The prestigious
Iris Pallida (Italian Iris) is a variety of Iris used in perfumery and cosmetics. The honeyed bouquet of the iris is exceedingly difficult to capture and requires care over a long period of time — three years in the ground and essential soil enrichment are needed to give optimal conditions for rhizome development before extraction, cleaning, trimming and then slicing. It takes two to three years of patience and drying for a magical transformation to occur. Protected by jute, its comical tubers take a while to secrete “irones” — ketones which form the iris’ aromatic base. Dehydrated and hard as stone, the tubers are subsequently reduced to a fine powder. After cold water soaking, the tubers are steam distilled and the powder turns into essential oil to become then a soft and pleasantly scented cream.
