Orris

What it is

Orris is derived from the rhizomes of selected Iris species rather than from the iris flower itself. Iris pallida is one of the classic perfumery sources.

Fresh rhizomes have very little of the familiar finished orris smell. The characteristic aroma develops during prolonged drying and ageing as precursors transform into irones, key odorants of natural orris.

Orris butter and absolute

Dried, aged rhizomes can be distilled to produce orris oil, commonly called orris butter because the material contains a large fraction of fatty components and is solid or semi-solid around room temperature.

Further processing can produce orris absolute with a higher concentration of the characteristic irone fraction.

What to notice

Orris can suggest:

• violet-like floral powder
• cool rootiness
• soft wood
• cosmetic powder
• buttery richness
• suede-like dryness
• subtle fruit or green facets

Natural orris is usually more complex than a simple “powder” effect.

Orris, iris and violet

“Iris” in perfume descriptions often points toward an orris-style effect. Violet-like smell does not mean violet flower material is present: irones in orris and ionone-family materials used in violet accords can overlap perceptually.

For this archive, Orris should represent explicit rhizome-derived material or clearly identified orris products.