Year: 2007
Notes: green notes, violet, Florentine iris, rice powder, chocolate, vetiver, sandalwood, ambrette butter, ambergris
In honour of the horse that gave Parfum d'Empire's Marc-Antoine Corticchiato, a former competitive horse rider, his greatest victories, Equistrius is allegedly "built around the noblest of raw materials" with iris being the star accord. But, where most offerings of this ilk explore the rooty, buttery or candied aspects of iris, this rendition treads its own path – resulting in a soft, powdery and slightly fruity affair.
Starting out fairly sweet, the rice powder and iris come into play almost immediately, with a slightly green violet adding a little edge. Coupled with the chocolate, the composition exudes suede undertones, as opposed to a gourmand premise. Resting on a foundation of ambrette, sandalwood and ambergris, the resultant woody-musk drydown is pleasantly creamy, nutty and slightly ambery.
Ultimately, it's a well-blended fragrance that's comforting, inoffensive and relatively easy to wear. And although there's nothing particularly riveting about it, it would certainly appeal to those who prefer a far less challenging iris-dominant scent.
Staying very close to the skin, its lasting power could have been considerably better.
Starting out fairly sweet, the rice powder and iris come into play almost immediately, with a slightly green violet adding a little edge. Coupled with the chocolate, the composition exudes suede undertones, as opposed to a gourmand premise. Resting on a foundation of ambrette, sandalwood and ambergris, the resultant woody-musk drydown is pleasantly creamy, nutty and slightly ambery.
Ultimately, it's a well-blended fragrance that's comforting, inoffensive and relatively easy to wear. And although there's nothing particularly riveting about it, it would certainly appeal to those who prefer a far less challenging iris-dominant scent.
Staying very close to the skin, its lasting power could have been considerably better.
