ORRIS BUTTER - Pure organic Iris pallida butter

This one of the very exclusive raw materials in natural perfumery. In perfumery language, we call it "orris butter", but technically, it is an essential oil. 

Orris butter can we worn on its own: deeply floral, woody, powdery, with even a hint of fruit (raspberry). Excellent longevity. A little goes a long way. The opening has distinctive notes of violet, raw cacao, and hint of raspberry, creaminess, woodiness and a subtle hint of leather. It has something timeless and aristocratic.

The essential oil of iris is obtained by steam distillation of the rhizomes (first reduced into a powder). Once extracted, the oil solidifies at room temperature but changes state very easily a little like coconut oil, at a lower temperature point even.  The robe is somewhere between ivory white and beige-grey yellow. The butter is delicate and requires proper storage: avoid light and heat (11-20 degrees Celsius are ideal). Keeping air tight is important.

This butter is made form prized species,  Iris pallida, which has traditionally been cultivated in Italy in France and of course has since spread to many other countries. The distillation of iris for perfumery is extremely delicate, long and labour intensive. If the butter is to be of good quality, it must be done entirely by hand. 

First of all the irises must be planted and it takes at least 3 years for enough essential oil to concentrate in the rhizome, Then, once the irises are sufficiently full of essential oils, they need to be stored, dried and cured very gradually, again for at least 3 years, ideally even 4 or 5, to reach the ideal state for distillation, with regular check and flipping.

Ideally the rhizomes must be peeled by hand before distillation, but most producers today skip that important stage. Only small scale artisans do it. Then all this is distilled very carefully, at low pressure and low temperature, so that the fragrant molecules can take their time to express themselves fully, not grow too quickly on purpose and express themselves and give much more limited profiles.

Iris is a plant of great cultural importance from Europe to East Asia. It has has a very, very long medical history, it has a great presence in the history of art, well beyond Van Gogh's irises, it has always fascinated with its delicate and hypnotic fragrance, it also has an important role in the history of perfumery and is at the root of the adjective "powdery" used for perfumes.

Orris butter is complex, potent, yet delicate it has a raw side but also generates space which is very important for  perfume design.

Beyond its distinctive Iris profile, the butter has numerous facets some expected (floral, earthy, creamy) but also offers some surprising notes like described above, and complementary feelings :  a timeless and aristocratic sillage, yet grounding and nurturing for the wearer.

If you are interested in bulk or wholesale quantities, just contact us.

You can also experience our sandalwood-orris butter attar, a less pricey way to experience orris butter, and a delicious stand alone attar / perfume of its own.