DANNER & FLEMMING
Iris Trousseau
2025
PERFUMER
Antoine Lie
orris
hazelnut
tonka bean
Sandalwood
‘Maximum powdery elegance, creamy softness, and floral-woody nuances define this exceptional fragrance. This millésime perfume embodies pure sensuality—like floating on soft clouds. The soul of this creation is our unique and meticulously extracted Bavarian Iris germanica Danner—perhaps the most potent variety in the world. It gives Iris Trousseau its extraordinary creamy-smooth powderiness, enriched with rare Piedmontese hazelnut extract, tonka bean absolute, and sandalwood oil for added depth and warmth. This fragrance, exceptional in every category, surrounds you with its silky softness and carries you in weightless elegance.’ – 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 Trouseau feels like the most ‘typical iris’ of the three and is perhaps closest to what I expected beforehand. That being said, it’s definitely not a straight-forward, full-on iris scent. It pair iris with a mild, semi-sweet gourmand element. Nutty, but in a smooth way; it doesn’t have the bitterness of a rooty iris as much as a lot of nutty, cocoa iris fragrances do. It feels like a sophisticated praline tinge; not roasted nuts.
I think it feels the most typical, because of how powdery it gets. Dry, sand-like, sweet powder. Initially I thought I was smelling some Eastern spices; cumin, cardamom, immortelle, but it’s all subtle. The same goes for the vanillic gourmand side; it doesn’t go fully sweet or like a proper gourmand; I’d say overall it’s more contained than the more candied and outspoken Iris Poulsard.
One of my favorite iris fragrance is Les Abstraits Belle Ame (also by Antoine Lie and presumably utilizing some similar ingredients). Iris Trousseau feels like it could be a deconstructed or less vibrant and contrasty sibling to Belle Ame. The Danner & Flemming doesn’t have the brightness, the ginger, it’s more singular from start to finish, making for a mature feeling, sophisticated take on a nutty iris.
As the wear progresses, I definitely get a sense of suede. Dry, powdery leather or cashmeran, but again, very subtle.
Overall, I like this one and it’s a style of fragrance that I would happily wear. The iris in this is lovely and puts it over many other iris fragrances. It doesn’t have the instant wow-factor and I may prefer the eccentricity of Belle Ame for example, but I also have to be in the mood for that, whereas Iris Trousseau would be a versatile option. It’s a great fragrance as is.