First Impressions – Eris Parfums

Barbara Herman has many strings to her bow, a blogger, author of the book Scent and Subversion, lover of vintage perfume, and now founder of the brand Eris Parfums. The house was established in 2016 with an initial release of three fragrances. Since then, four other perfumes have followed. Antoine Lie, whom Barbara Herman interviewed for her book, has signed off on each fragrance. The brand landed in Australia recently, and I ordered the six available scents in sample size to try. Unfortunately, Scorpio Rising was unavailable. Below are my first impressions of each.

My least favourite from the line is Belle de Jour. This white floral of jasmine and orange blossom is fresh but with a slight gunky vibe. Antoine Lie generates this effect through the use of a seaweed accord. Somewhat salty and beachy. Wrapped in a cloud of musks, it wasn’t for me. 

Nor was Green Spell, surprisingly. The bitter tomato leaf and galbanum green scent billed as sparkling was anything but effervescent. It’s nice enough but a little flat, especially compared to some of my other favourite green scents. I liken it to Wander Through the Parks by Miller Harris, as they practically share the same major notes – galbanum, fig/fig leaf, violet leaf, and blackcurrant. However, they differ in the sharp, bitter tomato leaf of Green Spell and the nettle of Wander. The nettle of Wander gives that scent a fresher, grassier effect, which I prefer. 

Things get spicy with the double whammy of Mx. and Mxxx. Quite literally. Mx. is a sandalwood scent with a creamy, smoky, spicy component. Olibanum and birch combine with saffron, pepper, and ginger spices. It is soft and warm, with a dusty cacao note that never quite drags it into gourmand land. I don’t pick up any of the civet in the base, so I wouldn’t call it animalic. An easy one to wear. Mxxx. on the other hand amps up the animalic facets. Ambergris and castoreum are more evident in Mxxx. Again, though, it doesn’t make it hard to wear. Instead, it adds a salty, musky layer of warmth to the sweet notes of cacao and vanilla. The gourmand aspects (cacao, vanilla) are more discernable in Mxxx. and the woody notes are slightly downplayed. 

Ma Bete takes the animalic and nostalgic effects up a few notches. Antoine Lie uses a 50 percent overdose of his animalic cocktail to ratchet up the raunch. Not in an unwearable way, though. But, I’d say this is one for the experienced noses. My beast’s opening aldehydic burst is clean and soapy. However, soon these aldehydes ignite the florals of neroli and jasmine, which turn more and more indolic as time goes by. The slow build-up is crescendo-like in intensity and rhythm. By the time the civet, dirty patchouli, and woods hit your nose in the dry down, we’re left in no doubt Ma Bete means business. Great stuff, but I’d struggle to wear this “perfumed fur.” Easily the longest lasting of all the Eris Parfums at 12-14 hours. 

Perhaps surprisingly, my favourite of the bunch is Night Flower. It features a tuberose note, not my favourite floral in perfumery. Fortunately, for my sake, the tuberose in Night Flower is tame. It’s so subdued I’m somewhat surprised by the name. Night Flower is more about a slinky smoky suede, punctuated by sweet, creamy vanilla and tonka than white florals. Cinnamon and cardamom give Night Flower an inviting, alluring, spicy quality. The prominent patchouli in the base never strays into head shop territory. Not quite as vintage-oriented as Ma Bete, but there are glimpses of Shalimar around the periphery of Night Flower. 

Overall, a very solid suite of scents, all quite soft, other than Ma Bete but with a touch of animalic intrigue, except for Green Spell. I’d go with the smoky, creamy leather of Night Flower as my pick with Mx. and Mxxx. not far behind. I enjoyed Ma Bete too, but I’m unsure in what situations I’d wear it. The new Scorpio Rising with its spicy, smoky, leathery note pyramid also looks right up my alley. As soon as I can track down a sample, I’ll detail my thoughts here.

Do you have a favourite from Eris?

Note: I purchased my own samples. Bottle images are courtesy of Fragrantica and Eris Parfums. All other images are my own.