Iris Prima launched last fall, one of two 2013 fragrances from British niche house Penhaligon’s (the other was Vaara). I’m always happy to see a new iris, especially a unisex one. Iris Prima, like Vaara, has a great backstory: it was developed in collaboration with, and inspired by, the English National Ballet, and the tag line is “The spirit of the ballet. Bottled.” This of course made for all sorts of ballet-related promotional activities, including the lovely “ballet flash mob” at Saks in San Francisco and the liberal use of ballet shoes for displays (see here and here).
That said, Penhaligon’s is admittedly not one of my favorite perfume houses. Other than Vaara, which I was lukewarm about, the only other Penhaligon’s scent I’ve ever reviewed was Lily & Spice, which I was, likewise, lukewarm about, and the only Penhaligon’s fragrance that has ever made my buy list was perfumer Olivia Giacobetti’s brilliant spice-fest Elixir…
