Iris Blanc

The scent of iris is creamy, white buttery and smells both delectable and regal.

Highly concentrated orris goes even further by exuding a purple liqueur-like sweetness… to get a taste of what I mean, imagine you could dye jasmine deep purple…

While I could never tire of the purple facet of iris, I’ve already explored purple thoroughly in Iris Ghalia. Plus, if you own a bottle, you’d know that the profile zooms in on iris’ unique purple sweetness – in IG, the white floral aspect is more an underlying accessory, while it drips sweet purple galore!

So, what if you could zoom in and feast your nose, not on the savory purple flavor of iris, but on the lush white heart itself?

I could give you an iris soliflore and you’d get the very essence of that white creaminess that makes iris such a treasure for a perfumer, after all…

But in the olfactory maze that defines EO, any note, any facet, any aromatic crevice you wish to explore must first pass an initiation rite down through the oud underworld so as to emerge lacquered in the most exotic armor of glistening agarwood resin.

Because oud is so insanely dense, there’s an accent to adorn any scent. Oud that smells of rose, of smoke, of plums and orange peel – that’s the mission: What’s the choicest OUD to grace the white sparkle of iris?

It’s actually not that hard… there’s a super limited class of ouds that are defined by their perfectly complementary profiles.

The hard part is having access to these, the most kinamic ouds on the planet; ouds that are practically impossible to distill today without signing a check for $10K just to buy enough wood to juice a single bottle. 

In 2016 we acquired a vintage batch of Malinau agarwood – it was already a collectors’ batch back then – after we weren’t seeing any fresh harvests of the same quality emerge. So, fast forward almost eight years and you can imagine the state of affairs today…

Coburn, Kruger and I personally flew the harvest to one of my teachers in Taiwan, where distillation alone ran for more than a month. Till this day, Borneo Kinam is one of the most soulful oud oils we ever distilled.

Borneo Kinam imbues every facet of Iris Blanc, intertwined with a cast of superb aromatics to wring out the iris’ white…

White champaca and white neroli layered with white rice, white cedar, and white cypress. Tonka bean to caramelize the orris’ buttery blanc just enough to let a dash of white tea and bright classical-white sandalwood infused with water lily exalt Borneo Kinam’s exquisite kinamic core that seeps through the fragrance. 

In addition to the lavish champaca-lotus heart, you’ll smell hints of stunning jasmine sambac in tango with the oldest and most limited rose oil in my atelier – Isparta rose that belonged to the mother of the Sultan, which adds a beautiful diffusivity to the white floral iris oud fest. 

TOP
Neroli
White Tea
White Cedar
White Cypress
Hojari Frankincense

HEART
White Champaca
Blue Lotus
Vintage Isparta Rose
Jasmine Sambac

BASE
Borneo Kinam (Oriscent Oud Oil)
Orris Butter/Absolute
Sandalwood
Tonka Bean
Grey Ambergris SQ

If you own Iris Ghalia, this perfume is a brand new (and entirely different) profile that will show you the bright white side of iris you never knew existed. If you’ve never smelled what the white creamy floral beauty of iris imparts into a perfume, then you’re in for an oud-iris thrill that’ll arouse your senses like nothing else.

Featured Testimonials…

As I’ve mentioned before it’s a banger and I don’t think anyone is going to dislike it.

I’m really satisfied with the smell of Iris Blanc, the core of it got that juicy sweetness of Iris Ghalia but the animalic-purpleness of IG got turned into a beautiful bright smelling experience. All the white floral creamy notes blend in so well with the Iris and the final touch of Borneo kinam is like the cherry on top of the pie. It’s a refreshing new take on the Iris and it exceeds my expectations.

The performance is great so far and I’m still getting decant wafts of the one tiny spray that I’ve applied 4 hours ago.

If there’s one thing I can say with certainty, it’s that EO and Iris just fit together perfectly and Iris Blanc is another great example for that.

