Infusion d'Iris
Prada (2007)

Gorgeous sweet iris, but not too sweet. Has the Prada DNA, like Candy, so it's very much clear it's Prada.

Infusion d’Iris doesn’t shy away from the mighty legacy of past irises like Après l’Ondée and Iris Silver Mist.
Instead it takes them head on, and blends the poetic melancholy of l’Ondée with the steel and glass modernity of Silver Mist.
But just mixing them together wouldn’t be enough – it takes more than that to enter the big league.
And so, what Daniela Andrier did was --- she humanised it with a pink and pretty face that doesn’t hide a glint of tears behind the veil.

The thing is though, even though it’s the rhizome that’s used in perfume, iris belongs to the floral family, which means that Infusion d’Iris is a Floral.
And then, if you add a citrus-fruity accord, it becomes a Fruity Floral.
Or – more accurately – an orange-fruity … and then bitter-woody & metallic-fizzy Floral, which dries down to a musky violet.
So (so) even if it doesn’t really smell like a fruity floral, technically speaking, – that’s what it is.
Good stuff.

I can totally understand why this gets compared to Chanel N°19 Poudré, however, I think they are more like siblings than twins. I feel like this fragrance leans a little more unisex than Poudré, which is totally feminine to my nose. I think you can own both without feeling like you have too much of an overlap between the two, especially since I feel like they both give off a different vibe. While Poudré I find to be feminine and pretty, this is a bit more strong minded. For example, as a realtor… I might wear Poudré to a settlement in the office, and I would opt for infusion d’iris for negotiations…. To give off that strength and confidence. I find the neroli more apparent in this one, which is maybe part of what’s giving that slightly bitter strength… and this also has a little bit more of a clean and soapy (in a good way) feel to it. I honestly love both and I’m happy to have both.

Infusion d'Iris has grown on me, from neutral in 2012 to a real appreciation of it's quiet, calm, ‘go everywhere' personae. It's versatility, from office to dinner, with aplomb, is quite a feat, really.
It always smells put together, self-possessed, elegant, in a pleasant, unassuming way. So I find myself using it more and more, as I trust it now to deliver in nearly all situations.
On my skin, the predominant note is a cool but personable soft Iris and very complementary musk-vetiver-wood. My favorite part of Infusion d'Iris are when these notes are in balance. If I have a quibble with Infusion d'Iris, it's that when the iris starts dissipating, the musky element becomes more apparent, and I prefer the balance between the two, rather than a musky iris. It's not a large flaw, but enough to take it from 5 to 4 stars in my mind.

So serene, so calm, so calming and so elegant - it's the scent of a smart woman who has her shit together. That, together with this being a non-intrusive, clean, soapy and polite perfume makes it an amazing work scent. It just cuts through all the crap of the day and presents you this calm, soapy, incensy and slightly irisy-powdery (just a tiny touch of powdery! more soapy! powder-enemies, don't fret!) vetiver scent. You smell it and it all gets better.

I had a mini bottle of this and upon using half of it gave it as a thank you gesture to another woman who wanted it (and this generous woman was well worth it), but I'd gladly welcome a bigger bottle of this again in my wardrobe some day. For now, I am very happy with Bois d'Iris by Van Cleef and Arpels which to my nose is a sister scent to Infusion d'Iris. They both have very similar mood, they're both quiet, introspective and easy to wear, but Bois d'Iris is a more woody and incensy, slightly darker iris where Infusion d'Iris, while also having these facets, is more about the soap and vetiver. Both are very slightly feminine leaning unisex - or maybe just unisex - to my nose. I slightly favour Bois as an incense fan, but Infusion is really worth my attention - and probably yours, too.

A Grace Kelly of fragrance. Pretty. Aloof. Never really allowed to reach full potential. Works best, and most interestingly, I think, as a masculine.