Orris (2006)
by Tauer

I'm a new community member and forgive my rather blunt approach to rating fragrances: I don't know that many notes but I am a female and I cannot imagine wearing this scent; I can't even imagine my husband wearing it; it smells like what I would imagine an outdoor medicine man's teepee might smell like -- I do not pick up on any floral at all here just bitter, medicinal albeit subtle wafts of different scents I am not familiar with: I suspect they are the orris (which I guess is iris root?); or violet? Neither of these are apparently for me. To date my favorite fragrances are Bois des Iles and Sacre Bleu; far sweeter, softer, more feminine. Don't know: my husband likes them both but vastly prefers Sacre Bleu.

This is a wonderfully done fragrance ... however, florals and I don't get along very well. It's just not for me. I gave my sample to a young friend and find myself appreciating it more and more when he wears it ... but I enjoy it more on others than on myself.

This has the signature Tauer "tar" note, but it is much more smoothly
blended with the other notes than in LDDM or Lonestar Memories. The tar retreats into the background early on, leaving a rich and warm interpretation
of the iris note.

It is a well-balanced and intoxicating scent that is dark and sensual in the vein of Voleur de Roses. This was my first full-bottle floral purchase, and my first iris.

I see no need for any other. This is an easy Holy Grail for someone, man or woman. When I wear this, I envision a heat-shimmer of energy pulsing from my body, wave upon wave, perfectly synchronized with the beating of my heart.

Art... Mystery... Seduction... and Love...

They are all here in abundance! Thank you Andy Tauer for this fabulous scent! Both thumbs up!

Tart and herbal at the opening, which is now my favorite part of this scent. Menthol, lemon, sage notes create a tart/green pine quality. Accompanied by Iris, it is incense like, peppery and dry. Overall, this scent has a crisp white smokiness to it, ironically very clean. Exquisite, like the first smell of expensive leather. And the rose is hidden far under the other notes, it is just a whisper. Much later this lingers on your scarf or lapel as a piney wood and spice scent. I love this scent for a man or woman. I wear it and think of walking through gentle woods, it is incredibly centering.

This is probably the most atypical iris scent I've tried. Usually, I find iris to be cold and aloof, with a dustiness that I don't particularly care for. It seems it can add a three-dimensionality, a lushness, to scents that use it judiciously, but normally, I don't find it to be a "pretty" or "sexy" note. Here though, the iris smells more like violets than it does in any other iris scent I've tested. In fact, if it were not named Orris, or if I were testing it blind, I probably would have guessed this was a voilet scent, not an iris scent.

That said, I'm still not sure I would call this scent "pretty." It's more a mysterious and sexy scent than a pretty one. If LesNez's The Unicorn Spell is a violet scent that brings to mind a woman's romanticized memories of her childhood room and the dreams she had there, then Orris is the scent of that same woman, all grown up, dressed to kill, and exuding an air of mystery and confidence. In other words, I find Orris to be a sexy, feminine, grown-up scent.

The Tauer touch is there in the form of a dark, smoky, woodsy base that calls to mind a lighter version of Lonestar Memories. There is also a medicinal quality to this that adds the exoticism and mysteriousness I keep mentioning...probably the agarwood. Like all the other Tauer scents, this just doesn't last that long on me - I get a few good hours out of it. But for those few hours, it's a distinctive and interesting ride. In this case, it's the warmest, sexiest, iris scent I've tried. I probably wouldn't wear it, but I'd love to smell it on a woman.

If you love iris scents, this is definitely worth a try. Alas, iris dominant scents are not for me and this one failed to make me do a complete u-turn.

A lovely fragrance but its sillage and longevity could have been better.