Hiris
Hermès (1999)

Chill in a bottle
Requiring sunglasses, this
Sport fragrance for chess

This missing Prada
Through warmth and cool together
Subversion d’Iris

Through the looking glass
Subtle as a laser beam
Into yesterday

She never ages
All her machinations serve
To prop up iris

Softened by her rose
Sharpened by coriander
Sweetened by honey

Made innocent by
The staff in her country home
And her ice cream cone

And yet stolen by
Her dear no-good-nik brother
Playing piano

The older she gets
The becomer she youngers
Still a cougar cub

Happy that she missed
The whole “Iris For Men” fad
Secret of her yout

Never admitting
She’s in everyone’s smart phone
Sirih with no H

Yes, that’s the right one
She wears Barénia, no?
Fearless of left turns.

The temperatures have finally dipped to comfortable levels after unseasonably hot May days. The breeze comes through the window and the Hiris on my skin shifts through the air like a blue apparition.

It opens cool, yet not steely, more a salve of rosy, violet-tinged carrots and powdered rhizomes of all kinds. Then, there's a beautiful "key change," as it were, a minor key resolved to major. It smells not merely of orris root but what I perceive when one were to get intimate with one of those large, ghostly, translucent bearded irises, after the rain, damp, its pendant-like pedals saturated, leaves and stems. I did just this in a garden at Acton Arboretum here in MA this past weekend. What a mysterious scent that comes from certain iris flowers themselves if one is to lean in closer. Hiris seems to capture this in its heart.

The base is a phosphorescent cedar, glowing as if foxfire, bubbled woody ionones, traces of bitter almond, saponified dried roots and bark, still cool, still calm. It isn't any wonder that Olivia Giacobetti is behind this understated genius given her many contributions to L'Artisan Parfumeur and her skill in impactful translucency.

A much friendlier Feminine Iris to my Masculine skin Vis a Vis that most opulent Xerjoff.
This, from a boy who will top anything, with Truffled Foie Gras.
The charm of this scent is it's delicate, sculptured composition and gentle season of Coriander.
The Rosy Pink Petals wrap the cool, carroty Orris.
Cedar applied with care, to offer a mild Woodiness.
Sweetened with a dash of Vanilla Sugar countered with a whiff of Dry Clean Hay.
Ambrette has this finish ala nettoyer le linge.
Yummy!

Iris, carrot and coriander are the unequivocal component ms in the opening triad. The iris is delicious in its intensity and quite typical in its character; this a clean iris The carrot is well done too, and the coriander with its slightly tart touches blends in very well. This quite a unique opening.

The drydown add bundles of dry hay, combined with a rose that is rather light, a bit mundane and more in the background on me. Hints of néroli add a bit of brightness.

The iris still is going strong, and does so well into the base. Touches of a dry almond-infused vanilla and of cedarwood are present, but they are very weak compared with the earlier stages. A musky undertone owed to the ambrette seed joins in at a later sees it out until the end.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection and six hours of longevity on my skin.

In this autumnal scent it is the first half that truly convinces, be it by the good representation of the iris, or by the original approach that is taken. The second half is less titillating, but it is crafted well always. Overall 3.5/5.

Hermes Hiris is a rival in my list of olfactory delights to Lutens' Iris Silver Mist. A blast of purely beautiful, dry, suede-like orris greets the nose on first exposure. This deepens, but slowly, with the coriander and hay notes very subtly supporting the orris. The reserved use of the cedar and almond woods gives it a slight edge, but never permits it to become bitter or off-putting.

I await the honey and vanilla dry down, but for me it never arrives. No matter, I am happy with what I have.

Orris based scents, when properly done, are entirely unisex, in my opinion. Depending on body chemistry the genre can seem cold and aloof, or warm and earthy. Hiris seems equally at home with both men and women.

As a rival to Iris Silver Mist, Hiris comes out ahead due to its very affordable price in comparison with the Lutens, and its availability since the Lutens has up until recently only been available as an import from Europe.

To summarize one of the very best iris based scents available, expertly balanced and blended and a joy to own.

I got the purple bottle version at the Hermes store in Las Vegas, the store is gorgeous, lots of wood and gorgeous scarves all around. Hiris smelled at that moment like a small pot of pansy flowers, cold & wet, including the smell of the earth in the pot. Since then, I've noticed my perception of it always changes, it's never boring, sometimes it'll smell like a hot clothing iron, most of the time it'll smell of iris and cedar, sometimes I can smell a white floral in there too. Most of the time, it will seem to disappear on me even after 3-4 serious spritzes, but later people will say I smell very good or clean, I will have surprising people burying their nose in my chest, and my clothes will smell of it the next day. It's a very stealthy scent, so it's great for the office, or being around very sensitive people.
I love it, I will definitely buy again. I only wish there was a more intense version, or products to scent layer. I think a man could wear this just fine.