The essence of Iris

One of the world's
Most valuable
fragrance materials

The cultivation of Iris and the production of Iris extracts are extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive. This makes Iris one of the most precious fragrance materials in the world. Due to its high price, Iris is normally only used in very small quantities. But not in our fragrances ...

The flower

Typical three-fold monocot flowers. Gorgeous and fragrant. However, they are not used as a fragrance  for perfumes.

The leaf

The sword-shaped leaves of  Irises have parallel leaf nerves  and carry out photosynthesis  to feed the plant.

The rhizome

The horizontally growing shoots in the soil contain the precious fragrance compounds. These so-called rhizomes serve as storage organs and make the Iris exceptionally resilient.

The root

Very stable and long roots anchor the Iris in the soil and supply it with water and minerals. There are hardly any fragrances found.

Time-consuming cultivation

The cultivation of the fragrant iris is highly demanding and requires a lot of manual work. After three years of growth, extensive maintenance, and laborious harvesting, the yield remains very low. The terroir also influences the scent quality – much like in viticulture. To ensure the highest quality, we hand-select our raw material.

Elaborate Processing

After the harvest, the rhizomes that have grown just below the soil surface are cleaned, sliced, and gently but rapidly dried. They are then subjected to our patented refinement process, which guarantees the finest fragrance quality and high concentrations of fragrant compounds.

Low yields

The yields from extraction or distillation are very low. To obtain one kilogram of essential oil (Iris butter), around 500–1,000 kilograms of Iris rhizomes are required. This is one of the reasons why Iris essences rank among the most precious ingredients in perfumery. In our fragrances, we use both the powerful essential oils of Iris and the warm, soft Iris extracts in the highest concentrations.

Iris perfumes from
the heart of Europe

Our Iris plants are cultivated and processed in Germany. In southern Bavaria, they mature on exceptional terroir to achieve the highest quality, before being refined into inimitable perfumes by the hands of French master artisans.

Grown and processed in Germany

Iris finds perfect conditions in Bavaria. Cold winters, warm summers, rich soils and sufficient rainfall allow the fragrant Iris rhizomes to mature within three years. The heart of our brand beats in historic Regensburg.

Elegantly finished in France

Created in Paris by master perfumer Antoine Lie and married on Lake Geneva with other fine ingredients from the fragrance house L'atelier française des matières, our fragrances combine European tradition and innovation. The result is unique millésime perfumes - sincere, rare, ephemeral and certainly unforgettable.

This is where the fascination begins

The scent Develops
‍in the rhizome

The valuable fragrance molecules of the Iris are found in the rhizomes and are only contained in very low concentrations of 200 - 600 mg per kilogram. They are only produced after drying and maturing by the cleavage of non-scented molecules.

The fragrance is mainly composed of the woody and violet-scented alpha-irone and the stronger, powdery and floral-scented gamma-irone. The two molecules occur in different proportions depending on the type of Iris and have a significant influence on the fragrance character. Each of our perfumes contains a different type of Iris with a characteristic ratio of these two irons.

Harvest

The harvest of the rhizomes takes place after three to four years of growth, is highly dependent on weather conditions, and requires extensive manual effort. Per hectare, only a few tons of yield can be expected.

Cleaning

Before the rhizomes can be further processed, they must first be laboriously cleaned of adhering soil and thoroughly washed. This is done using machines specially designed for this purpose.

Slicing

Drying the rhizomes quickly and evenly is essential for outstanding quality - but also a major challenge. This is because the Iris is adapted to life in dry areas and is specialized in not losing water once it has been stored. The rhizomes are therefore first cut into homogeneous slices.

Drying

Drying takes place in several stages. Initially, sun and wind also help, followed by hot air drying and adsorption drying using green energy. Dried Iris rhizomes are hard and bright as marble.

Maturation

The irones, the powdery and violet-scented fragrance molecules of the Iris, are only produced through long maturation. With the conventional method, the rhizomes are stored for several years, with the risk of rotting, mold growth and the resulting reduction in quality.

Thanks to our patented, purely physical process, we can completely avoid these risks, while improving the quality of our rhizomes and significantly increasing the content of valuable, fragrant irones.

Extraction

After drying, the rhizome slices are ground into a fine powder. Various extraction methods are then available, each offering its own specific advantages and characteristics.

Distillation

To obtain the essential oil of the Iris, the Iris butter, the rhizomes are mixed with water and distilled over many hours. The fragrance molecules and long-chain fatty acids are obtained at the condenser. The quantitative yield is very low, but the fragrance content is all the higher, which makes Iris butter the most potent ingredient in our perfumes.

Solid-liquid extraction

To obtain a warm, powdery extract of Iris, the ground rhizomes are macerated with alcohol, which dissolves the fragrance molecules. After filtration and evaporation of the alcohol, a dark extract is obtained that is somewhat less potent than the Iris butter, but has a particularly soft and complex fragrance profile.

Iris in overdose

From our own cultivated Iris and the essences derived from it

The essential oil of Iris, also known as beurre d'Iris, has a high concentration of aromatic compounds and exudes a strong violet-like scent — very powdery, with green, fresh, yet also woody notes. Beurre d'Iris is a pale yellow, waxy solid that melts on the skin. The extracts, or Iris resinoids, are dark, viscous liquids with a warm, sweet, and long-lasting fragrance.
‍
Depending on the variety, terroir, and processing method, many different olfactory facets can be expressed through Iris. Beyond its captivating character, Iris can also amplify, refine, and fix other fragrance notes. The result is truly more than the sum of its parts.

Discover Perfumes

Different varieties of Iris grown in Bavaria

The raw material
determines the fragrance

While usually only one or two Iris varieties are used as raw materials in perfumery, we work with additional Iris variations that offer impressive scent profiles and different ratios of alpha- and gamma-irone. The use of diverse Iris types and the many ways of obtaining oils and extracts from them allow us to create exceptional olfactory treasures.

Antoine Lie has masterfully blended our three Iris essences with other precious ingredients, placing the respective Iris at the center of each of our perfumes.