened to feature this fragrance. I had loved L’Artisan Parfumeur ever since I first became interested in perfume, so I had always been very fond of perfumer Olivia Giacobetti. Hiris was one of her creations, and largely because of her, I chose it with almost no hesitation. That was nearly thirty years ago. At the time, I didn’t know Hermès fragrances particularly well. It was really after Jean-Claude Ellena joined Hermès in 2003 as the house perfumer that the brand’s fragrance line began to develop such a distinctive and coherent identity. I have always loved iris as a theme, but I am also wary of iris fragrances that become too intense, especially when the powderiness is taken too far. Hiris, however, is completely different. In the opening, the iris is not powdery at all. Instead, there is a very distinct sense of the rhizome itself: slightly damp earth, carrot root, and a touch of green, spicy coriander. It smells more like the entire plant than an iris that has been transformed into a powder puff. The powderiness gradually begins to emerge, but it remains light and cool. There are touches of violet and barely perceptible florals in between, while hay and cedar pull that powderiness back toward dry vegetation and wood. What I find particularly interesting is the contrast in texture: on one side, there is the dampness of a rhizome freshly pulled from the soil; on the other, the dryness of hay and wood shavings. Somehow, the two never feel contradictory. In the drydown, the iris becomes softer, accompanied by a gentle woody quality. I have seen plenty of debate over whether the honey and vanilla are actually perceptible. Personally, I think that faint softness within all the coolness and dryness may be precisely what they are there for. As my perfume collection has grown, I rarely wear Hiris anymore. But every time I spray it, that quiet, cool blue-violet iris, still carrying a trace of earth on its roots, immediately appears before my eyes.