In addition to Musk and Oud, Iris is the third pillar of EO-Signature aromatics that have been always transformed into legendary scents.

UPDATE:

Today I’ve decided to wear Iris Blanc to bring some brightness to this dark and rainy day.

The opening reminds me of Iris Ghalia, a juicy peach ice tea note even if there’s no peach listed in the notes (But it’s important to say that it’s just this one nuance that reminds me of IG, it’s a completely different perfume)

It gets complimented by frankincense, white florals and after a few minutes you can notice how the rose takes over.

The bright floral cocktail gets a creamy finish by the iris butter & sandalwood.

I personally can’t smell any oud in this perfume, for me it’s a very heavy floral composition.

The performance is outstanding, sillage and longevity is top tier.

I’m still holding to my statement from my first impression… I should have bought a 50ml bottle of this perfume.

—Chris A / Germany

So very excited about this new Iris Blanc that I just have to put on 2 full sprays to the chest after a clean shower, to get a better feel of this gem vs. the half spray on the back of my wrist earlier today. The beautiful Borneo Kinam Oud is more prominent in full wearing, with the Kinamic bitterness being more apparent now. And yet it’s being balanced by the Tonka and Hojari sweetness, great harmony!

I’m no Oud expert, nor would I pretend to be one, but I know good stuff when I smell one, I know what pleases my nose, and there’s a lot of depth and calming effect in this type of Oud that I can’t fully comprehend or explain, I think most Oud head is going to drool all over this stuff though!! There’s a bit of dustiness from the Borneo Kinam Oud that pairs extremely well with the white floral heart, I would imagine something like the White Kinam will also work very well here.

A touch of ambergris here certainly adds a playfulness to the super clean white Iris profile, it doesn’t steal the show, but it’s recognizable because I’ve been playing with both white and grey ambergris tincture recently. It is ethereal as I’ve mentioned previously, certainly NOT a very loud or obnoxious type of scent, it won’t project across town, but it will wrap you in a very enjoyable, nice, and calming scent bubble, it is captivating and hypnotizing at the same time.

Man, is this a gorgeous scent, perfectly balanced, very well-composed scent profile. It immediately reminded me of Gandalf the White and Lady Galadriel, you know it’s powerful but it doesn’t advertise loudly, it’s classy, well-behaved, and regal. Job well done Ensar Oud I am enjoying this release immensely.

If I could change one thing, is that I wish my bank account had a few extra zeros in it, so I could go back to the EO site and load up the cart and hoard this stuff, I need at least a few gallons so I could shower or soak in it! 

Right off the bat, a huge blast of gorgeous Borneo Kinam Oud up front, opens with a combination of Neroli and a slight hint of White Cypress with a bit of zestiness without being citrusy. The floral heart is absolutely stunning, as Ensar mentioned previously this is a completely different scent profile than the Iris Ghalia.

In direct comparison, this Iris Blanc is less fruity up top, as a matter of fact I’m not getting any fruits at all, has a more ethereal and lighter feel in the heart, a bit more delicate if you will. I’m not getting any powdery vibe from the Orris here either, though Orris butter has the tendency to bloom with age, Iris Blanc is not as heavy in Orris as Iris Ghalia, it’s a cleaner Iris feel, and definitely nowhere near the powdery level of Irish Ghalia, the buttery texture is more akin to the skim-milk type creaminess.

The White Champaca backed by a hint of Rose stood out more to me in Iris Blanc. There’s zero purpleness, just super clean and a layer of silky white floral accord, with a hint of sweetness provided by a very light touch of Hojari and Tonka Bean, lending to a bit of ambery undertone.

At the base, the sandalwood is light without any Mysore funk, while a bit of Grey Ambergris gave the overall scent profile a lively and sparkling feel, with a tiny bit of animalic from the grey ambergris, it smell more like White ambergris to me, very clean, and very high-quality ambergris. Overall not in the same beastly animalic level as IG3, which I’m glad. I feel if there were castoreum or civet, and hyrax in IB, they would only end up tainting the pristine white floral heart.

