It’s taken me a while to get around to trying the Pentachord fragrances from Tauer Perfumes, mainly just because they were difficult to find in New York City for a while and I never quite seemed to get around to placing a sample order. When I did finally try them this month, it was immediately apparent that White was my favorite of the three. Like its fellow Pentachords, White is composed from five synthetic ingredients — no more, no less. In this case, the fragrance’s central idea is “the clear melody of royal iris” and its notes are iris root, violet, rosewood, ambergris and Bourbon vanilla.
The official description for Pentachord White evokes “a white clean garden” that combines the “crisp beauty” of its flowers with the “warmth” of its trees and background. I’m noticing much more crispness than warmth in White: the note that makes the strongest impression on me is a cool, silvery-green violet. The violet never really gives way entirely to the softly rooty iris…
