DANNER & FLEMMING
Iris Poulsard
2025
PERFUMER
Antoine Lie
green mandarin
orris
cardamom
raspberry
clove
cedarwood
frankincense
patchouli
‘A captivating, highly complex fragrance with fruity-spicy brilliance—revealing the unseen facets of Iris. This millésime perfume evokes desire. With an exceptionally high concentration of our Bavarian Iris germanica at its core, Iris Poulsard radiates irresistible allure and a mesmerizing aura that draws you in completely. Interwoven with essential oils of cedarwood, green mandarin, and cinnamon absolute, this scent transports you to unexpected dimensions of fruity-spicy sophistication. A brilliantly playful, creative, and confidently classic masterpiece of perfumery.’ – Danner & Flemming
As soon as I saw the announcement for this brand, it jumped up towards the top of my to-try list for 2025. Danner & Flemming teamed up with one of the best working perfumers in my opinion, Antoine Lie, for a trio of iris fragrances. These are limited editions, using between 2.5 & 4.1% of iris (for comparison, usually it would be 0.1% and Antoine Lie’s high-quality Iris Perle for Les Indemodables uses 0.3%); so with iris being my favorite note, I had to get my nose on these. In genreal, I can say that I was surprised by the styling. They are distinct, ‘complete fragrances’; despite the high iris concentrations, none of them feel like straight-up iris fragrances with a twist; they all utilize iris as part of complex and totally different compositions. They feel like they could belong in (different) popular fragrance houses, more so than the sometimes more crude, ingredients-focused artisinal or indie brands do. There is 1 love, 1 like and 1 that’s not for me on first impression and I do wish that there was a 4th release to just showcase raw iris material in all its glory.
Iris Poulsard is the one with the highest amount of iris at 4.1%, but it’s also the one with the least focus on what I would recognize as iris and I have to say that this was my least favorite of the trio. I’d say it’s the boldest and ‘least pretty’ of the set, but it all depends on what you’re looking for. There is very little overlap between this and Iris Altesse especially, so they may appeal to entirely different audiences and I definitely fall into the Iris Altesse category.
Poulsard is a somewhat darker, smokier fragrance with a lot of sweetness. I was reminded of the liquorice-esque and resinous style of a Creed Oud Zarian opening, perhaps more so Tom Ford Myrrhe Mystere and even some nods to a Angels’ Share-like DNA.
It’s extremely resinous, almost chewy like a gummy, so while it has a lot of spices, it wears smoothly. The fruitiness is there, but subtle, instead it feels more candied and it’s sweet throughout. If I picture black, brown or plum-colored marshmallows, I would imagine they taste like this.
As mentioned, I find this one on the smokier side, or more so, earthier. Not daring, but it is a darker and more earthy take than the also rather sweet Iris Trousseau, with a spicy patchouli being a dominant factor in the later hours of the wear. Perhaps also the slightly more traditionally masculine leaning one of the set.
Overall, this feels well-constructed and I think that people who are into bolder, heavier scents and sweetness will obviously gravitate towards Iris Poulsard and would find a great pick for this style of perfumery. Personally, I prefer Iris Trousseau’s take on sweetness by a good margin, as Iris Poulsard ends up wearing me down a bit after a couple of hours.