Donna Karan Iris

I’ve come to realize I love many perfumes from Donna Karan. Black Cashmere is one of the best spicy, woody orientals period. Chaos is another exceptional woody oriental. Gold is excellent, albeit not my thing, but I can still tell that if I liked the scent of lily I’d be all over this one. Wenge is a unique and wonderful woody fragrance. Labdanum is delicious. I even like Cashmere Mist edt and the newer Cashmere Mist Luxe edp. The only DK’s I don’t like are the troop of Be Delicious yucky-yucks. I imagined Donna Karan Iris would be great and ordered it the moment it was available at Neiman’s.

Well, I don’t think DK Iris is great. Here’s a little disclaimer though: I do not like the cold, rooty, damp irises like Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist or even Hermes Hiris. I like Hiris well enough, more than Iris Silver Mist, but never wear it. I like (don’t love) L’Artisan Iris Pallida but also never wear that. My favorite of the cold irises is probably Le Labo Iris 39. Le Labo’s iris has more going on in there to keep me interested. There’s an earthy interest, and some pepper, and a bit of what I imagine an iris flower would smell like. Prada’s Infusion d’Iris is decent, but it’s far too light for me, I hardly know it’s there after 12 minutes. Truly, my sort of iris is Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile (in both edp and edt). Most people say the AdP irises don’t even smell like iris at all – more like gardenia. I actually think the AdP Iris Nobiles smell like an iris flower – or what I imagine an iris flower smells like – but I can’t say I’ve ever come upon a fragrant iris in real life. So maybe I just don’t like iris scents in general. Nevertheless, I’m always in search of an iris that smells of iris flower and not solely orris which is the root/bulb of the iris plant. I thought Donna Karan might be my ticket into iris fan-dom. Well, it wasn’t.

Donna Karan Iris is just about as light as Prada’s Infusion d’Iris. In fact, I think I can smell more from the Prada. Maybe I’m anosmic? Is anyone getting much from DK Iris? I so wanted to love DK Iris since I think this house makes fabulous perfumes. Alas, DK Iris is not for me. It is quite sheer, light, and just barely a hint of a metallic, cool, iris floral. Sigh. For those who like Prada Infusion d'Iris, you ought to check out DK Iris because this could be your next sheer summery iris scent.

Prada Infusion d'Iris: A Review

Let me start by admitting that I’m not a huge iris fan. I like iris focused fragrances but I don’t usually love them. I have Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist because there is something addictive about that cold, metallic, damp scent, but Iris Silver Mist is an anomaly for me.

For the most part, I find iris fragrances cold and verging on dreary and sad. When I’ve worn The Different Company’s Bois d’Iris or Aqua di Parma Iris Nobile, I seem to become melancholy, introspective and quiet. When a fragrance seems to change my mood I do think there is something to the science of aromatherapy. I am deeply affected by the aromas around me and by the fragrance I wear. Iris fragrances make me feel like a character from Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights; like a woman trapped in a dreary life she doesn’t want to lead.

Prada’s Infusion d’Iris is a completely different sort of iris fragrance. I feel happy when I wear this scent. It most definitely smells like the traditional cold metallic iris, but this iris is suspended in light & joyful citrus and wrapped in a gauzy earthy green aroma. Prada’s Infusion d’Iris speaks to me of spring, summer and celebrates rebirth, budding, damp gray April days after a rain shower, but, with the promise of beautiful vegetation and blue skies just around the corner. Prada’s Infusion d’Iris is perhaps not for the typical lover of iris, there aren’t any clumps of cold wet dirt or flower bulbs nestled 6 inches under the cold March soil here. For the person who hasn’t yet found an iris fragrance to love, perhaps because they find the cold, wet dirt smell off-putting, then this could be your new iris. It is a very easy scent to wear, it’s extremely subtle and sheer and by that I mean I have about 8 heavy-handed sprays on right now and I still have to bring my wrist to my nose to smell it. It is subtle and delicate yet it does remain on my skin for many hours. If it’s possible to be both delicate and tenacious, Prada has managed this. I’m pleasantly surprised by this fragrance. I bought a bottle a few months ago and I’m glad I purchased the 3.4 ML size because when I wear it I apply a lot so the bottle is already only half full.