Iris Noir Secrets d'Essences (2007)
by Yves Rocher

I can't find any iris at all. A huge blast of purple berry, drying down to Tonka, which I love. It's not particularly feminine either and would wear just as well on a man. I'm on my second bottle.

19th January, 2012.

Sweet and fruity with very little iris that I can detect.
A nice alternative to more expensive versions of this ubiquitous genre: purple fruit with a soft, powdery, sweet tonka and soft patchouli base.
There is nothing wrong with this scent exactly--but nothing exciting about it either.

21st April, 2010.

I own this by accident. It hasn't any Iris quality to my nose. The first blast is a very simple synthetic black berry, the "noir". Kind of lollipop. O/k, then it squeezes something I don't really get. A bit of a sharp, perfumey hint on powdery iris root (orris). Later on, the room is filled with that black berry smell, and just that. I can't imagine to wear this. I can't imagine a woman to wear this, except fishing for compliments. This attempt is made here with no effort in quality, refinement, surprise. It's just loud. Sorry, no way.

19th February, 2010.

Very nice, and for me, definitely unisex. This doesn't come across to me as anything specifically (others mentioned patchouli, but at most there is a hint of it, relative to a fragrance like Michael for Men), though it evokes an abstraction of blueberries. I avoid top notes so I can't speak to that, but the drydown is fairly quick, and then it's rather linear, though it has nice dynamism in its abstract way. As Luca Turin said, it has an herbal/aromatic quality, but the tonka/sweet qualities are quite strong, so it's not the kind of herbal fragrance I'm used to. It took me a while to enjoy it, because at first I didn't want to smell blueberries for several hours, but after wearing it a few times, I was able to appreciate it beyond that aspect. Sillage and longevity seem moderate to good.

27th January, 2010.

I'm impressed. After an initial blast of hairspray (bergamot), a slightly sweet herbal (sage, maybe lavender) iris accord follows. The drydown is a dry, musty powder. This is L'Heure Bleue on a budget or Lolita Lempicka on a diet. It is truly a unisex fragrance. It has decent longevity and sillage. Will it become part of my regular rotation of fragrances? Probably not, but it does deserve at least 3.5 stars. And I know that I will finish the bottle...

21st June, 2009.

This heady perfume, of the 'purple patchouli' persuasion, is excellent! I love the sparkling manner in which bergamot opens this stunner! Given it's name, the main flower here should be iris...but my nose keeps getting rose instead? Not a bother though, this rose is extremely pretty. A dry, almost peppery-chypre-ish rose...if that's possible! Love the rich basenotes too, patchouli, tonka and styrax. Perfect for the cool fall days right around the corner. Oh yeah, this one won't break your budget either. A winner in every way.

22nd September, 2008.