Triton
Blackbird (2014)

If a diminutive cartoon space alien was ever created to serve as a mascot for Iris Silver Mist, it could be named Triton by Blackbird. Some of the classic compositional elements of iris scents are here, but warped in their proportions, producing a holiday's passage through a cabinet of oddities into fairyland.

Triton starts as if someone has lit the tip of a carrot and waved it about as incense. The piperine-like effect of black peppercorn arrives fast, in fact, made me sneeze several times, then smile. For the first couple of hours at least, Triton is nostril tingling–a physical response to the fragrance that is not unpleasant but also perhaps not perfectly desirable.

Some of the gnarled and graceful depths of ISM are exchanged for a weirdo collision of soap sud aldehydes and a rock candy take on amber. There's a sharp edged, smooth surfaced wood that's attributed by the brand to be cedar. It's a pleasant addition, running across some of the more disparate parts of the fragrance. The woody aspects serve more as a binder than anything particularly descriptive unto itself. Supple, tangy vetiver and mild, powdery mimosa notes are emphasized at similar strengths. Combined with the cool, greenish violet leaf, this could be a bitters-forward craft cocktail.

All of these notes are wreathed around a center, and in their overlap, iris is produced. This is to say that my tickled nose roots around for a solidly buttery orris without ever landing in an experience as substantive as that. Rather, this is iris through implication. From its airier passages down to richer depths, Triton is a series of substitution fantasies, effected through dusty flowers plus root vegetable plus gentle woods.

It's not a complaint that the iris in Triton is elusive: its vacancy is a particular form of conceptualism where peculiar pairings and layerings skew into a flowered landscape most farfetched. The chill of this formulation doesn't obstruct it's absurdist sense of humor. Across several hours, Triton softens into a lingering smell of purple smarties, with confectionary stringency. It wears long on the skin, with impressive projection–somehow, the way it plays over time reminds me of inter-dimensional travel in science fiction, when an absence of a few moments may be as if years have passed in the meanwhile.

This is quite pretty. And I mean that. It feels pretty. It's well constructed, and it is unassuming. Those of us that enjoy the more earthy scents I think will appreciate this one and enjoy wearing it.

Though it is dry, I think it may be worn in the fall, though spring would be its ideal partner. I'm not sure how it would do in summer, and I doubt it would be wearable in winter - at least not on my skin.

The violet leaf is very prominent to my nose, with vetiver in the deep background. Incense may very well be present, but I think it must be mild because it is not overwhelming. The carrot seed can be detected, but it is nothing like found in ISM (thank GOD!), and the mimosa is entangled nicely with the violet leaf.

Though this is not the next hottest thing on the market, it is quite lovely, and for those who enjoy peaceful fragrances, with earthy feels, this will get lots of wear!