Impossible Iris Ramon Monegal for women and men

Instant love; instant memory jog.

Forget about the individual notes, this is so well-composed it smells like a place in time. I cannot dissect or describe it in the usual "starts with bergamot, fades into blah blah". It just "is".

Impossible Iris is a liquified memory of a childhood family vacation to Disney World. Freshly folded towels, clean hotel room, fresh cold fruit at the salad bar...a rollercoaster of beauty, excitement, and joy.

*Lasting power is excellent. I can still smell it after showering which usually never happens with my perfume-eating body chemistry.

I love this. For me it's an iris leather. It starts out with lots of green rooty iris and loads of leather, just as if I'd spilled iris on a new leather jacket. Odd - it's not meant to be a leather at all. The iris turns powdery then eventually the fragrance sweetens to a lovely floral drydown of jasmine and ylang-ylang, very creamy. I have all the Monegals in to test (mostly 2ml format) and they are a bit sledgehammery, which I kind of like. Nothing impossible about this fragrance, though - I find it really wearable.

This reminds me of Je Reviens by Worth (extrait), pared down. As an iris it is quite unique, very floral and feminine, lovely and 'European' - as in understated, gentle elegance. The notes that jump out to me are iris and mimosa, raspberry and a very creamy ylang-ylang. I don't get cedar per se, but rather a powdery base with 'blond' woods. The aesthetic is decidedly retro. Unabashedly beautiful. It does represent a rather antiquated femininity and only as such is it a challenge.

Notes: iris, mimose, raspberry, ylang-ylang, jasmine and virginian cedar.

It's a pretty iris scent, but the only impossibility i see here is making it last on skin. It opens with that green floral aspect of irises that resembles violet, then it's followed by the silky, musky, powdery aspects of iris. At this moment, you have the sandalwood illusion on the skin, caused by the ylang-ylang itself, and the contrast with iris gives it a sensual and rich aroma on skin. But, after that, the scent driesdown to a sheer and soft woody base which is a little bit disappointing.
It's not an unique iris, even that it's not exactly equal it reminds me of both Odori Iris (with Odori being more intense on the violet aspect and also being another iris that is sheer on drydown and short-lived) and Heeley Iris de Nuit (more intense on the earthy, vegetal iris aroma, and while sheer it lasts more and it's more interesting overall).

Finally a niche perfume worthy of it's overpriced-ness. (well maybe not, this is ridiculously expensive) But it IS worth it in that it is beautiful and it lasts, but most of all because it is truly special.

It opens of cool icy wet paper, iris interpretation I suppose. Then magically the flowers warm up and everything blends together into the definition of pretty. I see soft pink and soft lace filtered through soft light. Lady like without being overly precious or matronly. It does remind me, at least on my skin of Estee by Estee Lauder. But only how Estee smells at the end of a very long day. But only "reminds me" it is not a version of Estee. It must be that they share some of the similar notes like iris, raspberry and cedar. Estee has a harshness compared to the perfectly pretty balance that is this silk ribbon of a perfume. I really shouldn't even compare them because as I said Impossible Iris is so special. It is the pretty frag I have been searching for. Not precious, not matronly and the silage is perfect, not too faint to not bother with and not so over powering you will get sick of it and it lasts all day.

To break it down, for me this is Iris and mimosa, with ylang and jasmine delicate and quiet behind. Though I don't smell straight up cedar wood it is what keeps all these notes singing together as one.

I haven't been so impressed with a blend in a long time. I will splurge as the happiness this brings me is worth it.

I am all for unisex but I cannot see a man wearing this perhaps because it is my interpretation of pretty, but then again I do wear men's frags. If a man were to wear this he would be wearing an impeccable suit complete with cuff links and slicked back hair ala Cary Grant, an untouchable, perfectly groomed man. OK, I have changed my own mind, men could wear this. Just had to change my perspective from pretty to groomed. Perhaps because it smells classy clean. Yes that's what it is, classy clean.

I've come back to edit this since considering this for men too, I have gotten over my love affair with this being so pretty and just for women. I smell it differently now, I realize it is truly unisex really a very clean smell, but clean in a warm alluring way., as in well groomed, not laundry clean smell. Another reason to love it so much, keeps me thinking about it and all its possible invocations.

Worth a try, so impressive. Complete package, perfect blend, perfect silage and longevity and beautiful presentation.

An iris fresh and bright, somewhat earthy, medium and powdery also as root, I believe that the combination with raspberry, gives a fruity floral aspect, and this time brings me a scent of rose.
The drydown is impeccable, swore he had sandalwood, feel something creamy and quite comfortable.
Ylang Ylang appears and I think he sets the tone warm, do not know if the name is impossible is appropriate, but the word'' amazing'' would fall perfectly in this perfume.

This is an impossibly beautiful scent- at least it seems impossible until you wear it for a few hours and smell the glorious development on your skin.

I confess that when I first tried this scent, I did not give it enough time to develop and was initially put off by the very green orris root that dominates for the first half hour on my skin. Then the scent starts to move and develop and other notes come in. I am now 3 hours into this beauty and it continues to bloom on my skin and more and more elements shine through. I am now really getting the creaminess and softness of the ylang-ylang mixed with the faint woodiness of the cedar accenting the iris. This is truly a thing of beauty. An incandescent scent that floats by you as you move like the delicate beat of dragonfly wings.

I had to add a note to say that I loved this so much I bought a bottle and it is worth every penny. A true piece of perfumer's art.

Impossible Iris: Notes include Italian iris, mimosa, raspberry, ylang-ylang, Egyptian jasmine and Virgin cedarwood.
A lovely name like this raises expectations and curiosity. So what makes this iris impossible?
Impossible Iris opens strong and rooty, the dusky, dusty, earthy, carroty iris root complemented by the slightly harsh, raspy aura of mimosa. Over time it quiets down, becomes smoother, softer, more elegant and refined, raspberry gives a surprisingly lovely pink hue to to the perfume, ylang-ylang softens it further and adds a creaminess the opening was lacking. A half hour into wearing Impossible Iris, I am entirely happy with it. Buttery smooth, soft, elegant and lady-like, this iris is anything but impossible. It is incredible.