We’ve been constantly impressed by the new scents Molton Brown has been coming out with, and Suede Orris is no exception.
A nod to the scents of yesteryear whilst retaining its modernity, it focuses on orris – the buttery, soft, powdery root of the iris flower, and a suede accord – also palpably soft, with a touch of leather to it. A scent created from an accord belonging to perfumer Jérôme di Marino‘s ‘private collection’ (a box of accords he works on in his personal time), it is a unabashed celebration of femininity, one we’d be happy wearing all day.
We spoke to perfumer Jérôme di Marino about the inspiration behind his creation: “We wanted to make a modern interpretation of a very traditional gesture – the gesture of scented gloves. So it’s referring to the 16thcentury, when Catherine de Medici came into the French court to get married to Henry II, and she came with her own perfumer, who came from Florence. It’s called Suede Orris, suede being a reference to the gloves, and orris a reference to the powder they used to fragrance the gloves.
It’s a very bright top with mandarin and crispy pear. It’s comforting and very sensuous with the softness of Orris. Then we worked on a creamy rounded accord of suede, which is built around cistus absolute and patchouli, wrapped in a huge musk train, which provides a very comforting feeling. It’s a sensuous femininity with a quiet confidence. We didn’t want it to get stuck in the vintage smell of orris, this is more ethereal, bright. In the entire process, it’s been more about working on an intimate fragrance, something personal, for the inner femininity of a woman.
I worked with an absolute of orris, which is different from the concrete. In the concrete, you have the buttery, powdery, very classic aspects, and in the absolute you have much more modern aspects because it has almost a chocolate undertone, very rich, more rounded. They are very different. So, we worked with rose and jasmine to enhance the orris. And in the dry down its more about the rich woods; patchouli, cedarwood, and a slight touch of sandalwood, which is there to announce the creaminess of the suede, this impression of smooth skin. So that’s the main message, the DNA, of the fragrance.”
We were thrilled to smell this scent, a tribute to the sophistication of women, but even more thrilled to hear what Jerome had to say about working with Molton Brown, “Usually you have perfumers who work for brands, but with Molton Brown it was more of a partnership rather than me working for them. It was sharing the concept, the ideas, the message. Everything. They pay a lot of attention to the convictions and to the expression of what the perfumer wanted to say. Which gives at the end, a very authentic product. An intimate product.”
We couldn’t agree more.
Molton Brown Suede Orris £45 for 50ml eau de toilette
Written by Carson Parkin-Fairley
