Impossible Iris was launched in 2010 by Barelona-based line  by Ramon Monegal Parfums.

Iris is one of my favourite notes in perfumery, but it’s a toughie. What makes iris such a difficult note for perfumers to work with is its range of facets from metallic and cold to earthy, bitter, sweet and floral, but with Impossible Iris Monegal reveals his gift for taking difficult notes and taming their harshness and highlighting their other aspects to make them more supple and sensuous. He certainly does that with iris in Impossible Iris.

It opens with that gorgeous note of cool, metallic iris that I love so much. A note of raspberry adds a little sweetness, echoing the sweet facet of the iris, but the fruit is tart enough to stop it from getting too sweet. As it blooms, the iris becomes more pronounced and would take over, but Monegal matches it with exotic, indolic ylang-ylang and jasmine at the heart, making the cold iris sensuous and erotic without diminishing it. Virginia cedarwood holds it all together so discreetly that it’s more like a ribbon around a bouquet than a basenote. Iris is shot through this fragrance right down to the floral, woody, delicate dry down.

What makes iris such a difficult note is its range of facets from metallic and cold to earthy, bitter, sweet and floral, yet Monegal makes it a sensuous beauty.

And while it might sound like it shouldn’t work – iris with raspberry? Really? – it does. Wearing it is a gorgeous reminder that anything is possible.
Notes: Italian iris, Egyptian cassiopiae, raspberry, ylang-ylang, jasmine, Virginia cedarwood.