The Borneo Kinam Oud is very prominent from the beginning to the mid, it’s one of the main notes I’m constantly getting, which is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! The Oud is working in perfect harmony and synergy with the gorgeous white florals. Those who are familiar with this Borneo Kinam Oud will find a slight hint of bitterness in the far background, it’s beautiful.

Iris Blanc is a bit less dense than Iris Ghalia, not as thick, it has a lighter feel, but with good tenacity from the get-go. Iris Blanc is an entirely new scent profile to me as well, a brand new jam, I am unable to associate it with any other EO’s floral compositions, not the iris Ghalia, and certainly not Musc Gardenia.

It’s a safe bet that this Iris Blanc will age gracefully and beautifully, without having any deer musk or animalics that could potentially bloom and overpower the gorgeous white florals. Iris Blanc is an instant LOVE from me, immediately sitting right next to IG3, OST, OSQ, and the like, if I had more money I would buy 4 backups of this Iris Blanc like I did with IG3!!

Iris Blanc is a BANGER to me, period.

UPDATE:

I have been binge-wearing Iris Blanc non-stop since last Friday, only going for one spray to the upper chest today, and I’m being drowned in a buttery Kinamic White Iris bliss, simply can’t get enough of it!  I haven’t been this thrilled about any releases since OST and Musc Gardenia Berke Khan, mainly due to the following reasons:

1: This is the very same Borneo Kinam Oud that was featured in the EID Exclusive: $1500/30ml Musc Gardenia Borneo Kinam. The value of the Iris Blanc at this price point is absolutely KILLER!

2: When Ensar put a gorgeous Oriscent Oud in a stunning Iris, be it a Purple or White profile, it automatically won by default for me.

3: This type of Kinamic depth and tenacity isn’t found in any Organic/Plantation Ouds, nor can it be replicated from CO2-extracted bogus “Kinam” snake oils that infested the market out there, period. I have smelled quite a few of those fake “Kinams”, they aren’t even from the same universe.

4: To my nose, this is one of the most attractive light floral scent profiles I have ever smelled since Musc Gardenia Borneo Kinam, and Musc Gardenia White Kinam. Hands down, this Iris Blanc is of the same Oriscent caliber!

5: I do not recall any other regular releases ($599/30ml) featuring Kinam Ouds in the past, this is the first I think. We need more Kinamic releases like this in the same price bracket, please! 

Being excited about something, and actually shilling/hawking something aren’t the same thing, I would never tell anybody else to go blind buy ANYTHING, but boy am I glad to have blind-bought this gem myself. All I’ve got to say is, you ought to get your nose on this release, even just a small sample, or a small decant, it’s worth at least a sniff or two, or a non-stop binge fest like… I have been doing in the last few days, this thing slaughtered the summer heat like a champ!

I’m unloading a few other releases that I seldom wear to fund for backup of this gem, it’s  I need and want a backup ASAP. #DoYouEvenIrisBlancBro?

—Ben W / USA

This is peak iris performance. Perhaps even better than its predecessor Iris ghalia. Simply due to the fact that this is more wearable and pleasant. I can see this being more agreeable for people to wear than iris ghalia.

Where Iris ghalia had iris at the forefront, it was usually overtaken by the animalic scent of the musk.

Iris Blanc however is an Iris powerhouse. The borneo kinam compliments the Iris so well, that it maintains its position as the main ingredient all the way through. In fact I would even say it boosts the performance of the Iris in floral beauty only to be smoothened by the orris butter.

This one was a blind buy for me simply because I love Iris and I wanted to see what it smells like with borneo kinam.

Boy was I in for a treat!

UPDATE:

I took too long to get this!

I normally don’t jump for musk as I am more of an oud guy. But when I received a sample of this, I couldn’t resist.

The sweet chocolate and Cinnamon layers of this perfume completely eliminate any animalic musky scent.

This is an absolute treat for me, I’m glad I nabbed one before you guys finished it off #DoYouEvenIrisBlancBro?

—Jesse G / Canada

This is a love. When I said that IB=day and IG=night, I only meant to say that Iris Blanc is brighter and a bit fresher, while Iris Ghalia goes in the direction of darker ouds and animalics. Both are beautiful scents, but Iris Blanc is much more to my personal taste (and my wife enjoys it too!)

In the opening, Iris Blanc feels extremely versatile, with beautiful tea notes forming a bridge between the fresh astringency of neroli and the citrus resinous nuances of frankincense.

The floral heart is lush and ever-so-slightly powdery. Champaca and Blue Lotus sit beautifully on the slight lemony tinge of rose, and Jasmine lends a slight berry-like sweetness.

The base is smooth. A slight warmth of tonka bean compliments the orris butter, and ambergris gives it all a sparkling feel.

Borneo Kinam is among my favourite oud oils. I can certainly detect its influence, and indeed it feels as though the entire composition was built around highlighting its best qualities, similar to how I imagine Angkor was put together to highlight the

Cambodian oud it contains. It’s a beautiful synergy.

An extremely solid release in a time when Ensar has been releasing banger after banger. Oud SQ, Mongolian Musk, Oud Rex, and now Iris Blanc – each of these has been on another level. Only the hope for a mindblowing oudfest release is keeping me from grabbing some of each of these recent releases!

—Renzo C / Canada

Open

Iris silver mist rolling in…. a powerful all consuming fog. Bracing grey streaked with yellow hues shot through with that dustiness, sparkle, and slight tongue numbing sensations that occur from the Oriscent Ouds. Overall BK is blended into the composition so seamlessly, unlike for example, my MG BK where the Boreno Kinam stands out like a thunderbolt through the composition, this has more of a softer, more intricate shading of the composition. calming peaceful serene, and built to complement each other from day one.

2 minutes in the white starts radiating from the silver mists, a creaminess deepens the composition

5 mins and the yellows that streaked the grey start taking shape as hojari while, vapours raise from a cup of white tea.

Mid the floral heart truly comes to the forefront, the Iris is ever present Rooty, slightly dusty, supported by the Rose and blue lotus most prominently

In the base we are greeted by an excellent orris butter creamed and sweetened by Tonka Bean and Sandalwood.

The Ambergris is never intrusive or offensive and is as pristine as the best quality white ambergris in the way it is diffusive and supportive of the florals.

One of the most zen floral oud compositions I’ve ever had the pleasure of owing.

Meditative, Contemplating, Sedative

Iris Blanc in Ben’s words a Banger and one I want to keep spraying again again to get that jaw dropping open to mid.

—Ryan L / Canada

At first, I am greeted by a greenish, tingly opening that reminds me of pouring a delicious, cool lemonade into a glass. I love cypress in scents and here it is well placed. I would say that the top notes in particular have some parallels to Iris Ghalia (at least for me), but compared to Iris Ghalia, Iris Blanc comes around much brighter and not animalic. One could also speak of Iris Ghalia’s sister

However, then I notice a transformation in the heart notes, which develops in a completely different direction than Iris Ghalia. For me, a fantastically beautiful, pink-white heart note unfolds in which rose, blue lotus, jasmine and champaka flowers work together perfectly.

The base really seems perfectly blended to me. I perceive the base to be somewhat powdery, woody and warm, in which the orrisbutter develops beautifully.

The Borneo Oud that unfolds here is simply fantastically beautiful and gives the scent a rounding depth.

The scent makes me want to sniff the spots where I applied it again and again.

Absolutely addictive. The more I wear it, the more I discover new facets that continue to surprise me.

This may be the first Ensar fragrance that I could imagine a backup bottle for

—Jakob K. / Germany